The Coming of the First World War / Edition 1

by R. J. W. Evans, Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann

Overview

The debate about the conflict which transformed Europe between 1914 and 1918 is one of the most fundamental in modern European history. This book, based on public lectures given in Oxford, makes two distinctive contributions to that debate. It presents readable and judicious accounts of the events and decisions which directly precipitated the outbreak of war in each of the main countries and assesses the role of public opinion and popular mood in determining and responding to the "July Crisis." The book offers a stimulating survey of the historiography of the immediate causes of the war, before and since the famous "Fischer controversy" over German responsibility, and new reflections on the character of the official and unofficial "mentalités" during the last weeks of peace. Published on the seventieth anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, this book will appeal to anyone interested in how wars begin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198228417
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/22/1990
Series:	Clarendon Paperbacks
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)

About the Author

Brasenose College, Oxford

University College, Oxford

Editorial Reviews

"A valuable collection....Provides an up-to-date historiographic survey or a critical analysis of the sources and literature for this extensively debated question."—CHOICE

"The essays complement each other admirably...[T]he authors also provide the results of recent research along with their own fresh insights and commentary"—History

"A collection of excellent essays by Oxford historians, incorporating the conclusions of the latest scholarship, it examines government and military thinking and the popular mood throughout Europe during the July-August 1914 crisis, and then the position in each of the major capitals in the order in which they decided upon war."—London Review of Books

"An excellent book."—Christine A. White, Penn State University

"The Editors succeed admirably in this collection of essays...provide[s] a welcome lucidity to the complex interrelationships which pulled the world into disaster."—Amazon.com

From the Publisher