Product Review

Known as the "Great War," World War One was one of history's greatest tragedies. It eventually dragged most of Europe and the world into its bloody quagmire, inflicting more than four years of suffering, misery, maiming, and death on the belligerent nations. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses, A History of the Great War: World War One and the International Crisis of the Early Twentieth Century is a brief yet comprehensive study that distinguishes itself from other textbooks in significant ways. Providing broader coverage than most texts, it discusses the phenomenon of the war in its chronological entirety. Author Eric Dorn Brose analyzes the forces that generated international tension and made wars more prevalent before 1914; the causes and course of the Great War to 1918; and the violent and problematic aftermath of the struggle to 1926. Rather than focusing exclusively on military developments, Brose also examines the war's underlying causes, its political and diplomatic dimensions, and its myriad consequences.
Explicitly global in scope, A History of the Great War offers a more extensive look at the worldwide side of the Great War than existing texts do, including coverage of the campaigns spanning Northeast Africa, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, India, and the war at sea. In addition, the author incorporates and discusses recent groundbreaking research in the "Notes" section of each chapter, so that students can easily access it. The text is also enhanced by maps, photos, and an engaging vignette at the opening of each chapter that serves as an introduction.