Be careful what war you wish for, you might get it

books:


	• Europe's Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914? David Fromkin Vintage, 2005 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

An illuminating look at the causes of World War I

Europe's Last Summer offers a revealing look at the myriad causes of World War I, particularly for those of us whose high school history textbooks taught that it was brought about simply by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Not only does Fromkin lay out the case that the murder was merely a convenient pretext for a war that Austria-Hungary was already planning, but also that this otherwise local conflict was then twisted by Germany to become the catalyst for a European war that she believed to be both inevitable and necessary.

While the table of contents officially lists eight parts, I think the book is more neatly divided into two. In the first section Fromkin presents a broad overview of European history in the years leading up to the war. The background information helps explain why Austria-Hungary and Germany desired war and how the various European alliances were formed. In the second section Fromkin analyzes the so-called "July crisis", the thirty-seven day period between the assassination and the outbreak of war. While this conflict may have been inevitable, a remarkable series of events had to occur for it to begin in 1914. Fromkin does an excellent job of explaining how, seemingly against all odds, it happened.

As other reviewers have noted, the book can feel redundant at times. And for those already well-versed in World War I history, Europe's Last Summer is unlikely to offer any groundbreaking new information. However, as someone generally interested in history I found the book perfectly readable and highly informative.

for more information click here

Well written, but with a flawed premise.

The author has written a book that flows nicely and is very fascinating to read. Characters smoothly enter the narrative and with a little knowledge of the War, it's a book that can be absorbing.

However, the premise that a single individual was to be blamed for the First World War is a terribly flawed premise. This is not an Agatha Christie novel; there is no smoking gun. To say that a single German general was to be blamed for the First World War is fairly ridiculous. von Moltke's fears of the future Russian steamroller or the re-arming of the French and their obsessive need for revanche were understandable in his milieu, but he hardly had a red button which pushed would blow up pre-War Europe.

I also found this book a bit redundant. German war guilt has been pronounced since the first declaration of war in the Russian Foreign Office by Sasonov, the Russian foreign minister. Saying that the Germans of 1914 are to be blamed for starting the First World War is hardly original. However true it might be (and I personally would give the Austro-Hungarians no small measure of blame also), it's terribly redundant as another reviewer mentioned.

Overall it's a good read, but with a flawed premise. It's still enjoyable enough to read to get another angle on the origins of the War.

for more information click here

Be careful what war you wish for, you might get it

World War I (The Great War) was an explosion just waiting to happen. The head of the German Army (Moltke the Younger) knew that in a few years that the Russians would become to industrialized to ever be beat on the battle- field. Once they could produce weapons to go with their almost limitless population, Germany would become a hostage to their intrigues. France could be beat, but not with the Russians at their back; so they needed the Austrians to protect their flank when they went after the French. The Austrians only cared about the Balkans, and saw themselves in competition to prevent Serbia from uniting the peninsula against them.

European Wars had been prevented in 1905, 1912 and 1913, but at some point it was all going to blow up. Sarajevo was just the reason, not the cause that let everything fall into place. The three monarchies (Germany, Austro-Hungary and Russia) had week minded kings who couldn't decide what they wanted or who they wanted to do it against. Kaiser Wilhelm was a pretender (much like Mussolini) who loved to play the soldier but wasn't very good at it. Tsar Nicholas was a man born without a spine and with little training to be an autocrat. Emperor/King Franz Joseph, was in his eighties (and his dotage) and only feared that his multi-national empire would break apart before he died.

Even at the point of attack, the Germans might have been able to salvage their situation and beat the French and then use their army to destroy the Russians had they been able to keep out the English. By attacking through Belgium and Luxemburg they forced the hand of Asquith and brought in not just the English, but the whole British Empire. Even then, they almost made do and only lost the war because they lost their nerve and turned at the Marne River in front of Paris instead of going around.

So in the end who was to blame, well the Austrians for not sticking to their guns and just going after the Serbs as soon as possible (thereby letting the French and Russians mobilize) and the German General Staff who felt they had to go after the French and Russians before they became to powerful.

In the end, they ended up destroying four empires (including the Ottoman Empire) causing a hot war that lasted until 1945, a cold war until 1989 and set-up the mess that exist in the Middle East today.

for more information click here

2/3 of the story

All major actors are discussed properly here except the Russians.

David Fromkin towards the end does state it is one interesting what-if would be what if Russia did not get involved. He provides little information why they did? But he provides no answer why.

By 1914 the Slavic idea was, a little bit worn out issue in Russia plus Russia was then recovering from a major war with Japan and the 1905 revolution. It was not prepared economically or ideologically for a major war.

The Austria Hungry conflict with Serbia was to Russia an issue of little importance. Surely any competent diplomat would have told Russia that German could not stand back if Russia did successfully fight Austria. Any such conflict was likely to become a major conflict.

So I am left after reading the book wondering why the Russians got involved in a conflict between Serbia and Austria!

for more information click here

Excellent narration

As in all other books I have read by Prof. Fromkin, I find his narration style quite exquisite. This is a very readable popular history book, excellent for beginners on the topic. As pointed out by another reviewer, I ran into some excessive repetitions too but did not find them that irritating. I felt that some more information on seemingly secondary events (such as the Balkan wars, state of the Ottomans, etc) could have been included.

The book is not the result of a special research or new findings by the author; it is a narration of events that gave way to WWI as told, reported and recorded by historians and researchers. There is no asserted thesis or a claim and that is how a book of this type should be. It is a beautiful narrative with some questions and opinions by the author inserted here and there.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, it surprised a European population enjoying the most beautiful summer in memory. For nearly a century since, historians have debated the causes of the war. Some have cited the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; others have concluded it was unavoidable.

In Europe?s Last Summer, David Fromkin provides a different answer: hostilities were commenced deliberately. In a riveting re-creation of the run-up to war, Fromkin shows how German generals, seeing war as inevitable, manipulated events to precipitate a conflict waged on their own terms. Moving deftly between diplomats, generals, and rulers across Europe, he makes the complex diplomatic negotiations accessible and immediate. Examining the actions of individuals amid larger historical forces, this is a gripping historical narrative and a dramatic reassessment of a key moment in the twentieth-century.

for more information click here