The Pity of War: Explaining World War I cover
Book

The Pity of War: Explaining World War I

by Niall Ferguson

1998•EN
About the book

Niall Ferguson challenges the standard accounts of the First World War. He argues that Britain was not forced into war by German aggression and that the war was not inevitable, that Germany might have won, and that the war's financial and human cost was out of proportion to anything it achieved. He examines why soldiers kept fighting rather than surrendering, and tests explanations such as propaganda, coercion, and the hatred of the enemy.

History readers who like provocative revisionism will enjoy the argument. You leave with questions about every familiar claim of the conflict.

Reading profile

Outward-looking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Systems Thinker. Which reader are you?

Details
Published
1998
Language
EN

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