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1917:WAR, PEACE, & REVOLUTION
1917 was a year of calamitous events, and one of pivotal importance in the development of the First World War. In 1917: War, Peace, and Revolution , leading historian of World War One, David Stevenson, examines this crucial year in context and illuminates the century that followed. He shows how in this one year the war was transformed, but also what drove the conflict onwards and how it continued to escalate.
Two developments in particular--the Russian Revolution and American intervention--had worldwide repercussions. Offering a close examination of the key decisions, Stevenson considers Germany's campaign of 'unrestricted' submarine warfare, America's declaration of war in response, and Britain's frustration of German strategy by adopting the convoy system, as well as why (paradoxically) the military and political stalemate in Europe persisted.
Focusing on the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, on the disastrous spring offensive that plunged the French army into mutiny, on the summer attacks that undermined the moderate Provisional Government in Russia and exposed Italy to national humiliation at Caporetto, and on the British decision for the ill-fated Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), 1917 offers a truly international understanding of events. The failed attempts to end the war by negotiation further clarify the underlying forces that kept it going.
David Stevenson also analyses the global consequences of the year's developments, showing how countries such as Brazil and China joined the belligerents, Britain offered 'responsible government' to India, and the Allies promised a Jewish national home in Palestine. Blending political and military history, and moving from capital to capital and between the cabinet chamber and the battle front, the book highlights the often tumultuous debates through which leaders entered and escalated the war, and the paradox that continued fighting could be justified as the shortest road towards regaining peace.
Two developments in particular--the Russian Revolution and American intervention--had worldwide repercussions. Offering a close examination of the key decisions, Stevenson considers Germany's campaign of 'unrestricted' submarine warfare, America's declaration of war in response, and Britain's frustration of German strategy by adopting the convoy system, as well as why (paradoxically) the military and political stalemate in Europe persisted.
Focusing on the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, on the disastrous spring offensive that plunged the French army into mutiny, on the summer attacks that undermined the moderate Provisional Government in Russia and exposed Italy to national humiliation at Caporetto, and on the British decision for the ill-fated Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), 1917 offers a truly international understanding of events. The failed attempts to end the war by negotiation further clarify the underlying forces that kept it going.
David Stevenson also analyses the global consequences of the year's developments, showing how countries such as Brazil and China joined the belligerents, Britain offered 'responsible government' to India, and the Allies promised a Jewish national home in Palestine. Blending political and military history, and moving from capital to capital and between the cabinet chamber and the battle front, the book highlights the often tumultuous debates through which leaders entered and escalated the war, and the paradox that continued fighting could be justified as the shortest road towards regaining peace.
520 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2018
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October 6, 2017
Over the years, I have gone through periods of fascination (obsession?) with WW I, reading fiction and nonfiction. It’s always been something I never could quite get my hands around in terms of understanding – we learned in school about Archduke Franz Ferdinand, trench warfare, etc. but that was just skimming the surface. With the recent disaster surrounding U.S. involvement in the Middle East making me struggle to learn more about the history and reasons for the seemingly random carving up of the Middle East, I welcomed the opportunity to receive a copy of David Stevenson’s 1917 from Oxford University Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Stevenson, a renowned WW I scholar and historian at the London School of Economics and Political Science, has several previous books including Armaments and the Coming of War: Europe, 1904-1914 (1996), 1914-1918: The History of the First World War (2004), and With Our Backs to the Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918 (2011). Clearly he is up to the task of presenting his readers with the facts about the events of this pivotal year.
But this is more than just facts. The full title of the book is 1917: War, Peace, and Revolution, and while it focuses on how events in one year can transform history, it also examines what made the war escalate in subsequent years. Stevenson focuses on two areas in particular: the Russian Revolution and American intervention. He looks at key decisions that were made along the way, including the German campaign of “unrestricted” submarine warfare, he official declaration of war by the U.S. in response, the abdication of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, and Britain’s actions in the ill-fated Third Battle of Ypres.
In addition to his close look at 1917, Stevenson points out the consequences involving other countries (including, India, Brazil, China the promise of a Jewish national home in Palestine). Both military history and political history are included and, as noted above, Russia and the U.S get the prime focus.
TBH, this book is awesome but may have been even more than I needed to know about 1917! For anyone with a particular interest in this time period, or wanting to delve into the root causes and trace the horrible branches of turmoil that continue to this day in the Middle East, this book will be treasured. Superb history! Five stars.
Stevenson, a renowned WW I scholar and historian at the London School of Economics and Political Science, has several previous books including Armaments and the Coming of War: Europe, 1904-1914 (1996), 1914-1918: The History of the First World War (2004), and With Our Backs to the Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918 (2011). Clearly he is up to the task of presenting his readers with the facts about the events of this pivotal year.
But this is more than just facts. The full title of the book is 1917: War, Peace, and Revolution, and while it focuses on how events in one year can transform history, it also examines what made the war escalate in subsequent years. Stevenson focuses on two areas in particular: the Russian Revolution and American intervention. He looks at key decisions that were made along the way, including the German campaign of “unrestricted” submarine warfare, he official declaration of war by the U.S. in response, the abdication of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, and Britain’s actions in the ill-fated Third Battle of Ypres.
In addition to his close look at 1917, Stevenson points out the consequences involving other countries (including, India, Brazil, China the promise of a Jewish national home in Palestine). Both military history and political history are included and, as noted above, Russia and the U.S get the prime focus.
TBH, this book is awesome but may have been even more than I needed to know about 1917! For anyone with a particular interest in this time period, or wanting to delve into the root causes and trace the horrible branches of turmoil that continue to this day in the Middle East, this book will be treasured. Superb history! Five stars.
May 19, 2023
A dense but thorough, well-organized and well-researched history of this year of the war.
Stevenson covers such well-known and consequential events such as the Russian revolution and that country’s exit from the war, the course of Germany’s submarine campaign, the failure of the Entente’s major offensives on the western and eastern fronts, the mutinies in the French army, America’s entry into the war, governments’ fear of revolution, and the effects of the Balfour Declaration, among others. He also covers how the decisions made by policymakers led to the war grinding on and on, and how other possible courses were disregarded. They were “old men consigning young men to oblivion,” he writes, and often seemed pretty indifferent to this burden.
The narrative can get a bit dry or slow at times,and Stevenson’s descriptions can be dense and wordy. The cast of people can be hard to keep track of sometimes. Stevenson does cover the rejection of America’s and the Vatican’s peace plans, but some more coverage over the British and German governments’ internal deliberations about peace would have helped. The coverage of India has little on the Indians’ own perspectives. Some more maps would also have helped. Stevenson also mentions the alleged conversation between Woodrow Wilson and Frank Cobb on April 2, but doesn’t mention any of the problems with this story.
An engaging, judicious and well-written work.
Stevenson covers such well-known and consequential events such as the Russian revolution and that country’s exit from the war, the course of Germany’s submarine campaign, the failure of the Entente’s major offensives on the western and eastern fronts, the mutinies in the French army, America’s entry into the war, governments’ fear of revolution, and the effects of the Balfour Declaration, among others. He also covers how the decisions made by policymakers led to the war grinding on and on, and how other possible courses were disregarded. They were “old men consigning young men to oblivion,” he writes, and often seemed pretty indifferent to this burden.
The narrative can get a bit dry or slow at times,and Stevenson’s descriptions can be dense and wordy. The cast of people can be hard to keep track of sometimes. Stevenson does cover the rejection of America’s and the Vatican’s peace plans, but some more coverage over the British and German governments’ internal deliberations about peace would have helped. The coverage of India has little on the Indians’ own perspectives. Some more maps would also have helped. Stevenson also mentions the alleged conversation between Woodrow Wilson and Frank Cobb on April 2, but doesn’t mention any of the problems with this story.
An engaging, judicious and well-written work.
July 23, 2017
As the year of the German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the Zimmerman Telegram and US entry into the First World War; Passchendaele or Third Ypres, Cambrai, and the mutinies in the French Army following the failed Nivelle offensive on the Western Front; the defeat of Italy at Caporetto; the February and October revolutions in Russia; and the Balfour Declaration, 1917 was clearly a pivotal year not only in the Great War but in global history, and in David Stevenson, who has already written or edited several books about the causes, course or consequences of the First World War it clearly has an author well qualified to do it justice.
His book, ‘1917. War, Peace, and Revolution’, is not intended to cover everything but instead resembles Arno Mayer’s ‘Political Origins of the New Diplomacy, 1917-18’, in centring on the way in which American intervention and revolution in Russia impacted upon the war, although it was not of course until 1918 that American troops started arriving in France in large numbers or until the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that Russia formally withdrew from the conflict (Ludendorff’s Spring 1918 offensive representing the last chance for Germany to effect a knock-out blow in the West before the odds turned irredeemably against her).
In particular Stevenson is concerned to detail the elite decision-making processes which resulted in the war grinding on, rather than pursuing seemingly less perilous and painful options. In this context Stevenson’s treatment of the former Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne is somewhat surprising.
Lansdowne appears in Stevenson’s List of Principal Personalities and indeed his book begins by quoting Lansdowne addressing the British Cabinet in November 1916 to the effect that those who needlessly prolong the war bear as heavy a responsibility as those who needlessly provoked it, but the Lansdowne letter of 29 November 1917 gets a single sentence and there is no mention at all of the formation of the Lansdowne Committee to support his proposal of a negotiated peace, let alone the formation in Germany of an active group of independent moderates, led by Dr. Kurt Hahn (the future founder of Gordonstoun) to persuade their government to respond positively to Lansdowne’s initiative. It might be argued that this makes sense insofar as this peace offensive had no positive results but the same point could be made in the military context in relation to Passchendaele, yet Stevenson devotes an entire chapter to that particular mud-caked exercise in futility.
Historical events and themes rarely coincide neatly with the units by which we measure time and Stevenson’s ‘1917’ focuses on the months of January to November in that year, as well as more broadly engaging with the period December 1916 to March 1918. The book itself is engaging and informative, resting as it does upon an academic lifetime’s reflection as well as impressive and judicious use of archival and secondary literature, although the avowedly selective bibliography finds no space for the work of John Keegan or Niall Ferguson and makes no mention of the admittedly more obscure but highly germane six articles collectively entitled ‘Searching for peace, 1914-1918’ by David Woodward, Arthur S. Link, James Joll, Harold Kurtz, Hugh Seton-Watson, and Robert Blake respectively, which were originally broadcast on the Third Programme and then published in ‘The Listener’ between the 9th and the 14th of July 1966.
His book, ‘1917. War, Peace, and Revolution’, is not intended to cover everything but instead resembles Arno Mayer’s ‘Political Origins of the New Diplomacy, 1917-18’, in centring on the way in which American intervention and revolution in Russia impacted upon the war, although it was not of course until 1918 that American troops started arriving in France in large numbers or until the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that Russia formally withdrew from the conflict (Ludendorff’s Spring 1918 offensive representing the last chance for Germany to effect a knock-out blow in the West before the odds turned irredeemably against her).
In particular Stevenson is concerned to detail the elite decision-making processes which resulted in the war grinding on, rather than pursuing seemingly less perilous and painful options. In this context Stevenson’s treatment of the former Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne is somewhat surprising.
Lansdowne appears in Stevenson’s List of Principal Personalities and indeed his book begins by quoting Lansdowne addressing the British Cabinet in November 1916 to the effect that those who needlessly prolong the war bear as heavy a responsibility as those who needlessly provoked it, but the Lansdowne letter of 29 November 1917 gets a single sentence and there is no mention at all of the formation of the Lansdowne Committee to support his proposal of a negotiated peace, let alone the formation in Germany of an active group of independent moderates, led by Dr. Kurt Hahn (the future founder of Gordonstoun) to persuade their government to respond positively to Lansdowne’s initiative. It might be argued that this makes sense insofar as this peace offensive had no positive results but the same point could be made in the military context in relation to Passchendaele, yet Stevenson devotes an entire chapter to that particular mud-caked exercise in futility.
Historical events and themes rarely coincide neatly with the units by which we measure time and Stevenson’s ‘1917’ focuses on the months of January to November in that year, as well as more broadly engaging with the period December 1916 to March 1918. The book itself is engaging and informative, resting as it does upon an academic lifetime’s reflection as well as impressive and judicious use of archival and secondary literature, although the avowedly selective bibliography finds no space for the work of John Keegan or Niall Ferguson and makes no mention of the admittedly more obscure but highly germane six articles collectively entitled ‘Searching for peace, 1914-1918’ by David Woodward, Arthur S. Link, James Joll, Harold Kurtz, Hugh Seton-Watson, and Robert Blake respectively, which were originally broadcast on the Third Programme and then published in ‘The Listener’ between the 9th and the 14th of July 1966.
March 19, 2018
I did not finish this book, but I hope to do so when I get it back from the library. What I did read was very detailed and very thoroughly researched.
January 11, 2018
I received a free Kindle copy of 1917: War, Peace & Revolution by David Stevenson courtesy of Net Galley and Oxford University Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.
I requested this book as I have read a number of books on World War I, but not one that focused on the critical year of 1917 by itself. This is the first book by David Stevenson that I have read.
This book, while immensely detailed, is well researched and written. It holds your interest while dealing into the decisions or nondecisions that prolonged World War I when there was some possibility of ending it sooner. It focuses on the time period of January through November of 1917 and deals with subjects as Germany's decision to escalate submarien warfare and the United States decision to finally give up its neutral status and join the war on the side of the Allies.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in World War I and in particular the events of 1917 that ended up prolonging the war.
I requested this book as I have read a number of books on World War I, but not one that focused on the critical year of 1917 by itself. This is the first book by David Stevenson that I have read.
This book, while immensely detailed, is well researched and written. It holds your interest while dealing into the decisions or nondecisions that prolonged World War I when there was some possibility of ending it sooner. It focuses on the time period of January through November of 1917 and deals with subjects as Germany's decision to escalate submarien warfare and the United States decision to finally give up its neutral status and join the war on the side of the Allies.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in World War I and in particular the events of 1917 that ended up prolonging the war.
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January 12, 2018My review of this books is at: https://lawfareblog.com/pivotal-year
May 5, 2018
Years ago, I watched the class of one of HPA's budding master teachers, Bill Davis. One section of his English class had been devoted to WWI, the trench poets and a very fine book, Regeneration, by Pat Barker, along with a bewildering amount of research on WWI by his students. I went on to read the other two books in the trilogy and continue to study the Great War, the War to End All Wars. This book is a meticulous study of the birth of the Twentieth Century as it was untimely ripped from the birth canal of the Edwardian era. After the trench warfare of 1914,15, and 16, the Tsar was deposed, the German people had starved and were about to respond to the revolutionary call that Lenin and Trotsky had made to the world, and England and France were no longer the world powers they had been before they had gone to war over a scrap of paper. What is more important, the youth of Europe would no longer believe in the kings and leaders that had always led them. By the end of 1917 and all of the mistakes, understandable and mystical, the US was the world power, France and England were avowedly pacifist, and Germany was watering the garden of monsters with its bloody hunger for revenge. This book is a bit to read, but it is worth the time and energy. Sassoon said it best.
THE GENERAL (April 1917)
‘Good-morning, good-morning!’ *
the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are **most of ‘em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
‘He’s a cheery old card,’
grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to ***Arras with rifle and pack.
****But he did for them both by his plan of attack
THE GENERAL (April 1917)
‘Good-morning, good-morning!’ *
the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are **most of ‘em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
‘He’s a cheery old card,’
grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to ***Arras with rifle and pack.
****But he did for them both by his plan of attack
April 15, 2019
I am all about military history, ever since I got a book on WWI and WWII planes from Hill Air Force base when I was 7-years-old. I was scrolling through my Goodreads to-reads, and this one seemed like a great mix-up from my latest in philosophy and politics. My wife wanted me to read Guns of August first, and that one is definitely on the list. My selection process just happens to be a little more, well, random.
I am increasingly aware of how much society has changed in the past 100 years. Without actually studying history, you get the false impression that "modern" society has always been like this. We suffer terribly from Kahneman's availability heuristic in a historical sense. The world was a different place in 1917. Even a map doesn't look the same. Austro-Hungarian Empire?! Wha???
This book does a great service by helping all those who learned their WWI/II history from their US history courses. My knowledge of both wars can be summarized as, "The Allies were losing until 'MERICUH." Additionally, a lot of players in the war (India, Brazil, Greece, Italy, the Ottoman Empire) don't even seem to show up when in reality they were more than just a side-show. In 1917, America hadn't even entered the war yet. And WWI really was a world war-- it had impacts world-wide.
This book orients the reader from various perspectives from chapter to chapter. In one chapter, you're accompanying Kaiser Wilhelm and his generals in Schloss Bellevue as they try to decide whether to intensify submarine attacks on neutral shipping. In another moment you're following Tsar Nicholas on a train back to Petrograd as his foreign minister presses for him to abdicate. These multiple perspectives to the war really help frame for the reader that the end of the war was not a foregone conclusion, and that this wasn't entirely a noble fight of the noble Allies versus the evil proto-Nazis. That comes with 100 years of hindsight clogging up your lenses.
The book is difficult to get through-- definitely a good read to put you to sleep. But intermittent napping doesn't do you any good when trying to keep track of the enormous cast of characters. This isn't a game of Axis and Allies where you just have to remember the names United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. You have to keep track of the heads of states and heads of government of expanded alliances (United States, France, Britain, Russia, Italy-- plus Greece, India, Brazil and others on the Allies; German, Austro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire for the Central Powers). Rather than just surveying events in themselves, you spend hundreds of pages examining the discussions, debates, and power struggles that resulted in the events on the battle field. Really great stuff, but I really need to come up with a better system of mentally managing such large dramatis personae.
The book seems to focus on one large decision in 1917 for each of the major powers, with the underlying thesis that 1917 was really the turning point of the war. For Britain, it was the decision to use convoys to chaperone merchant shipping. For Germany, it was whether or not to bomb neutral shipping. For the United States, it was Wilson's decision whether or not to enter the war. For Russia, it was actually multiple decisions because you go through two regime changes (Tsarist Russia, a short-lived democracy, and the Bolsheviks).
Really great stuff here. I love being able to see the war from different perspectives.
I am increasingly aware of how much society has changed in the past 100 years. Without actually studying history, you get the false impression that "modern" society has always been like this. We suffer terribly from Kahneman's availability heuristic in a historical sense. The world was a different place in 1917. Even a map doesn't look the same. Austro-Hungarian Empire?! Wha???
This book does a great service by helping all those who learned their WWI/II history from their US history courses. My knowledge of both wars can be summarized as, "The Allies were losing until 'MERICUH." Additionally, a lot of players in the war (India, Brazil, Greece, Italy, the Ottoman Empire) don't even seem to show up when in reality they were more than just a side-show. In 1917, America hadn't even entered the war yet. And WWI really was a world war-- it had impacts world-wide.
This book orients the reader from various perspectives from chapter to chapter. In one chapter, you're accompanying Kaiser Wilhelm and his generals in Schloss Bellevue as they try to decide whether to intensify submarine attacks on neutral shipping. In another moment you're following Tsar Nicholas on a train back to Petrograd as his foreign minister presses for him to abdicate. These multiple perspectives to the war really help frame for the reader that the end of the war was not a foregone conclusion, and that this wasn't entirely a noble fight of the noble Allies versus the evil proto-Nazis. That comes with 100 years of hindsight clogging up your lenses.
The book is difficult to get through-- definitely a good read to put you to sleep. But intermittent napping doesn't do you any good when trying to keep track of the enormous cast of characters. This isn't a game of Axis and Allies where you just have to remember the names United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. You have to keep track of the heads of states and heads of government of expanded alliances (United States, France, Britain, Russia, Italy-- plus Greece, India, Brazil and others on the Allies; German, Austro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire for the Central Powers). Rather than just surveying events in themselves, you spend hundreds of pages examining the discussions, debates, and power struggles that resulted in the events on the battle field. Really great stuff, but I really need to come up with a better system of mentally managing such large dramatis personae.
The book seems to focus on one large decision in 1917 for each of the major powers, with the underlying thesis that 1917 was really the turning point of the war. For Britain, it was the decision to use convoys to chaperone merchant shipping. For Germany, it was whether or not to bomb neutral shipping. For the United States, it was Wilson's decision whether or not to enter the war. For Russia, it was actually multiple decisions because you go through two regime changes (Tsarist Russia, a short-lived democracy, and the Bolsheviks).
Really great stuff here. I love being able to see the war from different perspectives.
October 8, 2020
1917: War, Peace, and Revolution by David Stevenson is the history of a single year of World War I. Stevenson studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge, before receiving a Ph.D. from the same university. He became a Lecturer at the London School of Economics in 1982. In 1998, he was appointed Professor of International History. Between 2004 and 2005, he also received a Leverhulme Research Fellowship “for research on supply and logistics in 1914-1918”
The war had been fought to a stalemate for the last two and a half years. Its toll was growing on the population of Europe. England was near bankruptcy and running low on food. It required a great deal of imported food as well as oil to fuel its fleet. Germany was going through its turnip winter. The Russian population was suffering more than ever — food shortages, loss of life on the front, and a vodka ban. France was mostly self-sufficient in foodstuff, but it was being bled white. Germany remained effectively blockaded. It, in turn, tried to blockade England with unrestricted submarine warfare.
1917 was a year of risks and taking chances hoping for a breakthrough that would finally turn the tide of the war. England had turned to the United States supported convoys. Germany stepped up its submarine warfare knowing that it would bring the United States into the war. Germany underestimated US strength and overestimated its advantages of Russia leaving the war and its own submarines. Germany’s main ally the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was falling apart quickly and proving to be ineffective. England’s large navy remained essentially out of the war and its army was still small. France was bearing the burden of being the main army for the allies although the British commonwealths were fighting bravely.
Peace advances from the Vatican and Wilson were rejected by each side neither wanting to back down. There was the hope and belief that each side was nearing its breaking point and it was just a matter of time and lives before victory would be claimed. Russia’s exit from the war created a race to bring the US into the war before the German’s could transfer resources. In a further overestimation, Russia left the war giving Germany favorable terms because Russia thought the rest of Europe would fall into revolution shortly and differences from the hasty peace would be corrected with a communist Germany and Europe.
What makes this book on World War I special is that Steveson does not only concentrate on the Western Front. Germany’s invasion of Italy and Japan’s attack on German colonies and ships are covered. England’s request to Japan was accepted and German assets in China were attacked and Japan began to set itself up as a colonizing power in China. India is discussed as well as the British plan for a Jewish Homeland. It was during this year that Latin American countries joined the allies, mostly in word over deeds. Greece, Siam, and China would also join the allies in 1917. The European war became a world war.
1917 is a well-written history that goes deeper into World War I than most histories since it concentrates on a single year, although a pivotal year. 1917 set the stage for the war’s end and the uneasy peace to follow. It examines the many misconceptions that the warring countries held to and the belief that a decisive victory could be won.
The war had been fought to a stalemate for the last two and a half years. Its toll was growing on the population of Europe. England was near bankruptcy and running low on food. It required a great deal of imported food as well as oil to fuel its fleet. Germany was going through its turnip winter. The Russian population was suffering more than ever — food shortages, loss of life on the front, and a vodka ban. France was mostly self-sufficient in foodstuff, but it was being bled white. Germany remained effectively blockaded. It, in turn, tried to blockade England with unrestricted submarine warfare.
1917 was a year of risks and taking chances hoping for a breakthrough that would finally turn the tide of the war. England had turned to the United States supported convoys. Germany stepped up its submarine warfare knowing that it would bring the United States into the war. Germany underestimated US strength and overestimated its advantages of Russia leaving the war and its own submarines. Germany’s main ally the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was falling apart quickly and proving to be ineffective. England’s large navy remained essentially out of the war and its army was still small. France was bearing the burden of being the main army for the allies although the British commonwealths were fighting bravely.
Peace advances from the Vatican and Wilson were rejected by each side neither wanting to back down. There was the hope and belief that each side was nearing its breaking point and it was just a matter of time and lives before victory would be claimed. Russia’s exit from the war created a race to bring the US into the war before the German’s could transfer resources. In a further overestimation, Russia left the war giving Germany favorable terms because Russia thought the rest of Europe would fall into revolution shortly and differences from the hasty peace would be corrected with a communist Germany and Europe.
What makes this book on World War I special is that Steveson does not only concentrate on the Western Front. Germany’s invasion of Italy and Japan’s attack on German colonies and ships are covered. England’s request to Japan was accepted and German assets in China were attacked and Japan began to set itself up as a colonizing power in China. India is discussed as well as the British plan for a Jewish Homeland. It was during this year that Latin American countries joined the allies, mostly in word over deeds. Greece, Siam, and China would also join the allies in 1917. The European war became a world war.
1917 is a well-written history that goes deeper into World War I than most histories since it concentrates on a single year, although a pivotal year. 1917 set the stage for the war’s end and the uneasy peace to follow. It examines the many misconceptions that the warring countries held to and the belief that a decisive victory could be won.
October 6, 2020
Stevenson's "With Our Backs to the Wall" had impressed me as much as any book on the Great War has, so I approached this volume with a great deal of anticipation. In the end though I'm not quite as impressed; possibly due to Stevenson taking on a harder problem. As opposed to examining how World War I ground to a halt when it did, the question here is why did the war grind on when it was clear that the damage being done to the respective societies did not merit any possible gains. Stevenson has several suggestions here. One, just as the pre-1914 treaty system drew all the major players into the conflict, the alliance system of 1917 was a structure that kept all participants inline, at least until collapse did come. Two, in 1917, the respective powers could imagine other options for themselves, with the big choice being Germany making the bet that unrestricted submarine warfare would lead to success before an American contribution would make a difference. Three, even in depths of the greatest war the world had yet seen, many of the participants could imagine yet another round of great power struggle, and wanted to put themselves in a position to win the future conflict; Berlin's version of a just outcome remains breathtaking in its lack of realism.
December 24, 2022
I received this hefty tome from my daughter this summer as a birthday gift. Not a book I would’ve chosen, but I had to read it. The Great War is one of many historical blind spots in my reading, so I was eager to dive in. This book however assumes a pretty thorough background knowledge of the war; it feels like a 400 page expansion of a much larger opus. I wouldn’t recommend it exactly, although coverage of the February and October Revolutions in Russia, Britain’s India problem, and Zionist movements were particularly interesting. This is a deep dive into the politics of strategic military decision making in consideration of greater geopolitical aims of the various belligerents, as everyone is weary of war, and looking to gain the upper hand in eventual peace dealings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2018
Detailed but dry, David Stevenson's 1917 is a thoroughly researched political history of the fourth and penultimate year of the First World War. I enjoyed the international scope of the book, but felt that it got overly bogged down in the behind-the-scenes planning and political infighting, leaving very little room for narrative about the war itself or description of the battles and conditions. Rather than being strictly chronological, 1917 moves chapter by chapter in describing specific plot lines such as unrestricted submarine warfare or the Russian revolution. I think that this isn't a bad approach, but it's nonetheless hard to keep track of the dozens (or hundreds) of politicians and soldiers involved. Overall, the tone of the writing was a bit too dry for me, and I had to struggle through sections. I did enjoy the chapter on the role of India within the war and the chapter about the Balfour Declaration and the beginnings of the Jewish Homeland.
Those who are deeply interested in the history of World War 1 will likely enjoy this book, but it is likely too academic for the casual reader. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.
Those who are deeply interested in the history of World War 1 will likely enjoy this book, but it is likely too academic for the casual reader. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.
June 7, 2018
This was a very informative book that showed in dramatic fashion how the events of the First World War, especially those of 1917, shaped the world we live in today. Stevenson marshals an impressive array of facts and also covers the war’s consequences in places as far away as Siam and China. My only objection to the book was in the writing; Stevenson seems overly fond of the expression “none the less” and his long sentences often required re-reading two or three times. Still, this book is well worth a read for those seeking an in-depth look at a crucial year.
December 4, 2019
Sadly, not as analytical as I hoped, and in its narration of events often supremely dry. (I guess it is not fair to hold every historian to Christopher Clark’s standards.) Still, some redeeming chapters on the decision for unrestricted u-boat warfare, the Italian rout at Caporetto, peace moves and their rejection, and responsible government for India.
August 22, 2019
This is a must read for anyone interested in World War I or how it shaped the twentieth century. I reviewed this book for the Michigan War Studies Review at http://www.miwsr.com/2019-074.aspx
January 18, 2022
Very detailed book that's poorly written.
September 18, 2023
More of an examination of politics, diplomacy and social upheaval than one of the military activities. Still, an interesting read.
August 17, 2024
A stunning record of the penultimate year of the great war.
January 22, 2018
Very good history is somewhat overshadowed by dense storytelling. My full review: https://medium.com/@jpark_21/1917-war...
January 20, 2018
One of the pivotal years of the 20th Century is given its due in this well written and informative book. Much in the style of other books that dealt with one year - 1865 and 1945 come to mind - David Stevenson examines the year that the US entered World War I and the Bolsheviks took over the Russian government and made peace with the Germans who were able to transfer hundreds of thousands of troops to the Western Front. It was a year that forever changed the great super powers to be, the US and Russia.
March 29, 2018
Has made a great addition to my collation of WW 1 very informative and would make a great present for anybody interested or studying this period of history?
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