The Times and Appeasement

An edited and annotated version of the journals kept by A. L. Kennedy of The Times.

The edited journals kept by A. L. Kennedy of The Times, providing details of his meetings with Mussolini, Hitler and others. It explains the relationship between The Times, the British Government and the Foreign Office, and illuminates the support for 'appeasement' and the origins of the Second World War.A. L. Kennedy, the son of a British diplomat, began a long career in journalism with The Times before the First World War. When he returned to the newspaper in 1919 - as Captain Kennedy - he began to keep a journal of his activities and ideas, his conversations with politicians, officials and journalists. This book is an edited and annotated selection from his journals between 1932 and 1939, during which period he served as The Times' assistant foreign editor and in which capacity he was responsible for most of the leading articles on foreign affairs. His journals provide a fascinating insight into the complicated relationship between The Times and the government: intriguing to read, they are an extremely valuable source for historians of diplomacy politics and journalism in Britain between the wars and help to illuminate our understanding of 'appeasement'.