Product Description

This is a concise and very readable history based on the latest academic research. It renders all other popular paperback histories out of date. The authors are internationally acclaimed experts in their field whose previous books have profoundly changed our understanding of the First World War. Their modern approach contrasts vividly with the polemic of Alan Clark (Lions led by Donkeys) and the burlesque Oh, What a Lovely War. Prior and Wilson have produced a brilliant synthesis of the modern view of the war that transformed the 20th century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771599 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
You should never judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a book about the First World War on how it begins. If it starts with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg throne, by a Bosnian nationalist in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, then you can safely predict that you're in for an undemanding trawl over familiar territory. Trevor Wilson and Robin Prior make no such glib assertions. Instead they offer a variety of historical explanations. They debate the failure of the old diplomacy and the Leninist thesis of the imperatives of advanced capitalism. They even give air time to the vaguely Jungian notion that the war was caused by the mounting alienation and psychological disturbance of the masses consequent upon the vagaries of the trade cycle and the sense of powerlessness engendered by industrialisation. All these theses are of interest, but are ultimately found wanting. Yet the fact that the authors are prepared to entertain them, to indulge them even, makes for a much more interesting and textured read.

Historical cause and effect is seldom linear and seldom obvious. It usually relies on a coming together of a political and public will, with a healthy smattering of coincidence thrown in. The war actually began in August 1914 when Germany invaded Belgium; but if Belgium hadn't fought back, would there have been a war? Prior and Wilson make a good case for suggesting that there would. Whatever else was going on in Europe in the early years of the 20th century, you could not ignore German aggression. Germany kept pushing and pushing its allies until eventually someone was bound to say enough was enough. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was just another lever to ratchet up the political tension. And sure enough the Russians decided that the German-inspired Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia was tantamount to a declaration of war on itself. The invasion of Belgium was merely the coup de grace that secured the involvement of Britain and France. The authors are equally good on the main set pieces. Somme, Ypres and Verdun are all given the same level of analysis, and the less celebrated theatres of war--Gallipoli and the Italian campaign--are not ignored either. Given that this book is little more than 200 pages long and lavishly illustrated with detailed maps and hundreds of photographs, this is a considerable achievement. As a short, sharp introduction to the Great War that neither patronises nor complicates, it is hard to beat. --JohnCrace

About the Author
Trevor Wilson is Professor of History at Adelaide University, Australia. His huge book The Myriad Faces of War has come to be recognised as one of the most important studies of the First World War ever published. He has collaborated frequently with Robin Prior, who teaches in the History Department of the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. Their joint publications include: Passchendaele The Untold Story and Command on the Western Front: The Military Career of General Sir Henry Rawlinson 1914-18.

Customer Reviews

Six easy chapters on World War I
In this book, Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson offer a good, basic overview of the First World War. They summarize the conflict in six easy chapters - one for each year on the fighting in Europe, plus one on the fighting in the 'peripheries' - and they have an introduction and conclusion that covers the origins of the war and its aftermath. Prior and Wilson make no secret of their views on the war; they are unabashed 'Westerners' with a healthy contempt for most of the political and military leadership involved, a judgment that emerges repeatedly when assessing the outcome of battles and the results of strategic decisions.

Despite their approach, the authors do a good job of presenting the war. Well illustrated, the text is accompanied by a number of computer-generated maps of the various fronts and battlefields, and there is a section at the end with brief biographies of the leading military and civilian commanders of the conflict. Readers familiar with the war would do better to consult some of the books listed in the bibliography at the end, but for anyone seeking an introduction to the 'Great War' this is a good book to start with.