<![CDATA[The First World War]]>

false <![CDATA[The First World War]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165766705m/8914.jpg 8914 13 Despite the avalanche of books written about the First World War in recent years, there have been comparatively few books that deliver a comprehensive account of the war and its campaigns from start to finish. The First World War fills the gap superbly. As readers familiar with Keegan's previous books (including The Second World War and Six Armies in Normandy) know, he's a historian of the old school. He has no earth-shattering new theories to challenge the status quo, no first-person accounts to tug on the emotions--what he does have, though, is a gift for talking the lay person through the twists and turns of a complex narrative in a way that is never less than accessible or engaging. Keegan never tries to ram his learning down your throat. Where other authors have struggled to explain how Britain could ever allow itself to be dragged into such a war in 1914, Keegan keeps his account practical. The level of communications that we enjoy today just didn't exist then, and so it was much harder to keep track of what was going on. By the time a message had finally reached the person in question, the situation may have changed out of all recognition. Keegan applies this same "cock-up" theory of history to the rest of the war, principally the three great disasters at Gallipoli, the Somme, and Passchendaele. The generals didn't send all those troops to their deaths deliberately, Keegan argues; they did it out of incompetence and ineptitude, and because they had no idea of what was actually going on at the front. While The First World War is not afraid to point the finger at those generals who deserve it, even Keegan has to admit he doesn't have all the answers. If it all seems so obviously futile and such a massive waste of life now, he asks, how could it have seemed worthwhile back then? Why did so many people carry on, knowing they would die? Why, indeed. --John Crace, Amazon.co.uk 11817 1998 The First World War total:429|5:94|4:186|3:118|2:30|1:1| 429 1629 641 53 4 1 false false Sat Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 08:55:21 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 09:30:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 26 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jun 24 11:18:50 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 11:20:42 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 12:30:13 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 12:43:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 06 22:21:29 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 22:30:40 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 04 03:30:33 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 00:50:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 15:31:13 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 17:47:08 -0800 2009 1. He refers to many towns and areas in Europe that do not appear on the maps he put int he book. So, I would say he should have used more maps and put some relevant towns on them.
2. He had some pretty weird sentence structure wit...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 10:22:40 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 19:17:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 true false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 03 20:08:55 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 18:48:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 23 20:34:19 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 23 20:58:39 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 05:08:20 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 05:20:03 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 07 19:29:06 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 16 16:22:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 19:05:46 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 19:07:28 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Aug 26 19:10:46 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 19:12:46 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 15 15:18:04 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 15:18:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 21 06:24:14 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 06:26:06 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 07:03:47 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 12:57:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 13:05:56 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:18:57 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 16:43:28 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 16:44:36 -0800 2009 http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/europe...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jun 22 08:41:01 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 08:57:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 05 17:09:11 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 17:09:43 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=8914