Europe's Last Summer : Who Started the Great War in 1914?

Out of the blue -- The importance of the question -- A summer to remember -- Part 1: Europe's tensions -- 1. Empires clash -- 2. Classes struggle -- 3. Nations quarrel -- 4. Countries arm -- 5. Zarathustra prophesies -- 6. Diplomats align -- Part 2: Walking through minefields -- 7. The eastern question -- 8. A challenge for the Archduke -- 9. Explosive Germany -- Part 3: Drifting toward war -- 10. Macedonia-out of control -- 11. Austria-first off the mark -- 12. France and Germany make their play -- 13. Italy grasps: then the Balkans do too -- 14. The Slavic tide -- 15. Europe goes to the brink -- 16. More Balkan tremors -- 17. An American tries to stop it -- Part 4: Murder! -- 18. The last waltz -- 19. In the land of the assassins -- 20. The Russian connection -- 21. The terrorists strike -- 22. Europe yawns -- 23. Disposing of the bodies -- 24. Rounding up the suspects -- Part 5: Telling lies -- 25: Germany signs a blank check -- 26. The great deception -- 27. Berchtold runs out of time -- 28. The secret is kept -- Part 6: Crisis! -- 29. The fait is not accompli -- 30. Presenting an ultimatum -- 31. Serbia more or less accepts -- Part 7: Countdown -- 32. Showdown in Berlin -- 33. July 26 -- 34. July 27 -- 35. July 28 -- 36. July 29 -- 37. July 30 -- 38. July 31 -- 39. August 1 -- 40. August 2 -- 41. August 3 -- 42. August 4 -- 43. Shredding the evidence -- Part 8: The mystery solved -- 44. Assembling in the library -- 45. What did not happen -- 46. The key to what happened -- 47. What was it about? -- 48. Who could have prevented it? -- 49. Who started it? -- 50. Could it happen again? -- 51. Summing up -- 52. Austria's war -- 53. Germany's war.;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. David Fromkin provides a different answer: hostilities were commenced deliberately. In a 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. From the author of the best-selling A Peace to End All Peace ("extraordinarily ambitious, provocative, and vividly written"-- Washington Post Book World ), a dramatic reassessment of the causes of the Great War. The early summer of 1914 was the most glorious Europeans could remember. But, behind the scenes, the most destructive war the world had yet known was moving inexorably into being, a war that would continue to resonate into the twenty-first century. The question of how it began has long vexed historians. Many have cited the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; others have concluded that it was nobody's fault. But David Fromkin--whose account is based on the latest scholarship--provides a different answer. He makes plain that hostilities were commenced deliberately. In a gripping narrative that has eerie parallels to events in our own time, Fromkin shows that not one but two wars were waged, and that the first served as pretext for the... Nonfiction 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. From the Trade Paperback edition