-
Seasonal Offer:
This title is part of our Seasonal Offers promotion.
The First World War : A Very Short Introduction
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in The First World War: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the 'Great War', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It examines the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; the onset of attrition and crisis; the role of the US; the collapse of Russia; and the weakening and eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Looking at the historical controversies surrounding the causes and conduct of war, Michael Howard also describes how peace was ultimately made, and the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany.
About the Author
Sir Michael Howard CH is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at both Oxford and Yale Universities. His many books include The Causes of Wars, War in European Histor, The Lessons of Histor, The Invention of Peace, The Oxford History of the Twentieth Centur (edited with W. R. Louis), War and the Liberal Conscience, The Franco-Prussian War (Duff Cooper Memorial Prize) and
Grand Strateg, vol. iv in The UK Official History of the Second World War.
Grand Strateg, vol. iv in The UK Official History of the Second World War.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Since the Great War of 1914-18 was fought on all the oceans of the world and ultimately involved belligerents from every continent, it can justifiably be termed a 'world war'. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Since the Great War of 1914-18 was fought on all the oceans of the world and ultimately involved belligerents from every continent, it can justifiably be termed a 'world war'. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It takes someone who really understands their subject to be able to write sparingly and still make the reader think. We all know the essence of this, the most horrid of wars. Gas, shells, machine guns, senseless offensives - we all have a vile image of trenches. Unlike other writers, Howard does not set out to alter this image. This book is an introduction to the military history of the war. The Eastern Front, Gallipoli, the war at sea are all covered and a truly global image emerges of powers pouring their lifeblood into a conflict that showed little sign of abating. This is the essence of the war. Howard shows how German victories on both the Eastern Front at the start of the war, and the Western Front at the end of the war, could not achieve the Clausewitzian victory of the Franco-Prussian war. He shows how dogged Allied tactical problem solving, especially in artillery support, and mobilisation of resources, especially in America, enabled the victors to press on to final victory. This was total war, this was grinding, grueling, starving, industrial war, won by deep pockets and sheer determination. This is the introduction to Strachan's in depth study. This is the book that anyone interested in the Twentieth Century should read. This is distilled historical thought.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you know nothing of WW1 then this surely is the place to start. Howard's introduction is masterful. Given the fearful complexity of the origins, course and outcome of the War he manages to make his text remarkably accessible. I chewed over many new components. Given the sparseness of the book (30,000 words), it is also impressive that manages to make it truly moving (sacrifice, misery and disaster all round) while not getting bogged down either in the `war poet vision' or the historiographical controversies.
I strongly recommend it. I wonder if he could do the same with WW2? Or has he?
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is mesmerising. Brief, passionate, brilliant. The author describes all the main events, political changes and battles in a simple but effective manner.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Does exactly what it says on the tin
There's not much to say about this really. It's a well written book that gives a very brief insight into the Great War. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Londoner 333
Superb Introduction to the First World War
I was looking for an introduction to the first world war, why the war was fought in the first place, who was involved and a brief history of the main events. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Guy
Possibly a bit too short
If, like me, you have little understanding of the causes and development of the Great War, this is an excellent primer and an easy read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by James H
The First World War: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short...
I went on a trip to Ypres not really knowing much about the history of WW1. I do now thanks to this excellent book. "A very short introduction....... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mydogsbacklegs
5 stars
I cannot add or takeaway from the reviews here already other than to say this is a well written, informative introduction to WW1. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Christopher J. Whitehead
Excellent
A worthy addition to the AVSI series. It was never going to be easy to write such a concise book on such a vast subject but the author does a wonderful job in concisely covering... Read more
Published 13 months ago by discipleofhanuman
WW1onderful
I took my son to the Imperial War Museum between Xmas and New Year last year (thoroughly recommended) and was a bit disappointed at my lack of knowledge on WW1. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Rob Sawyer
A model of conciseness
I was looking for a "back of the cornflakes packet" overview of the First World War, having failed to get too much out of some longer books. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by J. Thomas
Good for the beginner
This is by Michael Howard the historian, not the Conservative politician. It is a good, concise, though rather bland, account of events leading up to and during the conflicts that... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by Eileen Shaw
A Masterpiece of Compression
An authoritative, concise, precise and well written narrative which enables the general reader to understand the reasons for and the main events of the conflict in a few hours of... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2009 by D. J. Mosley
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
