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daco70 's review for:
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War
by Robert K. Massie
Simply outstanding, although "simply" isn't really appropriate for a book of this length. This book covers in great detail the circumstances that led up to the outbreak of war in 1914. As the title implies, it focuses primarily on Britain and Germany starting in the middle of the 19th century. Germany's emergence as a unified empire (under Bismarck) is paralleled with the ongoing development of Britain's empire under Queen Victoria. A common uniting thread is the story of Victoria's extended family including her son, the future Edward VII, her grandson, the future George V, and of course her grandson, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II. In the meantime, Massie delves deeply into the politics of both nations and the various leaders who emerged, from Gladstone to Asquith on the British side, and from Bismarck to Bethmann-Hollweg on the German. Sprinkled liberally into this mix, as the title implies, is a great deal about the naval arms race among the two sides with characters such as Tirpitz, Churchill and Jacky Fischer playing prominent roles.
Superbly done, highly readable and engaging. The only shortcoming is that it really isn't a comprehensive overview of the causes of the Great War, given its focus on these two empires, but it does cover much of the other conflicts leading to the July Crisis, just not in as great detail. Clark's [b:The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914|18669169|The Sleepwalkers How Europe Went to War in 1914|Christopher Clark|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384804367s/18669169.jpg|21905061] is probably better for that perspective, but the combination of these two excellent books has been a fantastic resource for better understanding the circumstances of the time.
Superbly done, highly readable and engaging. The only shortcoming is that it really isn't a comprehensive overview of the causes of the Great War, given its focus on these two empires, but it does cover much of the other conflicts leading to the July Crisis, just not in as great detail. Clark's [b:The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914|18669169|The Sleepwalkers How Europe Went to War in 1914|Christopher Clark|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384804367s/18669169.jpg|21905061] is probably better for that perspective, but the combination of these two excellent books has been a fantastic resource for better understanding the circumstances of the time.