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rbkegley's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it, but you have to like 550+ pages about the lead-up to World War I and the first months of the conflict. The best parts are the changes in outlook from the impossibly rosy attitudes in the first weeks to the realization, four months and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, that no one saw a quick way out of the war.
fragfritz's review against another edition
4.0
Great summary of the start and the first year of the Great War
essemmarr's review against another edition
5.0
Phenomenal book. Just an excellent history of the rapid descent into madness that was the summer of 1914 in Europe, followed by an excellent history of the continent-wide conflict until things settled into their winter stasis, a stasis that would last for four more bloody years on the Western Front.
There are plenty of very in-depth reviews of this book already available, so I want to focus on the highlights as seen by a reader who was already pretty familiar with the entirety of World War I:
- A proper overview of the main competing theories regarding "who is to blame for WWI" (I particularly loved the potshots at what I must I assume is Niall Ferguson's "it's all Britain's fault" theories)
- No-hedging explanations of which theories Hastings himself believes most valid
- While the Western Front gets its focus and time, the Polish/Galician and Serbian Fronts also get theirs
- Proper coverage of the initial frontier battles that were as bloody as anything that happened on the Somme or at Verdun but that almost no one thinks of today
- Proper coverage of the fact the Germany, tactically and strategically, was basically every bit as bumbling as the Western Allies were, but their initial logistics and commitment level gave them a brief early edge
- Excellent personality analysis of the leading personalities on each side, from the Kaiser to the Commander-in-Chief of the BEF to lesser generals who ended up playing big roles in certain events
- Excellent coverage of "the little guy", from the soldiers in the trenches (tons of primary source material from letters and post-war interviews), to civilian victims of battles and occupations...
There's really no aspect of the first year of the war left unturned in this book, save for the African and some of the non-European-water naval campaigns. Hastings does make sure, though, to tell the reader _why_ these topics aren't germane to his particular book, which is appreciated, because it is a question I would have wondered about had it not been addressed.
Style-wise, Hastings doesn't try to tone down the drama inherent in the topic; Catastrophe 1914 often flows like a novel, particularly when discussing the actual progress of a battle, as the view shifts from the commanders down to the front-line soldiers and the civilians trying to get out of the way. While quite scholarly, it is also eminently readable.
So, we have a wonderful mix of myth-busting, a firm point of view expressed clearly and defended against its likely opponents, and stellar writing to accompany the narrative along. This is really up there with Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August" as far as must-have books covering the descent into The Great War. It gets my highest recommendation.
There are plenty of very in-depth reviews of this book already available, so I want to focus on the highlights as seen by a reader who was already pretty familiar with the entirety of World War I:
- A proper overview of the main competing theories regarding "who is to blame for WWI" (I particularly loved the potshots at what I must I assume is Niall Ferguson's "it's all Britain's fault" theories)
- No-hedging explanations of which theories Hastings himself believes most valid
- While the Western Front gets its focus and time, the Polish/Galician and Serbian Fronts also get theirs
- Proper coverage of the initial frontier battles that were as bloody as anything that happened on the Somme or at Verdun but that almost no one thinks of today
- Proper coverage of the fact the Germany, tactically and strategically, was basically every bit as bumbling as the Western Allies were, but their initial logistics and commitment level gave them a brief early edge
- Excellent personality analysis of the leading personalities on each side, from the Kaiser to the Commander-in-Chief of the BEF to lesser generals who ended up playing big roles in certain events
- Excellent coverage of "the little guy", from the soldiers in the trenches (tons of primary source material from letters and post-war interviews), to civilian victims of battles and occupations...
There's really no aspect of the first year of the war left unturned in this book, save for the African and some of the non-European-water naval campaigns. Hastings does make sure, though, to tell the reader _why_ these topics aren't germane to his particular book, which is appreciated, because it is a question I would have wondered about had it not been addressed.
Style-wise, Hastings doesn't try to tone down the drama inherent in the topic; Catastrophe 1914 often flows like a novel, particularly when discussing the actual progress of a battle, as the view shifts from the commanders down to the front-line soldiers and the civilians trying to get out of the way. While quite scholarly, it is also eminently readable.
So, we have a wonderful mix of myth-busting, a firm point of view expressed clearly and defended against its likely opponents, and stellar writing to accompany the narrative along. This is really up there with Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August" as far as must-have books covering the descent into The Great War. It gets my highest recommendation.
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