THE PITY OF WAR. EXPLAINING WORLD WAR I.

Ferguson, Niall.

Published by Basic Books, New York, 1999, book club edition.

About this Item

563 pp, 9 1/2" H, hard cover in dust jacket. B&w photographs, tables, graphs. "More than four million Americans were mobilized in 1917-18, of whom more than 100,000 were killed - double the number who died in Vietnam. This was the first, bloody step on the road to globalism which would characterize our foreign policy for the rest of the twentieth century. Even American literature was transformed by the impact of the war on writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Internationally, more than any other event, the First World War made the twentieth century what it was: It toppled the four great empires of the Old World and left a fifth - the British - mortgaged to the hilt. More than nine million men lost their lives, yet none of its stated objectives were met. Rather, it spawned seven decades of Communist rule in Russia, the rise of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, and the horror of the Holocaust. Now, as the century draws to a close, the time is right for a radical reassessment of the 'Great War'. In (this book, the author) explodes the myths of 1914-18. He argues that the fatal conflict between Britain and Germany was far from inevitable. It was Britain's declaration of war that needlessly turned a continental conflict into a world war, and it was Britain's economic mismanagement and military inferiority that necessitated American involvement, forever altering the global balance of power. Ferguson vividly brings back to life one of the seminal catastrophes of the century, not through a dry citation of chronological chapter and verse, but through a series of brilliant chapters that answer the key questions: Why did the war start? Why did it continue? And why did it stop? How did the Germans manage to kill more soldiers than they lost but still end up defeated in November 1918? Above all, why did men fight?" Minor rubbing, tiny bump at top of front hinge. Dust jacket has one tiny edge tear and minor browning on spine. Very Good +/Very Good+.

Seller Inventory # 23882

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE PITY OF WAR. EXPLAINING WORLD WAR I.
• Publisher: Basic Books, New York, 1999, book club edition.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Military - First World War