Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy

Il 28 giugno 1914 la belle époque finiva all'improvviso: l'erede al trono austriaco, Francesco Ferdinando, e sua moglie Sofia cadevano vittime di uno dei più famosi atti di terrorismo del Novecento. L'attentatore, Gavrilo Princip, era un serbo-bosniaco di soli diciannove anni.
Fu la scintilla che fece esplodere un conflitto che si andava preparando da tempo. L'impressionante crescita economica, la fame di mercati, le politiche imperialistiche, il ruolo della finanza e lo sviluppo delle comunicazioni avevano portato il mondo a una piccola globalizzazione. Il progresso avrebbe dovuto consolidare gli equilibri, ma le cose andarono diversamente. Quattro anni dopo, la Grande Guerra aveva mietuto milioni di vittime, gettato nel caos intere show more popolazioni, cancellato quattro imperi, disegnato un nuovo ordine e lasciato ferite ancora oggi – a oltre novant'anni dall'inizio del conflitto – non del tutto rimarginate.
Due sono i volti della prima guerra mondiale: da una parte, essa rappresenta un emblema della modernità per le tecnologie con cui fu combattuta, per i radicali cambiamenti che comportò nella produzione industriale come nella chirurgia; allo stesso tempo, costituisce un ritorno alla preistoria per la violenza e la barbarie che dilagarono anche in nazioni ricche ed evolute. show less

"1914-1918: The History of the First World War" also published as "Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy ".
This is history, rather than military history, so I found out more about the politics, diplomacy and economics of the conflict than I ever expected. If that is what you want, then this is the book for you.

This was my first time reading, what I personally considered for me, one of those 'dense history books'. Overall I mostly enjoyed it and learnt a fair bit on not just World War One but war, politics and geopolitics more generally. The book is quite detailed and at least with my edition, of the 600 pages, the last 100 are all citations. A boon for those wanting to dig deeper and a relief for those such as myself writing off one sixth of the book as already finished - "we're half-way there!"

From Sheikh Yasir Qadhi's lecture on the history of the modern Middle East, he drives the point that WW1 is essential to understanding the present day condition of the region, more so than even WW2. This is chiefly in regards to the breaking up of the show more Ottoman Empire - one of the Central Powers belligerents. However of all the nations involved, the book focuses the least on it. And by a fair margin too. I'm unsure whether it was a fault of the book or indeed, of all the belligerents involved, it played a more periphery role within the war.

The second disappointment for me was how in the first third of the book it felt like a major slog to push through all the stream of events on the battlefield. My knowledge of European geography is quite poor to be fair and adding a second bookmark to the initial maps to flick back and forth did help somewhat. But it was still frustrating and caused me to procrastinate plenty with the reading. The good news is, once that's done, Stevenson indulges you with plenty of economical, political, geopolitical and social analyses. He even discusses the legacy and historical conceptions of the war towards the end, especially in relation to WW2. But still, a part of me wonders if I'd have had a better time initially if the first third wasn't simply an avalanche of battleground details and strategizing. Perhaps he could've laid it out in a more balanced fashion.

Still, the book was definitely a rewarding experience. I feel more confident in reading more of the genre and post WW1 history due to gaining a wide ranging impression of how the major European and world powers worked then, the context of how such a war could have unfolded and its continuing legacy.

After spending almost three months on this, I'd now like a more personal account, from the actual soldiers at the trenches (something missing from Stevenson) as well as the in depth account of the formation of the modern Middle East I was looking for earlier.

I have All Quiet on the Western Front for the former and A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle East for the latter. I'd appreciate any additional recommendations. show less

A well balanced and detailed account covering all theatres of the war. Although Stevenson offers a lot of detail the broad picture never get's lost. The best book on the subject I read so far: very strong on developments in domestic and international politics (including - for example - the October Revolution, the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire etc.), strategy, economics and sociology. Not so much detail on how individuals experienced the war. I've almost finished reading it now and have the feeling that I've learned a lot about recent history and the present world (including the wars in former Yugoslavia and Iraq) as well.

Long and turgid, I often found myself having read pages of text, while daydreaming about something else. This was a tedious read, difficult to concentrate on, and confusing. Still, I think it was useful, especially as background to a father & son trip to

Un gran llibre i molt exhaustiu sobra els antecedents, la I Guerra Mundial i de les seves conseqüències. Per possar-li algun però, caldria tenir més acompanyament de mapes i algun esquemes de personatges que ajudessin al lector a situar-se millor a nivell de temps i de protagonistes.
És disfruta de principi a fi.

En el verano de 1914, una ola de violencia masiva se desató en Europa. La guerra que entonces empezaba tuvo repercusiones globales, destruyendo cuatro imperios y cobrándose millones de vidas. Este conflicto marcó incluso a los países victoriosos durante toda una generación, y todavía hoy seguimos viviendo bajo su sombra. En este importante análisis, David Stevenson reexamina las causas, el transcurso y el impacto de esta «guerra que acabará con todas las guerras», situándola en el contexto de su época y revelando sus conflictos ocultos. Su libro presenta una historia internacional, que incorpora las nuevas perspectivas ofrecidas por las investigaciones más recientes. Asimismo, aporta respuestas convincentes a la pregunta show more clave de cómo se desarrolló esta terrible lucha: respuestas que siguen siendo inquietantemente relevantes en nuestra época. show less