A History of the Great War: World War One and the International Crisis of the Early Twentieth Century 1st Edition

Prof. Brose's text is the best book I've read on The Great War. But it may not be what everyone wants to read. In about 400 pages Prof. Brose manages to tell the major details of military history for the war and to do justice to economic and social issues while also providing an overview of the years 1919 to 1926: including the Russian Civil War, the problems in Palestine, British colonies in Africa and Asia, the politics of the peace process that culminated in the Versailles Treaty.Most of the histories of the Great War are either more narrow military histories that leave out (or minimize) larger social/political issues or they focus on political deal making and manipulation. Prof. Brose sets out to tell a global tale (the war in sub-Saharan Africa gets several pages, Japan's war is examined, the Middle East, and what becomes Iran and Iraq are included). He also includes information about the active peace movements in Europe, the end of various Empires, and some first hand accounts of the horrors of war. This means that anyone wanting a detailed military history might be disappointed. However, as a single text that has plenty of militaria for most readers and lays out much of social/political/economic context of the war that is missing from most similar histories, Prof. Brose has done the student of the Great War a great service.

I found this book to be of real interest. We tend to think that World War I was a western front war, but this book chronicles the involvement in the middle east, Africa, etc. Brose's style is interesting and builds on incidents that occur. Thus it is not simply a rather dry recitation of events.

Good narrative coverage of the war and interesting photos plus excellent maps.My copy is paper back and not as desirable as hard back.

This is some fine reading..

Brose, in his introduction, states that _A History of the Great War_ "targets upper-class undergraduates, graduate students and professors," seeking to "break the mold of the 'facts only, please' textbooks" and is therefore interpretive in scope. This does not preclude it from general audiences, and in fact I believe, recommends itself to a broader readership than merely academic circles. In examining the Great War, Brose combines both military history with its necessary poliitcal context, but also looks at the conflict as a global war - what many historians writing about the First World War ironically do not. (Tuchman's The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I, Keegan's The First World War and Ferguson's The Pity Of War: Explaining World War I - while all very good - tend to focus primarily on the war in Europe, especially the western front) What really separates Brose, however, is his interpretation of the war.From the perspective of military history, Brose tackles some long-held (some may even say "cannonical") views of Schllieffen, Haig's strategy at Passchendaele, the battle of Jutland, and America's entry into the war "saving" the Allies (in this case, Brose specifically calls out Mosier The Myth of the Great War: A New Military History of World War I). Similarly, Brose reminds readers of how the war's prosecution led to a revolution in military affairs (RMA): in large scale amphibious operations, naval technology (switching from coal to oil, for example), in uniforms, creeping artillery barrages, predicted artillery fire, and defense in depth.In terms of politics, Brose similary illuminates how the war effected the political fortunes of both generals and heads of state, and in turn, how these men shaped the presecution of the war both strategically and tactically. What I found most impressive however, was the golbal perspective he provides. To be sure the offensives in both France and Russia made up the majority of his history - but the impact of Japan's entry into the war (and their political objectives in doing so), the internal struggles the Ottoman's faced, the precarious position of Persia, and the objectives and importance of Africa were each given close attention. This level of detail highlights the global impact the war had on world civilization, and makes apparent how how much it was a truly *world* war.As if the scope were not enough to warrant five stars, the maps provided are both abundant and excellent. My only complaint here is that the tactical maps are all placed together towards the front of the book, forcing the reader to "flip back" to read them. And while most of the maps are from the USMA showing troop disposition and movement, an idea of topography would have also been helpful. But I nit-pick here. Another feature to strongly recommend this book is Brose's excellent commentary in his endnotes: he reasoning behind his interpretation and his reasoning behind his points of disagreement with other historians is outstanding scholarship and are fantastic examples of how history is a living thing.For anyone interested in a detailed, thoughtful and accessable history of World War One, this is my first recommendation.

Bought this as a review material for my subject here in Harvard. The facts are correct and well-written.

Heavy reading but I learned a whole lot.

Great details and is not boring to read.