Product Description

The Great War not only destroyed the lives of over twenty million soldiers and civilians, it also ushered in a century of huge political and social upheaval, led directly to the Second World War and altered for ever the mechanisms of governments. And yet its causes, both long term and immediate, have continued to be shrouded in mystery. In "Europe's Last Summer", David Fromkin reveals a new pattern in the happenings of that fateful July and August, which leads in unexpected directions. Rather than one war, starting with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, he sees two conflicts, related but not inseparably linked, whose management drew Europe and the world into what "The Economist" described as early as 1914 as 'perhaps the greatest tragedy in human history'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123976 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From the Publisher
A riveting narrative of a crucial time in twentieth century history.

About the Author
David Fromkin is Professor of International Relations, History, and Law at Boston University. He is the author of In the Time of the Americans and A Peace to End All Peace, which was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Germany to blame
Most analyses of the origins of the Great War fall into one of two categories. There is the Marxian viewpoint that it was a struggle between Britain and Germany for captive third world markets, and there is the chaos theory type critique which speaks of the power relationship in Europe spiralling out of control after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinaand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo.

David Fromkin refuses to accept either of these lines of argument and instead carefully assembles his evidence before pointing his finger squarely at the German military machine. Germany, according to Fromkin, was terrified at the prospect of being overtaken as Europe's strongest economic and military power by Russia and wanted to launch a preemptive war against its eastern rival before this could happen. But two things had to be in place before such an adventure could be undertaken. Firstly, in order to carry German domestic opinion, Russia had to be seen as the aggressor. Secondly, their unreliable ally, Austria, had to be in the field in order to defend the Eastern front while Germany's armies knocked Russia's ally France out of the war.

The Sarajevo assassinations provided Moltke and the other German war leaders with a perfect opportunity. They tricked Austria into pursuing a war of vengence against Serbia for harbouring the terrorists who had killed the Archduke, promising to do what was necessary to keep Russia from intervening on Serbia's side. Their real agenda was the reverse: to lure Russia into the conflict, and they duly obliged by declaring a general mobilisation, to which Germany responded by declaring war. Austria found itself fighting Russia instead of being able to smash the tiresome Serbs who were threatening to bring about the distingration of the Dual Monarchy.

Even the Kaiser was only a pawn in the hands of Moltke and his henchmen. Willhelm II was probably the only man in Europe who was genuinely upset and outraged by the killing of his friend Franz Ferdinand. It was easy to give him the role of egging the Austrians on in their crusade against the regicides.

Europe's Last Summer is highly readable - in fact very difficult to put down. Fromkin's conclusions may be unusually stark in their condemnation of Germany, but his arguments are well formulated and present a challenge for other scholars to refute.

A Great Read
Not only does this book shed light on the actual events leading up to the outbreak of the Great War, it is a very very readable book. Even though I knew how it would all end (I'd seen the film), I just couldn't put it down. Excellent.

Magisterial
Just finished reading this terrific book. I couldn't put it down.

The scene-setting is particularly deft as the story reaches its climax in daily accounts from the Great Power capitals.

The conclusion to the book may upset some who cling to the orthodoxy but it's hard to reach any other after reading this brilliantly researched work.