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The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with confidence of prosperity, progress, and hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict that killed millions, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe’s dominance of the world. It was a war that could have been avoided up to the last moment—so why did it happen?
Beginning in the early nineteenth century and ending with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, award-winning historian Margaret Macmillan uncovers the huge political and technological changes, national decisions, and just as impor*tant, the small moments of human muddle and weakness that led Europe from peace to disaster. This masterful exploration of how Europe chose its path towards war will change and enrich how we see this defining moment in history.
The Great War by Peter Hart
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World War I altered the landscape of the modern world in every conceivable arena. Millions died; empires collapsed; new ideologies and political movements arose; poison gas, warplanes, tanks, submarines, and other technologies appeared. "Total war" emerged as a grim, mature reality. In The Great War, Peter Hart provides a masterful combat history of this global conflict. Focusing on the decisive engagements, Hart explores the immense challenges faced by the commanders on all sides. Hesurveys the belligerent nations, analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and strategic imperatives. Russia, for example, was obsessed with securing an exit from the Black Sea, while France - having lost to Prussia in 1871, before Germany united - constructed a network of defensive alliances, even as it held a grudge over the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. Hart offers deft portraits of the commanders, the prewar plans, and the unexpected obstacles and setbacks that upended the initial operations. He concentrates on the Western and Eastern fronts, but also pays attention to important peripheral events, such as the war at sea, the fighting in Mesopotamia and Palestine, and the Italian front. In the Great War, for the first time, warfare ceased to consist of armies hunting for each other across the landscape and meeting in brief, decisive battles; now continuous lines stretched from the Channel to the Alps, from the Alps to the Adriatic. Hart also examines the changing weapons and tactics, from pioneering British tanks to Germany's devastating infiltration techniques. In the final analysis, Hart argues that France provided the bulwark of the forces and determination that defeated the Central Powers, but Britain tipped the balance, with the crucial help of American intervention. Coming just in time for the centennial of 1914, The Great War provides the definitive one-volume account of the twentieth century's defining event.
The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich by William Shirer
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The fiftieth anniversary edition of the National Book Award–winning bestseller that is the definitive study of Adolf Hitler, the rise of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and World War II. This special edition now features a new introduction by Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and How the End Begins.
