A review by johnawickline
1914: The Year the World Ended by Paul Ham

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

The lead up to the outbreak of the Great War is full of blunt political maneuvering, miscommunication, and feigned ignorance. The lack of power in civilian governments and the growing power of the banners of militarism are deeply investigated and dissected by the author to paint a clear picture if how the world devolved into hell. This book focuses on the whole of the year of 1914, discussing both thw lead up to war and the opening maneuvers of the European nations. This is not a summary of World War I, this book explains why the war happened, not what happened during the war. Fortunately it focuses on more than military history and touches on the social and political aspects of the European Continent before the declaration of war. It should be noted that this book only focuses on the relations between the European powers. Had this book discussed more than the year 1914 and the tensions that led to the outbreak of war, that would have been unacceptable, but given the scope of the book and the intentions of the author the exclusion of other continents, while disappointing, make sense. This book gives a deep and thoughtful explanation of the political and social culture of each of the great nations, while trying to present not only their own perspectives but the perspectives of how they were viewed by the other nations. Overall this book will give the reader a expansive amount of information to digest and consider. The breadth of knowledge shown by the author and the inclusion of opinions and thoughts from important figures of the time make this book an enjoyable and engaging read.
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