From the publisher
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Ninety years have passed
since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military
historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and
authoritative new book, the legacy of the 'war to
end all wars' is with us still. The First World War
was a truly global conflict from the start, with many
of the most decisive battles fought in or directly
affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire.
Even more than World War II, the First World War continues
to shape the politics and international relations
of our world, especially in hot spots like the Middle
East and the Balkans.
Strachan has done a masterful job of reexamining the
causes, the major campaigns, and the consequences
of the First World War, compressing a lifetime of
knowledge into a single definitive volume tailored
for the general reader. Written in crisp, compelling
prose and enlivened with extraordinarily vivid photographs
and detailed maps, The First World War re-creates
this world-altering conflict both on and off the battlefield-the
clash of ideologies between the colonial powers at
the center of the war, the social and economic unrest
that swept Europe both before and after, the military
strategies employed with stunning success and tragic
failure in the various theaters of war, the terms
of peace and why it didn't last.
Drawing on material culled from many
countries, Strachan offers a fresh, clear-sighted
perspective on how the war not only redrew the map
of the world but also set in motion the most dangerous
conflicts of today. Deeply learned and powerfully
written, The First World War will stand as a landmark
of contemporary history.
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