Causes of the War - summer reading

[4thGordons]

I have been doing some more concentrated reading on the "origins" of the great war.(some of the below are broader general texts but include sections on WWI)

I am putting my current list below and would appreciate other suggestions. I have focussed on more recent scholarship but "classics" are also welcome:

Cashman, G. (1993). What Causes War? An Introduction to Theories of International Conflict. Boulder: Lexington Books.

Copeland, D. C. (2000). The Origins of Major War. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.

Fromkin, D. (2004). Europe's Last Summer. New York: Knopf.

Hamilton, R. F., & Herwig, H. (2004). Decisions for War 1914-17. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hermmann, D. G. (1996). The Arming of Europe and the Making of the First World War. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Herwig, H. H. (1997). The Outbreak of World War I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Jannen, W. J. (1996). The Lions of July. Novato Ca: Presidio Press.

Joll, J., & Martell, G. (2007 (3rd ed)). The Origins of the First World War. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Meyer. G.J. (2006) A World Undone. New York: Random House

Miller, S. e. (1991). Military Strategy and the Origins of the First World War (2nd (revised and expanded) ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

Mombauer, A. (2002). The Origins of the First World War. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Steiner, Zara S. & Keith Neilson. (1977)(2003 ed) Britain and the Origins of the First World War. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Stevenson, D. (2004). Cataclysm The First World War as Political Tragedy. New York: Basic Books.

Stevenson, D. (1997). The Outbreak of the First World War. 1914 in Perspective. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.

Van Evera, S. (1999). Causes of War. Power and the Roots of Conflict. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.

Chris

[melwar]

A classic: Barbara Tuchman's the Guns of August (1962)

[4thGordons]

A classic: Barbara Tuchman's the Guns of August (1962)

Thanks - yes read that.

[tintin1689]

Might I put in a word for Thomson's "The Twelve Days" ?

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...;hl=twelve+days

[Chris_Baker]

S. R. Williamson, "The politics of grand strategy: Britain and France prepare for war, 1904-1914" (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969)

Viscount R. B. Haldane, "Before the war" (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1920). An e-book copy is located at http://www.e-Gutenberg.com.

[4thGordons]

Might I put in a word for Thomson's "The Twelve Days" ?

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...;hl=twelve+days

Ahhh excellent thank you very much I have not read this. Off to check the library and Abebooks!

Thanks.

[4thGordons]

S. R. Williamson, "The politics of grand strategy: Britain and France prepare for war, 1904-1914" (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969)

Viscount R. B. Haldane, "Before the war" (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1920). An e-book copy is located at http://www.e-Gutenberg.com.

Thanks Chris - I actually saw a reference to the Williamson book this weekend and had made a note. Thanks for the link to Haldane. I have read enough about Haldane it will be interesting to read something BY Haldane.

Thanks.

[jeremym]

Chris

Might I suggest the following:

Kennedy, Paul M. (1980). The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism 1860-1914. London: George Allen & Unwin.

An outstanding treatment of the political and economic lead-up to the war.

Ferro, Marc. (1973). The Great War 1914-1918. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

The early chapters provide an interesting French perspective on the approach to war.

Wilson, Keith (ed.) (1995). Decisions for War, 1914. London, UCL Press.

Hamilton, Richard F. and Herwig, Holger H. (2004). Decisions for War, 1914-17. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Both of these cover similar ground and are of interest because they include some of the minor participants as well as the Great Powers. The latter title also looks closely at how the decisions to go to war were taken and who actually took them.

Koch, H.W. (ed.) (1984, 2nd revised edition). The Origins of the First World War - Great Power Rivalry and German War Aims. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan.

An oustanding collection of essays on the still contentious question of German war aims.

jeremym

(Jeremy Mitchell)

[Chris_Baker]

Just remembered this list: http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/biblio...20the%20War.doc

[4thGordons]

Just remembered this list: http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/biblio...20the%20War.doc

COR! right - thanks again Chris and Jeremy.

I suspect my Inter Library Loan librarian is going to be busy!

Thanks

Chris