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Modern Wars in Perspective
The Great War, 1914-1918
The Great War scarred both the people and the popular imagination of Europe. No previous war matched it in scale, brutality and futility.
The course of events has been told many times, spurred by an endless desire to understand 'the war to end all wars'. However this impressive book moves beyond military narrative to offer a much fuller analysis of the conflict's strategic, political, social and cultural.
Starting with the context and origins of the war, including assassination, misunderstanding and differing national war-aims, it then covers the treacherous course of the conflict and its social
#Mobilisation had a massive impact both on soldiers and female civilians, producing radical changes to people's way of life which stimulated political change
#Science and technology created a new brand of industrialised warfare and were accelerated by the imperative of victory
# The insecurity and strain of war created dissidence and mutiny, engendering revolution in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
The war left a long-term legacy for victors and vanquished alike. It created new frontiers and changed the balance of power, influenced the arts, national memory and political thought.
The reach of this account is global, showing how a conflict amongst European powers came to involve their colonial empires, and embrace Japan, China, the Ottoman Empire, Latin America and the United States. This is a bold and original book, offering a thematic study of a war that was famously, and quite rightly, labelled as 'the seminal event of the twentieth century'.
The course of events has been told many times, spurred by an endless desire to understand 'the war to end all wars'. However this impressive book moves beyond military narrative to offer a much fuller analysis of the conflict's strategic, political, social and cultural.
Starting with the context and origins of the war, including assassination, misunderstanding and differing national war-aims, it then covers the treacherous course of the conflict and its social
#Mobilisation had a massive impact both on soldiers and female civilians, producing radical changes to people's way of life which stimulated political change
#Science and technology created a new brand of industrialised warfare and were accelerated by the imperative of victory
# The insecurity and strain of war created dissidence and mutiny, engendering revolution in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
The war left a long-term legacy for victors and vanquished alike. It created new frontiers and changed the balance of power, influenced the arts, national memory and political thought.
The reach of this account is global, showing how a conflict amongst European powers came to involve their colonial empires, and embrace Japan, China, the Ottoman Empire, Latin America and the United States. This is a bold and original book, offering a thematic study of a war that was famously, and quite rightly, labelled as 'the seminal event of the twentieth century'.
508 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Ian F.W. Beckett
61 books9 followersDr. Ian F.W. Beckett is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and retired Professor of Military History at the University of Kent, Canterbury.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 11, 2022
A great comprehensive look at World War One. I had to read this for a college-level World War One class, but I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for an overview of the entire war including what was happening on the various homefronts during the war.
December 20, 2011
As text books go, it's not that bad.
September 8, 2016
Dry thematic textbook.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews