The First World War
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The definitive account of the Great War and a national bestseller from eminent military historian John Keegan
2018 marks the centenary of the First World War – the war that created the modern world. It destroyed a century of relative peace and prosperity and saw a continent at the height of its success descend into slaughter. It unleashed both the demons of the twentieth century – political hatred, military destruction and mass death – and the ideas which continue to shape our world today: modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, and radical ideas about economics and society.
By the end of the war, three great empires – the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian and the Ottoman – had collapsed. But as Keegan expertly shows, the devastation extended over the entirety over Europe and still profoundly informs the politics and culture of the continent today. Pertinent, authoritative and gripping, this panoramic account of WW1 is regarded as a world history classic.
‘The best and most approachable introduction to the war’ Guardian
‘Nobody describes a battle as Keegan does, vividly relating the unfolding events to the contours of the field of combat… This book is a kind of war memorial. As first-hand memory fades, The First World War honours the dead as only true history can’ Sunday Times
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Additional information
| Publisher | Bodley Head (23 Jan. 2014) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 544 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1847922988 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1847922984 |
| Dimensions | 15.3 x 3.9 x 23.4 cm |
by Gareth Russell
This is an excellent single volume survey of the First World War. I’d recommend it for anyone trying to get a birds eye view of the great conflict.
Some reviewers have criticised Keegan for his brevity in his coverage of particular battlefields (e.g. Gallipoli or Passchendaele) but this is necessary for him to provide a truly global coverage of the War, and still come under 500 pages!
There are a few notable positions that Keegan takes:
* It was never inevitable for Britain to get involved in the conflict. He raises doubts in the readers mind about the need for Britain to honour her treaty to defend Belgium.
* He disagrees with the view that the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was an army of lions who lived in squalor before dying pointless deaths, led by donkeys who lived in splendour and safety. He argues that new technology bound the hands of the generals and no tactical alternatives were feasible.
* Field Marshal Haig was an aloof, and unlikeable character.
If you’re looking for a single volume survey of the First World War. Then I heartily recommend this volume to you.
by D. Burgess
As an excellent overview of the key events, players, places and drivers of WW1 this is superb.
Whilst a thorough description, so that we do not lose sight of them, of the horrors of in particular the Western Front is vital, this book is the better for not having them – they are well covered in myriad other accounts of the war. In this book Keegan once again brings his knowledge, research and excellent use of English together to create what is the best WW1 account I’ve yet read (just beating Hasting’s ‘Catastrophe’).
by onthetreadmill
Well written book. However, to lay the final blame for the start of the war on the inability of politicians and diplomats to extricate themselves from the various alignments and treaties that had been signed or agreed, is to ignore 60 years of German aggression and the wayward mind of the Kaiser.
Since the Austrian-Prussian war, the behaviour of Germany was akin to the school bully prodding his schoolmates with a stick to see how they responded.
I agree with Keegan that the 2nd WW was just a continuation of the 1st WW. How else could the nation follow Hitler.
by J. Duducu
I first discovered John Keegan by reading his underrated book on the American Civil War. It then occurred to me that I had never read a book that covered the whole of World War 1 and sought out a book that could do justice to such a huge topic.
Well here it is. John Keegan is a master at summarising complex situations and explaining them in a very accessible way. His chapter on how war broke out and all the points it could have been averted reads like a thriller. Unlike other books I have read on the great war focus on one event or one front which always lurch into intolerably dry lists of divisions and daily movements of troops. Keegan has to round up what happened, to whom and why and always does so without you thinking you have been short changed in depth. This is an amazing feat considering what he has to get through in a little over 400 pages.
The writing is effortless and opinion neutral. All sides have victories, all sides have failures and brutality is highlighted when it is warranted. The only revisionist part is where Keegan addresses the controversy surrounding the Western military leaders, pointing out how many anachronisms have been heaped on them. That’s not to say that this is a love letter to Haig but more a realistic assessment of his flaws and strengths.
My personal opinion is that World War 1 is the most misunderstood event in history. In that most people have heard about it but then after than the popular view is all gas, trenches, inflexible generals and poetry. Keegan shows how wrong this view is, while never diminishing the horrors of the Western (and Eastern) front he shows there was a lot more going on than men sitting in trenches, being shelled and writing powerful verse.
In short this is an essential book on World War 1.
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by Paul Sanders
I really like this book which is quite detailed and very informative on all aspects of the war revealing details of theatres of war I had not even known about. I only have one criticism and this is regarding the maps included of the battle zones, there are lots of places named on them but they are mainly not the same as those named in the narrative so I had to resort to other sources to identify the actual geographic locations (many thanks to the internet).
I requested this book as a Christmas present to go with the DVD set of the BBC’s Great War series I had also requested, which I remember watching when it was first shown on TV. This was a great move since they really do complement one another with extra informatio on the DVD’s as well as being able to see the actual historical people involved,
Well recommended
by Rosemary Clegg
Interesting
by Michael Booth
There’s nothing to dislike it’s an excellent book for anyone wanting to research world war one, it’s a good quality book and reasonably priced.
by Elinvar
This is a big book to cover a big subject. Unfortunately, there is still not room to cover many of the more minor aspects of the war. There is no discussion of the firearms used by the infantry, the capabilities of the surface ships and submarines, and the war in the air is glossed over. There is no mention of the aerial attacks on the UK by bombers and Zeppelins, and no mention of Lawrence of Arabia. A good overview, but you will have to buy more books to get the detail.