Appeasement

Appeasement

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

World War I was so horrendous that it was universally believed another world war would mean Armageddon, the end of life on Earth. Imperialist conquest was one thing, but another world war had to be avoided at all cost. The way to settle conflicts was by talking, not shooting. An Austrian corporal, gassed and be-medalled, disagreed that the Great War was the War to End All Wars. Arguing that the Versailles Treaty ending it gave Germany -- his new country of citizenship -- a raw deal, he set about disclaiming it. Though talking peace, he set about arming the Third Reich.

France and Russia appeared to have formidable forces, but the Chancellor/Führer reckoned it was only a matter of time before he could take them. His first order of business was to make the continent Aryan, handcuffing German-speaking territories to his own, starting with Austria. Screaming that Germans were being discriminated against, he demanded Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. Needless to say, Prague refused. Berlin threatened to bomb it back into the Stone Age, which might well have resulted in the dreaded World War II. Couldn't negotiations -- appeasement -- persuade Hitler to stand down?

The prime ministers -- Britain's Neville Chamberlain, France's Édouard Daladier and Italy's Benito Mussolini -- met for a peace conference in Munich with Hitler. The Sudetenland was the Führer's non-negotiable demand. When a hungry dog is growling, give it a bone by all means, but not your bone. Anyway, he got what he wanted. Highly respected UK author Robert Harris spent years researching that meeting, interviewed the survivors on all sides and penned this new novel Munich. Hindsight is 20/20; Chamberlain was blamed for the fiasco. In 1938, however, he had the support of the vast majority of people who feared another world war, not least the German populace. However, evil Hitler brought it on.

Sociopath, megalomaniac, existing in a parallel world, descendant of Attila the Hun, monster -- Hitler was all those things. No ifs, ands or buts. Russia's Stalin and China's Mao were from the same mould. This reviewer can't help wondering if they were sent to kill the global population. To better understand the 20th century, I heartily recommend reading the works of Robert Harris.

Bounty hunter

Among its many firsts, the US has the dubious distinction of having the fullest prisons in the world. Curiously, at the same time, it has one of the poorest arrest records of felons. Not that its police aren't dedicated; but laws aren't enforced as well as they should be.

The protagonists of crime thrillers are more efficient in getting their man. To be sure, a lot of felons are plain incompetent and easily caught. However, all too many felons are smart and have clever lawyers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew this, noting that super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes was unable to apprehend arch-felon Irene Adler. Pointers ought to be taken from the Japanese, who have a 95% arrest record.

Yank author Evanovich has penned several series featuring crimebusters. The most popular is Stephanie Plum. Not a cop but a bounty hunter, she works for a bail-bond firm in Trenton, New Jersey. She is described as good-looking, not unlike US actress Julia Roberts.

After a person is arrested for a crime, he or she is brought before a judge, who announces how much bail he must pay to stay out of jail until his trial. On the outside, a bail bondsman puts up the money, for a fee. If the man skips, the bondsman sends a bounty hunter after him rather than pay the bail himself.

Enter Plum and her bounty hunter associates. In Turbo Twenty-Three, their pursuit leads to more than one murder victim. The plot expands to a rivalry between two ice cream companies. Then into drugs.

The subplot has our heroine torn between two lovers, a policeman and a security firm head. Plum and Lula, a reformed prostitute, share a sense of humour. Abducted and marked for death, Plum's rescue in the penultimate chapter will raise eyebrows.

Evanovich's multitude of stories are fast, though not compelling to read. The romance angle is given equal play to the crimes. Sex is glossed over in a sentence. Meals are detailed. Trenton's streets are named, and nothing about them will attract tourists.

The publisher's jacket copy says Stephanie Plum is vastly popular. This reviewer will just have to take their word for it.

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