How the First World War Began: The Triple Entente and the Coming of the Great War, 1914-18: Amazon.co.uk: Edward E. McCullough: Books

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Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Black Rose Books; First Edition edition (26 Jan 1991)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1551641402
ISBN-13: 978-1551641409
Product Dimensions: 15.1 x 1.8 x 23 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,433,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A different view, but how refreshing 15 Dec 2009

By H. A. Wierenga

Format:Paperback

I read McCullough's book after D. Fromkin's implicit indictment of German allegedly aggressive policy, which, in the hands of people like Moltke, Jagov and Bethmann-Hollweg, supposedly had to lead tot WWI. Fromkin's book is one in a thousand of books which puts the total blame for the war on the Central Powers, thereby affirming the historical stereotypes that have been offered to us for so long. This book is a different piece of cake: it shows how the Entente powers were willingly isolating Germany and preparing for an all-out war against this relative new-comer on the European stage. To take one striking example of the Entente self-assurances of surpremacy in a coming European conflict: Admiral Fisher, during the "naval arms race" between Britain and Germany, never was in doubt about Britain always outnumbering the German Fleet, but could make good use of any publicity portraying the German as the bad guys by stressing THEIR enhancing their fleet. And so on. A very good and gripping read, and one to outbalance many of the other biased books on this subject.

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last a view from the German Side Written in English 25 April 2003

By Mr. Vl Hughes

Format:Hardcover

I will open by stating that this book will smash, if not change most reader's views of why the Great War began and just who was responsible.

As an Englishman, I have always been at odds with the idea that Imperial Germany of the late 19th century was a sabre rattling threat to the world when given the facts that her Empire was but a 10th in size to Britain, her navy a sight smaller despite her having the 2nd largest maritime trading fleet and the fact that Britain and France had.... since 1903 practised and planned military operations for an Anglo-French entente.

Mr McCullogh lays bare many truths and myths as to the origins of this mighty struggle and will no doubt make many readers raise an eyebrow at his assertions. However, that eyebrow will drop again when given the facts and sources of his assertions and leave the reader wanting more and scrambling to the bibliography.

Here, the reader will see how France and Britain's interests (economic) were threatened by the modernist industry of Germany and it's forward thinking as to the treatment of workers, pensions and conditions etc led Germany to a huge surge in economic power.

Read how the Entente ensured that Germany would be vastly outnumbered in any military struggle by the threading of useful alliances and deemed Germany unworthy to take part in the race for overseas possessions highlighted by the Morroccan crisis. Here we see how it was OK for France to send 10,000 plus troops for protection of her interests in North Africa, but over-bearing of Germany to send a cruiser to sail off shore for the same reason. It rather reminded me of Blackadder Goes Forth when he comments that the Germans were allowed no more than a tinned sausage factory in Tanganika....

Another point of note was the fact that if Germany was a sabre rattling , bloodthirsty warmonger, then how strange it was that she had taken no part in War since 1870, yet Britain, France and Russia had fought many (I think Britain was 20 plus !!).

Without giving away too much of the book content i heartily recommend this book to any person that studies the war and it's build up. But be prepared. If you are making ready an essay for an exam, this book may blow away all your prepared material !! Read more ›

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Amazon.com: 4.8 out of 5 stars 4 reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a refreshing appraisal of europe at the turn of the century 21 Oct 2001

By Matt Davis - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback

McCullough was able to pull off an exceptional work of revisionist history because he avoids demonizing the Triple Entente or praising the Central Powers. Rather, he attempts to show that at the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 the primary aim of the German Empire was to maintain a favorable balance-of-power in Europe, not a program of aggressive expansion. On the other hand, France had spent the years since the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 attempting to isolate Germany and form an alliance system that would shift the European balance-of-power back in its favor. It did this by first securing agreements with Russia, and finally Britain, which cemented the Entente. In the meantime, Russia was aiming to expand into the Balkans at the expense of Austria, an already rapidly decaying empire, via its partnership with Serbia. While there are many fine details I could elaborate on, its' best simply to note that the author does a first-rate job at putting it all together and letting it unravel in a very readable, comprehensible fashion. He does an excellent job at explaining how the Bismarkian system is essential to understanding pre-war German foreign policy, and even makes a limited attempt at providing a new perspective on Kaiser Wilhelm's dramatic policy changes, showing that much of it was not completely irrational or unjustified. I do think he goes a bit far when he implies that the Anglo-German naval race was simply another pretext for British naval expansion, since the same "scares" had been evoked before with France and Russia. The Germans may not have been attempting to overturn British naval superiority, but it was certainly not unreasonable for the most enlightened of British statesmen to show real concern and respond by steadily increasing production. Nevertheless, a must read for any history buff yearning for a fresh yet still credible account of the events leading to that great human catastrophe.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable reassessment 20 Nov 2000

By M. Shackelford - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback

McCullough sets forth the premise of his book by stating that it is a comfortable myth to imagine that wars are only started by evil nations "over there", while "we" as peaceful, orderly folk, could not help but respond. This is the traditional flavor of a majority of histories written about the origins of WWI. Germany, held solely responsible for the war in Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, is traditionally held up as the evil empire which plunged an otherwise peaceful world into the horror of modern industrial war. But is that really how things happened? McCullough thinks not. McCullough guides readers through the same pre-war events and issues that other authors have trod, but sheds light on aspects long ignored by mainstream historians. He steers us through the Naval Arms Race issue, for example, revealing how Germany never actually held any threatening naval advantage for Britian to need to respond to -- even to the point of calls for new British warships to be built to counter ships Germany did not have. He also highlighs the role of the Entente in escallating the two Morocco affairs into international crises -- nearly to the brink of war. He minces few words, and does not hide the Entente powers' share of responsibility behind the usual euphemisms. Nor does he excuse the Germans or absolve them of their share of the blame. Instead, his book gives another view of the origins events which does not sugar-coat the Entente's pre-war actions. MuCullough's book is a small (but valuable) counterweight to the bulk of Entente whitewash histories that have filled bookstore shelves for over 80 years -- definitely a valuable addition to the library of any student of the origins of WWI.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Germans? What Germans? 10 Oct 2000

By nick mace - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover

Edward McCullough weaves a saucy blend of metaphors and accusations into his 'UK-dunnit' account of the origins of the First World War. McCullough opens by telling readers that he is going to clear up a variety misconceptions propagated by authors whose works came before his own. He points not only to the inaccuracies of other historians but also to bold-faced lies told by Germanophobic British leaders of the day. McCullough also accuses the English of faking the need for an arms race with continental powers. Readers need to keep in mind that Professor McCullough's account of the origins of the Great War must be taken as a complement to other works. In order to develop a thorough feel for why the war happened, it must simply be part of a larger repertoire.

How the First World War Began: The Triple Entente and the Coming of the Great War, 1914-18 [Paperback]

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