Total War and Historical Change: Europe 1914-1955

by Arthur Marwick

*What do we mean by social and cultural change?

*What is the nature of total war?

*How do wars come to happen?

*What are the consequences of war?

In exploring these four key themes, this collection provides a major resource for the study of twentieth century European history and exemplifies different historical methods and approaches. The authors are drawn from a range of disciplines including those of economics, literature and the arts as well as military, social and political history, and together they raise some of the most significant problems and debates in the study of history. The essays range from standard seminal works by Stanley Hoffmann, Arno J. Mayer and Charles Maier to more recent contributions by Richard Bessell, Mark Harrison and Hew Strachan.

This is an important reader for all students of modern European history.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Arthur John Brereton Marwick (1936-2006) was a Scottish social historian, who served for many years as Professor of History at the Open University. His research interests lay primarily in the history of Britain in the twentieth century, and the relationship between war and social change.