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Reviews“A towering achievement. . . . Hew Strachan has set out to put the ‘world’ back into the First World War.â€� (Niall Ferguson, The New York Review of Books ) “One of the most impressive books of modern history in a generation.â€� (Max Hastings, The Evening Standard ) “A wonderfully readable and comprehensive new account of the war that was supposed to end all wars and a book that is all the more impressive for the precise and thoughtful way in which it navigates past some notorious historiographical hazards.â€� (Robert McCrum, The Observer ), A towering achievement. . . . Hew Strachan has set out to put the ‘world’ back into the First World War.” (Niall Ferguson, The New York Review of Books) One of the most impressive books of modern history in a generation.” (Max Hastings, The Evening Standard) A wonderfully readable and comprehensive new account of the war that was supposed to end all wars and a book that is all the more impressive for the precise and thoughtful way in which it navigates past some notorious historiographical hazards.” (Robert McCrum, The Observer)
Table Of ContentContents Maps ix–xiv Introduction xv 1 To Arms 1 2 Under the Eagle 33 3 Global War 65 4 Jihad 97 5 Shackled to a Corpse 129 6 Breaking the Deadlock 161 7 Blockade 199 8 Revolution 231 9 Germany’s Last Gamble 267 10 War Without End 301 acknowledgEments 341 Notes 345 Index 355
SynopsisNinety years have passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the war to end all wars” is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world, especially in hot spots like the Middle East and the Balkans.Strachan has done a masterful job of reexamining the causes, the major campaigns, and the consequences of the First World War, compressing a lifetime of knowledge into a single definitive volume tailored for the general reader. Written in crisp, compelling prose and enlivened with extraordinarily vivid photographs and detailed maps, The First World Warre-creates this world-altering conflict both on and off the battlefield—the clash of ideologies between the colonial powers at the center of the war, the social and economic unrest that swept Europe both before and after, the military strategies employed with stunning success and tragic failure in the various theaters of war, the terms of peace and why it didn’t last.Drawing on material culled from many countries, Strachan offers a fresh, clear-sighted perspective on how the war not only redrew the map of the world but also set in motion the most dangerous conflicts of today. Deeply learned and powerfully written, The First World Warwill stand as a landmark of contemporary history., Ninety years have passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the ?war to end all wars? is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world, especially in hot spots like the Middle East and the Balkans. Strachan has done a masterful job of reexamining the causes, the major campaigns, and the consequences of the First World War, compressing a lifetime of knowledge into a single definitive volume tailored for the general reader. Written in crisp, compelling prose and enlivened with extraordinarily vivid photographs and detailed maps, The First World Warre-creates this world-altering conflict both on and off the battlefield'the clash of ideologies between the colonial powers at the center of the war, the social and economic unrest that swept Europe both before and after, the military strategies employed with stunning success and tragic failure in the various theaters of war, the terms of peace and why it didn't last. Drawing on material culled from many countries, Strachan offers a fresh, clear-sighted perspective on how the war not only redrew the map of the world but also set in motion the most dangerous conflicts of today. Deeply learned and powerfully written, The First World Warwill stand as a landmark of contemporary history.