The Great War, 1914-1918 / Ian F.W. Beckett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beckett, Ian F. W. (Ian Frederick William), 1950-

Series:

Modern wars in perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1914-1918.

Physical Description:

xxix, 813 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson/Longman, 2007.

Summary:

The Great War is probably the most widely studied and most widely misunderstood conflict of our times. The history of this era is not simply one of military manoeuvres and battle weary soldiers, but one with transformatory implications for world politics, economics, human psychology, culture, technology and innovation. In this seminal work, Ian F. W. Beckett challenges the cliched images of the Great War that have come to dominate popular culture. Rather than dismissing the War as an exercise in mindless futility, he argues that, on the contrary, it was vital to the national interests of its participants, and shows how what originated as a European affair became a global event involving not only the extended colonial empires of European nations but also Japan, China, the Ottoman Empire, Latin America and the United States.

For victors and vanquished alike the treacherous course of this conflict set the stage for far-reaching economic, social and political-change. In this tumultuous period the creation of new frontiers and new balances of power allowed strong national identities to develop and new varieties of political thought to materialise, and ultimately provided the conditions for Fascist and Communist revolution and occupation in the decades that followed.

Contents:

1 Another country? 1

Industrialisation and the state 4

Ideology and the nation-state 9

2 Guns in August 22

Alliances and the European state system 23

Imperial Germany and Weltpolitik 25

Imperialism, capitalism and militarism 27

Vienna and the domestic imperative 31

From 'Third Balkan War' to world war 34

3 Over by Christmas 55

Expectations of war 56

War plans 61

The failure of the war plans in the west 70

The Eastern Front 74

4 Widening horizons 89

The contribution of empire 90

The Balkans and beyond 102

Distant waters 112

The economics of belligerency and neutrality 122

5 Westerners and Easterners 149

Civil-military relations 149

The politics of coalition 162

Strategy and war aims: the Entente 171

Strategy and war aims: the Central Powers 183

6 New ways of war 214

Science and war 214

The exercise of command 218

The war on land 223

The war at sea 242

The war in the air 254

7 Nations in arms 282

Conscription and manpower 283

The voluntary spirit and its limits 289

The experience of military service 295

Morale and discipline 302

8 War and the state 344

The growth of government 347

Economic management 357

War and industrial mobilisation 361

Food supply 374

State welfare 382

Management of morale 392

9 War and society 437

Life and death 438

Class 445

Labour 450

Women 454

Social mores and leisure pursuits 471

10 War, politics and revolution 498

Leadership 499

Opposition 503

Revolution 511

11 Victors and vanquished 541

Defeat and revolution 541

The Paris peace conference and the peace settlements 551

Political values and the politics of the 'front generation' 567

12 Wastelands? 597

Memory and commemoration 598

War and culture 616

War and the silver screen 637

War and history 643.

Notes:

Previous ed.: 2001.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [673]-796) and index.

ISBN:

9781405812528

1405812524

OCLC:

148306326