About this title: In The Pity of War, Niall Ferguson makes a simple and provocative argument: that the human atrocity known as the Great War was entirely Englands fault. Britain, according to Ferguson, entered into war based on nave assumptions of German aimsand Englands entry into the war transformed a Continental conflict into a world war, which they then badly mishandled, necessitating American involvement. The war was not inevitable, Ferguson argues, but rather the result of the mistaken decisions of individuals who would later claim to have been in the grip of huge impersonal forces. That the war was ...
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Description: Good. 0465057128 Book could have shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Has remainder mark. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Basic Books, New York
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780465057122ISBN:0465057128
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Appears almost unread. First printing. Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Appears almost unread. Trade paperback 608 p. Illustrated. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: BASIC BOOKS
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780465057122ISBN:0465057128
Description: New. In this landmark work of history, Ferguson vividly brings back to life this terrifying period and makes a simple and provocative argument: that the human atrocity known as the Great War was entirely England's fault. 34 illustrations. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 2000-03-02
ISBN-13:9780465057122ISBN:0465057128
Description: Good. Excellent customer service. May ship from alternate location depending on your zip code and availability. Satisfaction guaranteed! ! read more
"The premise of the book is to challenge many long-held assumptions about WWI; that Germany had the best military at the time, that England was committed by treaty to join the war, etc. Ferguson offers some counter evidence against many of these, but doesn't exactly "prove" his case. His analysis is very much slanted towards the situation in England; I'd guess he devotes ~70% of his focus on England, 25% on Germany, and 5% on France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and the rest. He also assumes you already know a LOT about European history between 1890 and 1914."
"incisive, challenging, revisionist, with a heavy dose of economic theory and reams of data. not the easiest read, but well worth the time if you're interested in the first world war. ferguson takes on commonly held beliefs about the value of propaganda, the root causes of the war (diplomacy, logistics, relative military strength, etc.), the economic strength and efficiency of the combatant powers, the military efficiency of the combatants, the treaty of versailles and the hyperinflation, literary evidence of life as a soldier, etc. most interesting and most disappointing to me was one of ferguson's final conclusions, about the motivation of individual men to continue fighting. i won't mention it here, but i would've loved to see him elaborate on the topic (which i've seen supported elsewhere, so i found myself agreeing with him, just wanting more).
"WWI has always been a fascination of mine and Niall Ferguson went a long way to answering my biggest question: how did they get hundreds of thousands of otherwise clever men to climb out of muddy trenches and WALK across a patch of land, all the while being shot at. Not being a man, I'm not sure I will ever understand it (it's GOT to be a guy thing), but now I can a little bit more intellectually appreciate the why.
If you are even a little bit interested in the topic, Ferguson is very readable, the chapters are broken out by topic and can be read in any order (I skipped arpund a lot) and it's anything but a dry history."
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