Jill H.'s Reviews > A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

I keep reading WWI books, not necessarily to learn anything new but to get the perspective of the authors....and of course because I love them. This book jumps to the top of my list as a direct, unbiased look at the war and all that made it so horrific. And the author uses a device which I found quite novel. At the beginning of each chapter he places a "background" of two or three pages to discuss issues that would not usually get much attention in an overall history of the Great War. They range from the Serbs to the development of artillery to the Junkers to War and Poetry. All these things apply to the war but are somewhat sidelights to the bigger picture.

He takes us from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to the Versailles fiasco and although he covers the major battles, he keeps the narrative moving without intricate plans of how each battle was fought. He is not shy about pointing fingers at the huge errors made by the military leadership on both sides but also praises those who needed praise. I felt that he was fair in his assessments; some extremely obvious (utilizing mounted cavalry against machine guns) and some are more subtle (the initial refusal to make modifications to the Schlieffen Plan). This is a well researched book which will hold your attention throughout. Very highly recommended.