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darksasquatch's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty decent one-volume history of the war, although the author's style often got in the way of any transfer of knowledge
imyourmausoleum's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This is a decent overview of World War I. It offered plenty of details about the causes of the war, the relationships between countries and their leaders, the failure of ambassadors, and other information. I was disappointed that it did not include much about the influenza outbreak at the end of the war, especially because that was what my final project was about. This was my textbook for the class, and provided plenty of information and good references for other assignments
anti_formalist12's review against another edition
4.0
A useful survey of the war. It shines a light on some areas of the war that afford little attention, such as Africa and Mesopotamia, and it explains the thinking of the high command's of both sides.
chisanga's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent short treatment of the First World War. Well worth reading
stilettovox's review against another edition
4.0
Impressive work, largely because Strachan gets to the heart of the frictions that undid a thousand years of Europe in just four years. His breadth suggests many new directions for scholarship, too.
alex_ellermann's review against another edition
4.0
A nicely readable history of the war, but I'll always be partial to Tuchman's 'The Guns of August.'
socraticgadfly's review against another edition
2.0
I find good things in almost every WWI book and this is no exception.
The best part was about pre-War Central Powers military discussion, namely Moltke the Younger and Conrad playing Alphonse-Gaston on Germany and Austria's plans for invading Russian Poland. This continued even as changes in Russian mobilization plans made the idea of an envelopment pincers less and less viable.
Related to that, the portrayal of the original Austrian offensive against Serbia, and Potiorek's flubs, along with being hamstrung.
Related to that is Austria's military backwardness, largely unaddressed before the war.
Second-best part is the color photos. Strachan has plenty of them. Most WWI books, even bigger, higher-dollar ones, are cheap here.
Third best is mentioning the reparations on Germany were, adjusted for inflation, etc., less than Prussia levied on France in 1871.
Worst part? Discussion of the blockade. Strachan rightly notes the UK did not ratify the 1909 Declaration of London that forbade declaring footstuffs as blockable contraband, etc. He doesn't tell you that:
A. Britain, along with other powers at the conference, DID sign it at the time
B. That the US (though Wilson never enforced this) indicated it expected all powers to abide by it
C. That it addressed blockade by extension, or distant blockade, not just what counted as contraband. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/255-330003?OpenDocument
So, no more than 2 stars, because of the intellectual dishonesty, along with other problems.
That said, this intellectual dishonesty about the Declaration of London is shown by many British and Anglophile American historians of WWI.
And, on WWI books like this that have problems, I have the bonus about learning that an author will commit intellectual dishonesty.
Beyond that, as other reviewers have also noted, much of the book is disjointed. Strachan, for example, promises to discuss German war guilt, but he never really does. It's minimalistic in its look at what was happening in Russia. It fails to adequately distinguish between full and partial mobilizations of the past there.
Apis is mentioned only once. There is ZERO discussion of how much Pasic knew about the Black Hand (a lot), Apis in particular (just about as much), dissent within the Black Hand, and the Sarajevo plans (a fair amount).
The best part was about pre-War Central Powers military discussion, namely Moltke the Younger and Conrad playing Alphonse-Gaston on Germany and Austria's plans for invading Russian Poland. This continued even as changes in Russian mobilization plans made the idea of an envelopment pincers less and less viable.
Related to that, the portrayal of the original Austrian offensive against Serbia, and Potiorek's flubs, along with being hamstrung.
Related to that is Austria's military backwardness, largely unaddressed before the war.
Second-best part is the color photos. Strachan has plenty of them. Most WWI books, even bigger, higher-dollar ones, are cheap here.
Third best is mentioning the reparations on Germany were, adjusted for inflation, etc., less than Prussia levied on France in 1871.
Worst part? Discussion of the blockade. Strachan rightly notes the UK did not ratify the 1909 Declaration of London that forbade declaring footstuffs as blockable contraband, etc. He doesn't tell you that:
A. Britain, along with other powers at the conference, DID sign it at the time
B. That the US (though Wilson never enforced this) indicated it expected all powers to abide by it
C. That it addressed blockade by extension, or distant blockade, not just what counted as contraband. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/255-330003?OpenDocument
So, no more than 2 stars, because of the intellectual dishonesty, along with other problems.
That said, this intellectual dishonesty about the Declaration of London is shown by many British and Anglophile American historians of WWI.
And, on WWI books like this that have problems, I have the bonus about learning that an author will commit intellectual dishonesty.
Beyond that, as other reviewers have also noted, much of the book is disjointed. Strachan, for example, promises to discuss German war guilt, but he never really does. It's minimalistic in its look at what was happening in Russia. It fails to adequately distinguish between full and partial mobilizations of the past there.
Apis is mentioned only once. There is ZERO discussion of how much Pasic knew about the Black Hand (a lot), Apis in particular (just about as much), dissent within the Black Hand, and the Sarajevo plans (a fair amount).