Best Book You've Read Recently (Political/History/Non-Fiction)

[Talk2BigSteve]

I saw On Bull**T posted in the Book Section So I ordered it. Very Good Book!!!

Steve

[Cyrus]

"Europe's Last Summer : Who Started the Great War in 1914?"

I recommended the book when I was about mid-way through it. I was seeing up to that point some very interesting and new documents (and arguments) about the Great War, but nothing like what was in store in the later chapters!

Here's what the book's author suggests, and makes a quite convincing case for it too: The Great Powers of Europe did not "slide inexorably" towards a war "they did not want", through a combination of miscommunication, accidents and paranoia. Those elements were present alright but were made subordinate by the principal actors, Germany and Austria-Hungary, who wanted, caused and initiated war. Germany against Russia and France; and Austria-Hungary against Serbia. To that end, the pro-war elements in the respective positions of power (military and political) in the two countries worked hard - and also exploited the opportunities that presented themselves.

The major opportunity was, of course, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Bosnian-Serb nationalist, while they were on an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia, a region ruled by Austria-Hungary. (The stroke of irony here is that, among Austro-Hungarians, the Archduke was quite probably the most Slav-friendly and peace-oriented!)

The murder precipitated two wars rather than one: Austria-Hungary's against Serbia and Germany's against Russia. In the first one, Austria-Hungary struck against Belgrade with everything it had - and lost convincingly! In the second one, France sided with Russia and, as soon as it became obvious that Germany would not respect any pre-war treaty it had signed (such as one guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality), Britain joined too. The rest is pretty well known.

Moltke, Chief of the German general staff, was a principal protagonist in the drama, someone who worked diligently, and sometimes against his Kaiser's wishes or orders to cause war. He believed that "the time was right" for Germany to defeat Russia and France, in a rather quick war; he believed that Britain would not join the fray; he believed that the United States would have no cause to mix it up.

The lesson that the book's author outlines at the end, however, is very much correct: It takes two or more nations to have peace; it takes only one, to have war.

And if there is not enough restraining power in the nations that are inclined for peace, war is inevitable, for the duration.