1914-1918: The History of the First World War

This was the first serious book on WWI that I read. It should be made clear, as I think another reviewer bemoans, that this is not a chronological military history, but rather a 'meta'-historical account that examines the war from various perspectives running orthogonal to the timeline. So we come to understand the social, economic, industrial and political dimensions of the war.

I give it five stars because it exploded so many of the pre-conceptions I had held about the war. In the 60s & 70s when I was doing my O-level history at school the wisdom imparted was that WWI was a misery inflicted upon the masses by an uncaring ruling class. I now understand that none of the belligerent populations (with the complex exception of Russia) would have tolerated capitulation by their governments. I learned how Lloyd George as minister of munitions transformed Britain's munitions industry (that was making more duds than effectives) from a haphazard and rather ineffectual club of gentleman industrialists into a unified system of mass production that put Britain back into the fight. We learn about decisive technological and strategic failures and the decisive strategic and technological successes.

One of the most interesting chapters is the final one that deals with the history of Germany's war guilt. Once more the wisdom taught in my schooldays was that Germany was the unequivocal villain in the whole tragedy. But we find in this chapter that there was a long and complex story that lead up to Germany accepting this mantle that was actually encouraged by its more straightforward culpability for WWII. And that the story might yet take another twist as modern Germany starts to examine the origins afresh.

One thing I must say is that I now have read several detailed accounts of the beginnings of the war and how it escalated from the assasination of Archduke Ferdinand, and there are as many interpretations of what happened and where the blame lies, as there are accounts. Counterfactual aguments abound - if Russia had not mobilised so early against Austro-Hungary, and so on, and most controversially perhaps, would it truly have just been a replay of the Franco-Prussion war and over by Christmas if Lord Grey had not committed Britain to the fray. So, caveat emptor, take no single account of the origins of the war as definitive. I think it was Hugh Trevor-Roper that said that the final cause of WWI was that an intricate system of checks and balances that had given general peace in Europe for a hundred years, just suddenly went off the rails, as it was sooner or later bound to do. In the end it was everybody's fault and nobody's.

If you want to learn about the First World War, read this book. (0/0 people found this helpful)

It's hard work reading this book. It's over 600 closely-typed pages long and it can be daunting to turn a page and be met with such dense text and hardly a break. However, I found myself engrossed nearly all the time.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this books deals witht the war mainly at a strategic and political level. It's not always easy to follow and I could have easily gone back and re-read bits a few times, but I decided not to do that. Having finished the book, I may have trouble recalling parts in detail for example, what Ludendorff and Hindenburg's titles were, and I'd have to look them up in the index and re-read, but I also feel that I've learnt a significant amount about this war. I feel well-placed now to either read other books, re-read this book, view DVDs or read about the Second World War.

The First World War was a collosal event and I'm sure reading one book doesn't do it justice but there is no doubt in my mind that my understanding has taken a leap forward!

Excelent (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is an excellent read - both in its coverage and the writing itself. It is very readable and also covers aspects of the war that ordinarily are only covered in 'great tomes', such as morale on the battlefields, the press war and the effects on the home fronts.

Very Enjoyable (0/0 people found this helpful)

1914-1918: The History of the First World War is a very readable and very interesting book. It provides interesting analysis and conclusions and does not stick to the usual arguments you hear about the First World War. It also benefits from dealing with all the areas of conflict (at least partially) and all the main protagonists, however, its primary focus is still the Western Front. Unlike The Pity of War by Niall Ferguson it has a much better structure which makes it much more accessible and Stevenson does argue his case much better. All in all a very good book which deals with both the causes, the events and the aftermath of the First World War and does not stick to the usual arguments but instead offers interesting insights and new evaluations.

All you need to know about the Great War (1/1 people found this helpful)

Excellent. Covers the lead in to the war, what happened during it and it's aftermath, including it's impact on subsequent history and the lead in to the second world war in particular.
Written at the strategic level rather than at the operations level it covers the grand themes and is basically in the following parts
1) The Approach to War
2) The War of Movemement
3) The Stalemate Period
4) The Breakding of the Deadlock
5) Peace and it's Consequences
Well worth the read. It told me lots I didn't already know and seemed very balanced.

1914-1918: The History of the First World War

David Stevenson

Reader Reviews:

A very good place to start in comprehending the incomprehensible (4/4 people found this helpful)

If you want to learn about the First World War, read this book. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Excelent (0/0 people found this helpful)

Very Enjoyable (0/0 people found this helpful)

All you need to know about the Great War (1/1 people found this helpful)

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