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Twenty-Five Years, 1892-1916
- GenresHistory
First published January 1, 1926
38 people want to read
About the author
Edward Grey
104 books9 followersEdward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon KG, PC, FZL, DL, better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman who served as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 11, 2019
This is Sir Edward Grey retrospective account of his years in office and particularly the time spent as foreign secretary in the build up to WW1 and the first 2 years of the war .
For this reason, knowing the cataclysmic outcome as we do, it reads like a thriller - you know it is going to end in an Apocalypse - what you are reading is the inevitable inching towards the precipice !
What struck me most was the contrast between the very polite diplomatic inter course of GB with our European neighbours ( and Russia ) of 1905-14 versus the cacophony of relations today over Brexit . In 1912 for example Grey gathered the other leaders together for the Conference of London to find a solution to the Balkan crisis. The 6 men would meet every day at 4pm for tea and discuss developments in Serbia and Albania for a couple of hours under the chairmanship of Grey. The « conference « went on for months in this gentle way until all reached agreement. Wow !
How different today and in so many ways.
Noticeable also is GBs friendship with France and Russia , that we declared war on Germany only to protect the neutrality of Belgium, that 1914 was the most peaceful year prior June 26 for several years as far as relations with Germany were concerned .
When Grey suggested another London conference to the leaders of Austria Germany etc after Austria’s ultimatum to Serbia the parties declined and war quickly became inevitable.
Reading this account is a very therapeutic way to distance oneself from today’s fraught politics and to reflect how much culture, manners,
Priorities and much more besides , have changed in the past century .
A riveting read
For this reason, knowing the cataclysmic outcome as we do, it reads like a thriller - you know it is going to end in an Apocalypse - what you are reading is the inevitable inching towards the precipice !
What struck me most was the contrast between the very polite diplomatic inter course of GB with our European neighbours ( and Russia ) of 1905-14 versus the cacophony of relations today over Brexit . In 1912 for example Grey gathered the other leaders together for the Conference of London to find a solution to the Balkan crisis. The 6 men would meet every day at 4pm for tea and discuss developments in Serbia and Albania for a couple of hours under the chairmanship of Grey. The « conference « went on for months in this gentle way until all reached agreement. Wow !
How different today and in so many ways.
Noticeable also is GBs friendship with France and Russia , that we declared war on Germany only to protect the neutrality of Belgium, that 1914 was the most peaceful year prior June 26 for several years as far as relations with Germany were concerned .
When Grey suggested another London conference to the leaders of Austria Germany etc after Austria’s ultimatum to Serbia the parties declined and war quickly became inevitable.
Reading this account is a very therapeutic way to distance oneself from today’s fraught politics and to reflect how much culture, manners,
Priorities and much more besides , have changed in the past century .
A riveting read
Displaying 1 of 1 review