from: Oxford University Press, USA
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN num: 9780192893253
ISBN number: 0192893254
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: February 22, 2001
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 303765
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Having a profound influence on the history of the twentieth century, the First World War left an intense legacy that continues to affect both those who lived through it and those who merely read about it in school. It was the very first conflict in which airplanes, submarines, and tanks played a significant role and the very first in which casualties on the battlefield outnumbered those from disease. It precipitated the collapse of the empires of Austria-Hungary and Turkey, and it promoted revolution in Russia. America's entry into the war and the part it played in the peace settlement signaled the arrival on the world stage of a new great power.
In this extensively illustrated book, an international team of experts explores the war in all its different aspects. From its causes to its consequences, from the strategy of the politicians to the tactics of the generals, the course of the war is charted, and its political and human consequences assessed. The legacy of 'the war to end wars'--in poetry and prose, in collective memory and political culture--is with us still, eighty years after that very first Armistice Day. This remarkable book helps us understand that legacy.
Amazon.com Review:
This illustrated history is an outstanding summary of current scholarship on the war that was supposed to end all wars. Nearly two dozen contributors write smart and accessible essays on a range of subjects, including the military strategies of the Allies and the Central Powers, the war at sea, economic mobilization, politics on the home front, and the peace settlement. The chapters are full of intelligent insights. John Morrow, writing on the air war, notes that fighter pilots became 'the ultimate heroes of the First World War' because their feats of individual combat could be easily romanticized, in contrast to the mass slaughter taking place in the trenches below.
The collection of essays isn't a narrative of what happened, even though its material is presented in roughly chronological order. Rather, it approaches the conflict from several angles and studies them up close. Readers who aren't familiar with the fundamentals of the conflict may want to look elsewhere for basic information--one writer, for instance, refers to the Zimmerman Telegram without explaining what it is. Those who know the basics, however, will find this book quickly rewarding. Good reading for armchair generals. --John J. Miller
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Rated by buyers 
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First of all, this text is not for the beginner, as all of the books in the Oxford Illustrated Series aren't. The text, makes references, for example to the very first and second Moroccan Crises, 1905 and 1911 respectively, as well as the Bosnian Crisis of 1908 - 1909, and it doesn't bother explaining them, which is alright if one understands them, it's just that it's a little bit like a thesis with key words. It does do a good job explaining the basic ideas however.
There are some very poor chapters however which really make this book poor. The chapters on naval warfare and aerial warfare were horrible - they were just a bunch of sequences being replayed, and one cannot possibly study the order in which little skirmishes occurred. The chapter on propaganda was in particular was repetitive.
The major weakness of this as a text is what it omits. The section on Africa does not contain maps BEFORE the war. It has one map that omits the colonies in the state before the war, and as such it is impossible to follow the warfare which is described in the Africa chapter. The section on the Ottoman Empire was very Turkish centered, and it didn't focus very much on Kurdistan or Arabia. The major weakness of this is the lack of any information on Kurdistan except a reference to the Hamideyeh cavalry. The very first World War promised the Kurds a state, and then it didn't happen - the are the largest ethnic group in the world without a country and they influence events in Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey, and yet their role in the peace process is not even talked about. Instead, the author of the chapter on the peace settlement calls the Loussane settlement of 1923 the best peace of the war, yet it created the Kurdish problem which Turkey is still embroiled in. I don't see how this leads to a "long term peace", in the words of the author of that section. Thus the note in the title of selectiveness.
The revolution in Russia is horribly done. The text doesn't even mention that fact that the Bolsheviks published the secret treaties after they came to power, denouncing imperialism, much to the embarrassment of the allies. I feel as though I had little of a better understanding having read that chapter in particular.
Nonetheless, the book can serve as a half decent introduction, and one can learn a bit from it. There are also some good illustrations, but the maps lack a quarter of the battles and the one on Africa is after the war, which is fine, but none during the war when there is a chapter on it during the war with reference to German colonies? Come on! (Germany lost all her colonies after the war so its impossible to follow the fighting.
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book because I was hoping for more of a overview of WWI. I've read a lot about WWII and always have found it useful to read something general first, then identify the elements you found really intersting and go buy a focused book on those aspects.
This is not really a beginers overview at all. It is a collection of writings by some apparantly well qualified scholars. Some parts are still very interesting from a beginers point of view, but the fact that it isn't really chronological is a little annoying. There is a chapter on the Central Powers strategy, a chapter on the war on the western front, a chapter on the effect on women, a chapter on the economic impact of the war, etc.
I think it is probably a really good book, it is just a tad advanced for a beginner like me. I probably should have paid more attention before buying it.
One other minor complaint is that that although the book has a ton of pictures (which is good), the captions are not great. For example, there will be a picture of 8 people standing there and the caption will tell you that one is an Italian general, who is talking to his king, but it won't tell you who is who (e.g. the King is the 3rd from the left). You just kinda have to guess who is who based on how old/important they look.
Rated by buyers -
Let me add a disclaimer to this review, I am only moderately interested in the First World War and was hoping to get an easy to read and complete history of the conflict to aid my understanding. I thought this would be a good book to accomplish this task and cover the basics. What I found was that I had made a mistake. The book is a collection of essays written by some very competent and well thought of British historians. It appeared to me that each of them was very familiar with the topic chosen and the essays really were good, well thought out and written documents. The issue I had is that I was looking for more of a overview of the war, these essays left a lot of the basic information out, thus many times I felt that I was not getting the full story or even that I was lost.
I also have a hang up with books that are written in this method - a different author does each chapter. I tend to be bothered by the different writing styles and sometimes not complete follow through of the subject / topic. With these statements made, the book is a well-written document on the war. The illustrations are very interesting and bring a good deal of life to the topic. The editor places the pictures and illustrations though out the book. I found the chapters on the Eastern / Western fronts and the entry of the American's to be the most interesting.
So if you are like me with a marginal interest in the war and are looking for a well-written overview this is not the book for you. But if you are a WW 1 history buff then you will probably get a lot of enjoyment out of this book and you should disregard my review.
Rated by buyers 
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The essays in this book are excellent. Writen by some of the greatest historians, of the First World War.
Rated by buyers -
The essays in this book are excellent. Writen by some of the greatest historians, of the First World War.
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