Europe's last summer : who started the Great War in 1914?
This book is a dramatic reassessment of the causes of the Great War. The early summer of 1914 was the most glorious Europeans could remember. But, behind the scenes, the most destructive war the world had yet known was moving inexorably into being, a war that would continue to resonate into the twenty-first century. The question of how it began has long vexed historians. Many have cited the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand; others have concluded that it was nobody's fault. But David Fromkin -- whose account is based on the latest scholarship -- provides a different answer. He makes plain that hostilities were commenced deliberately. In a gripping narrative that has eerie parallels to events in our own time, Fromkin shows that not one but two wars were waged, and that the first served as pretext for the second. Shedding light on such current issues as preemptive war and terrorism, he provides detailed descriptions of the negotiations and incisive portraits of the diplomats, generals, and rulers -- the Kaiser of Germany, the Czar of Russia, the Prime Minister of England, among other key players. And he reveals how and why diplomacy was doomed to fail. - Jacket flap
Print Book, English, 2004
Knopf : Distributed by Random House, New York, 2004
xi, 349 pages : illustrations, 1 map ; 25 cm
9780375411564, 0375411569
53937943
Out of the blue
The importance of the question
A summer to remember
Part 1: Europe's tensions. Empires clash ; Classes struggle ; Nations quarrel ; Countries arm ; Zarathustra prophesies ; Diplomats align
Part 2: Walking through minefields. The Eastern Question ; A challenge for the Archduke ; Explosive Germany
Part 3: Drifting toward war. Macedonia
out of control ; Austria
first off the mark ; France and Germany make their play ; Italy grasps
then the Balkans do too ; The Slavic tide ; Europe goes to the brink ; More Balkan tremors ; An American tries to stop it
Part 4: Murder!. The last waltz ; In the land of the assassins ; The Russian connection ; The terrorists strike ; Europe yawns ; Disposing of the bodies ; Rounding up the suspects
Part 5: Telling lies. Germany signs a blank check ; The great deception ; Berchtold runs out of time ; The secret is kept
Part 6: Crisis!. The fait is not accompli ; Presenting an ultimatum ; Serbia more or less accepts
Part 7: Countdown. Showdown in Berlin ; July 26 ; July 27 ; July 28 ; July 29 ; July 30 ; July 31 ; August 1 ; August 2 ; August 3 ; August 4 ; Shredding the evidence
Part 8: The mystery solved. Assembling in the library ; What did not happen ; The key to what happened ; What was it about? ; Who could have prevented it? ; Who started it? ; Could it happen again? ; Summing up
Epilogue. Austria's war ; Germany's war