The War that Ended Peace: How Europe Abandoned Peace for the First World War The Making of the First World War 1914, Fight the Good Fight: Britain, the Army and the Coming of the First World War

摘要

In this commemorative year, the origins of the First World War, the failure of diplomacy to avert the immediate crisis of July and August 1914, and the ensuing years of protracted, fiercely destructive conflict have given historians a rich vein of productive research and scholarly abundance. The three volumes under review have exploited an impressive range of primary and secondary sources and each - in their separate ways - have greatly enhanced our understanding of a complex series of events, ultimately impossible to manage short of war. The unexpected consequences that followed profoundly altered the structure and process of international relations. Certainly, their impact has been long-term: witness current attempts to grapple with seemingly intractable issues in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, together with the uncertainty attending the rise of China and its emergence as a superpower.