Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914

Great Power Diplomacy #1

by Norman Rich

This is a survey of the foreign relations of the great powers. The author describes how statesmen conducted foreign policy, how they dealt with crisis situations, and how they succeeded or failed in resolving them. International relations are presented in a global perspective, introducing students to a number of global problems past and present. Designed for courses in European, world, or great power foreign policy, this book may also be a supplementary text for general courses in nineteenth-century European history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, European History

502 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1991

About the author

An internationally recognized scholar of European history, Norman Rich taught history at Bryn Mawr College, Michigan State University, and Brown University, retiring from the latter as Professor of History, Emeritus. After receiving his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1949, Norman Rich served for five years on the Board of Editors of the captured German Foreign Office documents, a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the British Foreign Office, and the French Foreign Ministry. He has been awarded research fellowships at the Center of International Studies, Princeton, and St. Antony's College, Oxford, and in addition has been awarded Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships for research in England and Germany.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norman Rich delivers another stunning account of diplomatic history this time from 1914 through the mid 1990's. For those unfamiliar with his work his account of Great Power diplomacy between 1814-1914 is among some of the best ever done. While this work is not quite as strong and strikes me as a little less thorough it still hits the mark. Beginning with the outbreak of World War 1 and tracking the history and counter myths the book provides an excellent summation. It the first we really only see European history with a little on the US and Asia. This book is truly a world history account and with so much to cover Rich is forced to glaze over a large amount. As usual it is pretty free from political bias and really makes the reader question the foreign policy decisions of previously untouchables such as Ronald Reagan. The rise of Asia and the Soviet Union are also very well done in this book and Rich displays an unusually keen understanding for the amount of pages he has to write on. One of the strong points of both books is the wonderful bibliography that has tons of suggestions for further reading. This really is an ideal book to start with when looking at diplomatic history of the world or just for gaining an understanding of the important events that happened in the 20th century.

[Mark Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the main text for a college course I just took in the fall of 2010 on 19th century European diplomatic history, and covers the period from the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 up to coming of World War I in 1914. It was well-written, a pleasure to read, is illustrated with excellent maps and has an exhaustive bibliography for those interested in further study of this subject.

[Albulena]

For everyone who wants to have a clear view about developments and relations between the great powers during one century (1814-1914) and the causes of the WWI...this is the best way to understand them...