The First World War

I have never read WWI history but known a lot from popular culure. I knew about certain broad themes like the domino effect of alliances but overall it seemed like a highly complex and boring war. Yet I also knew this war was vital to understanding such things as the origins of WWII, the origins of the middle east conflicts, nationalism. The origins of the modern age.

Imagine knowing a subject so well you could write an encyclopedia that had to be condensed down to a long essay. Michael Howard does this with incredible skill, because of the limiting length every sentence is a pure nugget of insight he makes no waste of the space provided. The major points of military, social and political are covered allowing one to see the entire war from start to finish in very short order and without spending months trumping through the trenches of detail and anecdote one might find in more lengthy or specific books.

I rate this book highly because it did exactly what I was hopeing for. A short easy to read high level overview of the war to provide a spring board to read more areas in detail in the future and to understand the war in relation to other larger historical forces.


Good but short   March 18, 2004
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

If ever a book should have been titled, "A Short History of World War I", this was it. It's an excellent starter if you know nothing. My only complaint is that he says very little about the Brusilov offensive in the section with that title, and only later in the book refers back to the battle. Other than that , very good. He gives a good account of the coming of war. If you want to start learning about the war start here. This basic account will give you some kind of structure from which to start.


One of the most enlightening books on WWI   December 29, 2003
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I purchased this book wanting a brief overview of WWI. This book presents every detail of the war and it presents it in a fashion that is easily understood. It provides several maps in the beginning for reference. Having to refer back to these maps sometimes proves to be inconvienent. I would highly reccommend this book. The only drawback is that sometimes the book becomes too detailed and borders the line of comprehension. Overall the book is easy to understand but, as with most good books, sometimes the author assumes his/her audience knows more than they actually do!


Too slow paced for my taste   October 21, 2003
 6 out of 13 found this review helpful

I had a very hard time getting through the 154 pages and almost couldn't make it. Without a doubt Howard knows a lot about WWI, but he does not write in a way that I can enjoy reading him. It took me a long time to finish this book and came out pretty empty handed. James Stokesbury (A Short History of WWI) tackles the job superbly if you want an introduction to WWI.


A Brilliant Condensation   September 25, 2003
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Military historian Michael Howard has written a brilliant condensation of the seminal event of the short twentieth century.
In particular, Howard examines the dilemma of modern democracies engaged in a popular war with increasingly devastating consequences, and the difficulty politicians encounter in seeking peace without "betraying" the fallen. In fact, as Howard notes, accusations of just such a betrayal led directly to the rise of Nazism and a repeat of the slaughter on an even grander scale.

Howard deftly summarizes the current theories on why the war happened, captures the horror of trench warfare and of mass assaults on fortified positions, and effectively illuminates why the war has influenced all subsequent events. For Americans, many of whom consider this war as merely a little known prelude to the Second World War, this book is an indispensable introduction. For those who know more, Howard clearly states, and supports, his opinion on many disputed topics, such as the role of German naval construction in fueling Anglo-German emnity, and leading to eventual British military intervention, which arguably made the war a world, as opposed to a European, war. There is a brief but excellent annotated list of further suggested reading.