The Pity of War: Explaining World War I (Allen Lane History)

In *The Pity of War*, Niall Ferguson explodes the myths of 1914-18. He argues that the fatal conflict between Britain and Germany was far from inevitable. It was Britain's declaration of war that needlessly turned a continental conflict into a world war, and it was Britain's economic mismanagement and military inferiority that necessitated American involvement, forever altering the global balance of power. Ferguson vividly brings back to life one of the seminal catastrophes of the century, not through a dry citation of chronological chapter and verse, but through a series of chapters that answer the key questions: Why did the war start? Why did it continue? And why did it stop? How did the Germans manage to kill more soldiers than they lost but still end up defeated in November 1918? Above all, why did men fight? Niall Ferguson attempts to explode many of the myths surrounding World War I. He argues that the fatal conflict between Britain and Germany was far from inevitable and that it was Britain that needlessly turned a continental conflict into a world war. Having taken this fatal decision, Britain frittered away the enormous economic superiority which should have settled the war swiftly in her favour In this book, aimed to appeal not only to students but also to the general reader, Ferguson explodes many of the myths surrounding the First World War, and reassesses one of the events which helped to shape the twentieth century. It is often asserted that the First World War was caused by culture: to be precise, the culture of militarism, which is said to have prepared men so well for what they yearned for it. Ferguson reexamines the war, especially Britain's role, and takes issue with some long held beliefs