Skip to main content

World War I, American Heritage History of

Format
Paperback
Pages
427
ID
978-1541262911

“In the Bosnian town of Sarajevo on the morning of June 28, 1914, a chauffeur misunderstood his instructions, made the wrong turn, tried
too late to correct his blunder, and in so doing, delivered his passengers to a point where a waiting assassin did not have to take aim to
gun them down. Two rounds from one pistol and the world rocked. The crime was the small stone that loosened brings the avalanche.”
So begins Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall’s compelling narrative of the American Heritage History of World War I, a book that tells the
story of the Great War from Sarajevo to Versailles. Ten million men died; another 20 million were wounded. But it was not the numbers
alone that made this the Great War. The flame thrower, the tank, and poison gas were introduced. Cavalry became obsolete; air combat
and submarine warfare came of age. Old dynasties disintegrated; new nations appeared.
In this book, renowned military historian Marshall, a World War I veteran, describes and analyzes the origins, course, and immediate
aftermath of the colossal conflict. The story begins with a look backward at a complacent world ensnared in a network of alliances. Out of
this setting emerged the cunning diplomats and statesmen who maneuvered and blundered their countries into positions that made the
war inevitable. Once committed, the nations of Europe aligned into two, mighty opposing forces, and went jauntily into war, each
confident that the conflict would be over before it really began.
Marshall follows the personalities, strategies, errors, and the unremitting slaughter of the next four years. The story ends with the ill-
conceived Treaty of Versailles, which sowed the seeds that would plunge the following generation into another world war.

Reviews

"Brig. Gen. 'Slam' Marshall and the staff of American Heritage have produced what is by far and away the best, most concise and clearest
one-volume history of that war to end all wars. It is history at its finest; a beautiful, terrible chronicle sure to be quoted whenever that
ghastly conflict is discussed."
--The Denver Post

Enjoy our work? Help us keep going.

Now in its 75th year, American Heritage relies on contributions from readers like you to survive. You can support this magazine of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it by donating today.

Donate