This addition to Longman's Origins of Modern Wars series traces the course of events that led to the Second World War in Europe from 1932 through to Germany's invasion of Russia in 1941.

1: Problems of interpretation -- On war and the causes of war -- A thirty years' war? : the disintegration of Europe -- The case against a thirty years' war : the restoration of Europe -- History and historians -- 2: The underlying forces -- The role of ideology -- Italian fascism -- German Nazism -- Parliamentary democracy : France and Britain -- Soviet communism -- Economic issues and the coming of war -- The great depression and international relations -- Economic problems and the coming of war -- The role of strategy and armed force -- Armed forces, strategy, and foreign policy (1): France and Britain -- Armed forces, strategy, and foreign policy (2): Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union -- 3: The coming of war, 1932-1941 -- From peace to the eve of war 1932-1937 -- War postponed, 1938 -- Decisions for war, 1939 -- The expanding war, 1939-1940 -- Germany and the Soviet Union, 1940-1941.