First Great War

World War I altered the landscape of the modern world in every conceivable arena. Millions died; empires collapsed; new ideologies and political movements arose; poison gas, warplanes, tanks, submarines, and other technologies appeared. "Total war" emerged as a grim, mature reality. In The Great War, Peter Hart provides a masterful combat history of this global conflict.

The Great War: An In-Depth Analysis of the First World War offers a comprehensive exploration of one of the most pivotal conflicts in modern history. This book delves deeply into the political, social, and military aspects of World War I, examining the causes, major battles, technological advancements, and the global impact of the war. From the intricate alliances that set the stage for conflict to the trench warfare that defined the Western Front, each chapter provides an in-depth look at key events and figures that shaped the war’s outcome. Special attention is given to naval warfare, ...

It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.

The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the twentieth century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have...

A century has passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the "war to end all wars" is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world.

War Transformed provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical and contemporary anecdotes to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century.

The Great War was the first truly global conflict and it changed the course of world history. In this magnum opus, critically acclaimed historian Peter Hart examines the conflict in every arena around the world, in a history that combines cutting-edge scholarship with vivid and unfamiliar eyewitness accounts, from kings and generals, and ordinary soldiers. 

A new biography exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s wartime experiences and their impact on his life and his writing of The Lord of The Rings. “To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 … by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead.” So J.R.R. Tolkien...

Listen to the greatest thinkers of all time as they explore the deepest questions of human existence.

The visionary behind the bestselling phenomenon The Fourth Turning looks once again to America’s past to predict our future in this “riveting and revelatory” (Tony Robbins) prophecy for how our present era of unrest will resolve over the next ten years—and what our lives will look like...

Cambrai was the battle that announced the tank as more than an experiment. In November 1917, after years of trench deadlock on the Western Front, the British Army launched a bold attack near Cambrai using hundreds of tanks, predicted artillery fire, infantry, aircraft, engineers, cavalry, and careful deception. For a brief moment, the Hindenburg Line seemed to crack open. Church bells rang in Britain. Newspapers celebrated a breakthrough. The tank had arrived. But Cambrai was never a simple story of victory. The first great tank offensive revealed both the promise and the limits of armored ...

A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such as these have inspired stories that go to the heart of the human experience of World War I. Each author was invited to choose an object that had a connection to the war - a writing kit for David Almond, a helmet for Michael Morpurgo - and use it as the inspiration for an original short story.

By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction audiobook provides a concise and insightful history of the Great War - from the state of Europe in 1914, to the role of the US, the collapse of Russia, and the eventual surrender of the Central Powers.

“Chickie takes us thousands of miles on a hilarious quest laced with sorrow, but never dull. You will laugh and cry, but you will not be sorry that you read this rollicking story.”—Malachy McCourt Soon to be a major motion picture written and directed by Peter Farrelly, who won two Academy...

1914, and the intense shadows of an unexpectedly fiery summer that is burning up the whole of Europe are hiding beneath them the darker shadows of the “war to end all wars.” And these shadows, in turn, are concealing the darkest shadows of them all – those predicting a violent revolution that will draw to a shocking close the Romanov dynasty in Russia that will devour its children. Meanwhile, Empress Alexandra, always more focused on what is happening right there in her boudoir, is more concerned about the possibility of a palace coup, as she suspects that her disconcertingly uppity ...

As the Martian force tries to consolidate their position in the US, President Theodore Roosevelt gathers the best scientific minds and industry leaders to meet the Martian challenges. Staking everything on a roll of the dice, a joint army-navy force are in the midst of developing a landship to win the war. The big question is if they can complete it in time.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary, a riveting first-hand account of the Battle of Okinawa—the Pacific War’s "bloodiest battle of all" (New York Times)—from the first officer ashore, who served at the front for the battle’s entire 82-day duration, heroism that earned him a Bronze...

Romania lies on Europe’s eastern border, and as such, it is often neglected in history. Although it is a culturally very rich country, the world displayed little interest in its promotion. By listening to this captivating history of Romania, you will learn about the turbulent past of the region, the many wars it fought, and the people who led them. You will also learn the truth behind the character of Vlad the Impaler and decide for yourself if he was a ruthless, bloodthirsty ruler or a politician, tactician, and national hero.

In the early 20th century, World War I was the most devastating event humanity had yet experienced. New machines of war left tens of millions killed or wounded in the most grotesque of ways. The Great War remade the world's map, created new global powers, and brought forth some of the biggest problems still facing us today. But it also birthed a new art form: the horror film, made from the fears of a generation ruined by war. From Nosferatu to Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, the touchstones of horror can all trace their roots to the bloodshed of the First World War.

This “elegant and sobering” (The New York Times) history reveals how Germany’s fractured republic gave way to the Third Reich, from the breakthrough of the Nazi party to the rise of Hitler Amid the ravages of economic depression, Germans in the early 1930s were pulled to political extremes...