The Outbreak of the First World War [Paperback]

To Armsis Hew Strachan's most complete and definitive study of the opening of the First World War. Now, key sections from this magisterial work are published as individual paperbacks, each complete in itself, and with a new introduction by the author. Ever since its outbreak in 1914, the causes of the First World War have been one of the major debates in world history. For some it was a war engineered by Germany, and a pointer towards Hitler. For others it was the product of miscalculation - a verdict whose poignancy is heightened by the knowledge of what followed.The Outbreak ofthe First World Wareschews either extreme. Instead, it approaches the issues from the perspectives of those who grappled with conflicting priorities and vital national interests and considers the responses of their peoples and the so-called 'ideas of 1914'.

Introduction
Part I The Origins of the War
1. Germany as a World Power
2. Austria-Hungary and the Balkans
3. The July Crisis
Part II Willingly to War
4. War Enthusiasm
5. Socialism and the International
6. The Imaginings of Intellectuals
7. Popular Responses
Part III Conclusion
The Ideas of 1914