If you are going to read only two books about this War,this is the second one,the first one being Prof Hew Strachan's "The First World War",which in my opinion provides unparalleled analysis and insights but only the first volume of a three volumes work has been published so far.
The present book has one great advantage over all other relevant books,it goes beyond the Armistice all the way to the Second World War,giving thus to the reader the most complete view of the History of the Period,because the author considers,correctly in my opinion,that the First and the Second WW are fully connected and that the Second is a direct result of the First.
The book is impressive in its breadth and depth and also it is a major achievement of easy reading without any loss in historic analysis or accuracy
The author starts with a short but profound analysis of the reasons for which the Peace was destroyed and is consistent with the best scholarship up to now.Prof Stevenson underlines that the Peace was fragile in the period before 1914 and was continuously growing more so until its destruction. He refutes the Taylorean view that the War was an accident bound to happen, countering it with the view that all sides were willing to risk war rather than back down. Indirectly he considers the War as a result of the German Weltpolitik failure and the unstable equilibrium of forces giving the illusion to both sides that the War was winnable . Although he places Germany and A-H in the forefront of the responsibility for the War,he does not exculpate the other Great Powers.
He then proceeds to explain the failure of the war of movement in a crisp ,concise and well supported way in a hundred pages that cover the conflict until Winter 1914. He surprisingly treats the 1914 BEF much more leniently than it deserves and he is at discord on this with eminent British Historians as Sir Max Hastings and Peter Hart.
Covering the period between 1915 and Spring 1917,which Prof Stevenson calls "a Drama without a Script" and"a period of frustration and failure" he demonstrates convincingly why,analyzing thematically the military ,political,diplomatic,economic,technical and social factors that broadened and sustained the War.
The third part of the book covers the period Spring 1917 Autumn 1918 with the great events of the Russian Revolution,the American Intervention and the last great effort of Germany before the collapse and the Armistice.It is a strong part of the book.
The fourth part is very interesting because it covers Peacemaking ,Rebuilding 1920-1929 and finally Demolition 1929-1945 . This part which is seamlessly connected withe the previous leaves the reader with a complete understanding of the Human Folly and provides a full view of the turbulent first half of the 20th Century.
The conclusion of the book is that all military undertakings risk to result in "a bad war and a bad peace" of which the First WW remains an archetype for both.
This is "a distant but useful warning"
I have nothing to add or to subtract from this statement
DVK
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Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
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Vicente JiménezReviewed in Spain on December 16, 2018
Libro histórico muy trabajado.
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GemeindeschreiberReviewed in Germany on January 3, 2018
Erstinformation über Verlauf des 1. Weltkrieges - alle wichtigen Kriegsgegner
- Richard BlevinsReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2012
Truely excellent book spoilt by a penny pinching publisher
