Customer Reviews

The Origins of the War of 1914 (3 Volume Set)

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Luigi Albertini's magnificent history of the origins of World War I ought to be required reading for anyone wishing to debate this fascinating subject intelligently. Enigma (whoever they are) has performed a stellar service in publishing a paperback edition this year. Used copies were going for over $1000.

The three volumes are each over 700 pages, but make for riveting reading. The question of the responsibility for the outbreak of this disastrous war is probably the greatest whodunit in European history. I don't think I'm giving anything away to say that two and a half decades before Fritz Fischer, Albertini fingered the Germans. His evidence, in the end, is overwhelming. (Different responses by England and Russia could have altered the course of events in July, naturally.)

Albertini was an influential Italian newspaper editor and senator until ousted by Mussolini. He observed events in 1914 as a political insider, knew many of the protagonists, and was able to interview a number of them after the war. He had another advantage: by the time he completed the book, the diplomatic papers of each of the combatants had been published in their entirety, the memoirs had been written, the charges and counter-charges issued and disputed, etc. There is naturally more coverage of the Italian role in the crisis than in other studies, but the book is so well written (in Isabella Massey's splendid translation) that even readers not interested in Italy's response to its allies' machinations are likely to find these chapters engrossing.

The re-publication of this book is especially valuable because of the curious persistence of revisionist myths from the 1920s. The idea of collective guilt--that the nations of Europe "slithered into war," in Lloyd George's phrase--is not only attractive to ideologues on both the Left and Right, for various reasons, but continues to appeal to people wishing to think of themselves as compassionate and non-judgmental. Unfortunately, it was not abstractions like imperialism, militarism, nationalism, capitalism, or "secret diplomacy" that were responsible for the conflict, but the decisions of a few individuals in Germany who either wished to wage a preventative war or were willing to risk war to achieve a diplomatic coup.

Albertini does not spare the other parties to the conflict, however. He exposes the incompetence, myopia, and malfeasance in all the European capitals deftly and pitilessly.

Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, and Bethmann Hollweg, the German Chancellor, are sometimes depicted as the tragic figures of the crisis. Albertini will have none of this; he is quite critical of each. Some of the more sympathetic characters are actually the German ambassadors to the Entente countries, particularly Lichnowski in London-humane and civilized men appalled at the instructions they were receiving from Berlin. One of the things the book does so well is to expose the rivalries and animosities within the governments of the countries involved in the crisis.

Though I've not yet had a chance to look at this edition, I'm sure Samuel Williamson's introduction is illuminating.

This work has been out-of-print too long. It is THE work on the origins of WWI, and a must for the serious bookshelf. I first read this some years ago from the library, and have been searching for it since at reasonable cost -- and here it is.

It's long, it's detailed. But I know of no other book, and there are a number of admirable ones, that provides as complete a picture of this subject. Some examples. Frequently overlooked is the factor of Italy, it's drive for territory in N. Africa, and it's conflict w. Turkey over Greek islands immediately preceding WWI. From this we can see that much of this policy carried over into the inter-war era and was not entirely a creation of Mussolini. Albertini's long-running discussion of Austria's possible drive to the Black Sea, and it's attempts to block Serbia from the Adriatic through Montenegro are enlightening as a backdrop for conditions in the Balkans today. And the recent, and continuing, conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serb relations with Montenegro and Albania are all pre-figured here beginning in the 19th century. And then there's the Sanjak of Novibazar -- too much to detail here.

There are few books I could as highly recommend.

Like other WW I history buffs, I had long searched for Albertini's legendary work. Used copies of the three volume set I found on the net were both incomplete and too expensive. It was with great pleasure that I saw the Enigma Press reissuance of this work offered through the History Book Club for only $45.00. To my great disappointment, the newly released work was riddled with typographical errors of the most disconcerting kind: sentences running together for lack of periods; numbers inserted into words; incorrect spacing withing words and between words in sentences; incomprehensible symbols for times and dates. Every page of this work is riddled with incomprehensible errors. This new and updated version is also an example of false advertising since there is no new information or interpretation of Albertini's research or his own role during the war. Because my search for any usable copy of this book was so extensive and frustrating, I have decided to hold on to this wretched reissuance rather than use it to wrap dead fish.

This magisterial three volume set is still the premier and definitive work on the dynastic, diplomatic, colonial , foreign policy and descsion making of the European great powers and how their interaction and rivalry led to the 1st World War. Professor Albertini {who died in 1942} had access to scores of primary source documents that have since been destroyed {during WW11} and uniquely was able to conduct interviews with some of the protagonists including those former Serbian government and military officials that were personally responsible on arranging the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The depth and detail of his writing and how he presents this immense subject makes these three {3} volumes a very challenging but ultimately rewarding read. His writing style is not boring but it is dense and complex and many of the government documents that he quotes in these volumes have to be read slowly/carefully to fully understand their meaning. I have the three {3} hardcover volumes printed between 1952 and 1957 and it took me over seven {7} years years of serious on and off reading to finish all 3 volumes - volume 1/ 578 pages, volume 2/ 686 pages and volume 3/ 702 pages. These books are definitely not for the casual reader and prior knowledge of 19th and early 20th century European dynastic, economic and diplomatic history is essential before you attempt to tackle these very challenging reads. Books that I would recommend would be Willian L. Langers " European Alliances and Alignments 1871-1890 " Paul Kennedy's " The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism" , Edmond Taylor's "The Fall of the Dynasties," Barbara Tuchman's "The Proud Tower" Nial Fergurson's "The Pity Of War" and Fritz Stern's "Gold and Iron" as good "starting point" books to be have read. Mr. Albertini has his opinions - in general he is very sympathetic to Sir Edward Grey and British foreign policy , he gives a lot of "ink" to Italian foreign policy and the Mediterranean which are often peripheral and relatively minor in the big picture. He is very unsympathetic to Imperial Germany and her diplomatic maneuvering after the fall of Bismark and {sometimes unfairly} always suspects that Germany is particularly devious and duplicitous compared to the other powers. Austria -Hungary, its policies and problems is chronicled in exhaustive detail with proper weight of the key role and position she had in the Balkans " vis a vie " Slav nationalism and Russia. Professor Albertini writes and documents the pre 1914 European old world diplomacy, power politics, what the power elites were thinking ,saying and doing and details their sensible and the paranoid reasoning "side by side" with the sum of their fears - this work is the bedrock foundation for anybody interested in the root causes of World War 1. Albertini s verdict is that Imperial Germany was primarily responsible for the war or to phrase it differently - the most guilty party. This view was basically dismissed by historians in the 1960s, 70s and 80s - the prevailing opinion then was " group collective guilt - all parties were responsible " but the latest historical research is leaning back towards his view of Germany being the most culpable with which I am in total agreement. Still his research ensures that there is enough blame to "go all around". To the dedicated and knowledgeable reader of European history from 1815 to 1914, I highly recommend each volume and give them 5 stars singularly and collectively.