Europe's Last Summer: Why the World Went to War in 1914

[CarylW]

Browsing through the Great War titles available for Kindle, I noticed this one for sale:

Europe's Last Summer: Why the World went to War in 1914 David Fromkin

This is a new title/author for me and I wondered if anyone else had read it?

Added it to my wish list for now because I've (ahem) purchased a fair few titles lately and I still have a number to read, plus a stack of printed books to catch up on. (Also about to read a couple of Peter Hart's books that should keep me busy for a while)

So many titles to choose from now and I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this book if they have read it. Small number of reviews on Amazon at the moment but positive and informative enough about the subject matter of the book to make me interested - except for the last review which was obviously posted in the wrong place!

Caryl

[4thGordons]

Browsing through the Great War titles available for Kindle, I noticed this one for sale:

Europe's Last Summer: Why the World went to War in 1914 David Fromkin

This is a new title/author for me and I wondered if anyone else had read it?

Caryl

I have read it and found it quite interesting.

As an approach it operates almost like a detective novel where a cast of characters are introduced and the villains sought. Lots of biographical detail on the various diplomats, ambassadors etc. For me, a bit too focussed on the individuals and not paying sufficient attention to macro-level causes.

It was an easy read as such things go although I am not sure I entirely buy Fromkin's conclusions.

A couple of years ago I tried to get a bit of an overview of this area, here FWIW is the list of books (Old school - paper versions!) I read then.

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.

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.

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

[Martin Bennitt]

I've not read this one of Fromkin's though I greatly liked his take on the other end of the conflict: 'A Peace to End All Peace - The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creations of the Modern Middle East'.

One not on the list above but is on my bookshelf is Barbara Tuchman's 'The Proud Tower - A Portrait of the World Before the War 1900-1914'.

cheers Martin B

[CarylW]

Thanks Chris. I will definitely read this when I get around to it.

An impressive list! Haven't read any of them and doubt if I'll read them all in my lifetime but may possibly be able to tick off a few of them, starting with Fromkin.

"(Old school - paper versions!) " Ah yes, must admit that although I appreciate the convenience and cheaper cost of books on a book reader I do miss having the paper copy to admire on my bookshelf. Noticed though with the Fromkin book and others that there are second hand cheaper ones available on Amazon, so may also order the paper version if I particularly like a book I've read on Kindle - or if I come across any bargains for sale anywhere

Just need a bigger house really!

Caryl

[4thGordons]

Thanks Chris. I will definitely read this when I get around to it.

An impressive list! Haven't read any of them and doubt if I'll read them all in my lifetime but may possibly be able to tick off a few of them, starting with Fromkin.

"(Old school - paper versions!) " Ah yes, must admit that although I appreciate the convenience and cheaper cost of books on a book reader I do miss having the paper copy to admire on my bookshelf. Noticed though with the Fromkin book and others that there are second hand cheaper ones available on Amazon, so may also order the paper version if I particularly like a book I've read on Kindle - or if I come across any bargains for sale anywhere

Just need a bigger house really!

Caryl

I know where you are coming from! I nearly always buy used via Abebooks or Amazon usually for a considerable saving. I also have the luxury of a very efficient Inter-Library Loan librarian who is just a few steps from my office and a few milliseconds from my email! He is fantastic about getting things - often as fast or faster than I could buy them (and often things that I could not buy if I wanted to!)

The whithering look I get from my partner is "less whithering" (and may become simply "resigned to temporary increase in clutter") when the books have a "return by date" in as opposed to delivered by the postman all for me! Space is a premium here too.

A couple of the books on the list are not specifically WWI but attempts at general theories of "causes of war" which had WWI as a case.

Chris

[truthergw]

I have read it and found it quite interesting.

As an approach it operates almost like a detective novel where a cast of characters are introduced and the villains sought. Lots of biographical detail on the various diplomats, ambassadors etc. For me, a bit too focussed on the individuals and not paying sufficient attention to macro-level causes.

It was an easy read as such things go although I am not sure I entirely buy Fromkin's conclusions.

A couple of years ago I tried to get a bit of an overview of this area, here FWIW is the list of books (Old school - paper versions!) I read then.

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.

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.

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

Very much my thoughts on this book, Chris. I enjoyed it and if one can pick it up cheap, worth a read. I would not go to the barricades on his interpretations , though. Herwig, Joll and Mombauer ( in any order) are essential reading for anyone interested in this area. For a broad setting, Barbara Tuchmann's The Proud Tower is well written.

[yelob]

Hi all,just to chip in that the first chapter in Strachan's To Arms deals with the causes of the war in great detail with macro and micro focusing,the book itself is brilliant but this chapter read slowly

and digested gives a great flavour of how this war was possible in the first place.Complex because he shifts views to all the major belligerents and their sometimes unified and sometimes contradictory responses

to their alliances in the decade before the war.

[CarylW]

Hi all,just to chip in that the first chapter in Strachan's To Arms deals with the causes of the war in great detail with macro and micro focusing,the book itself is brilliant but this chapter read slowly

and digested gives a great flavour of how this war was possible in the first place.Complex because he shifts views to all the major belligerents and their sometimes unified and sometimes contradictory responses

to their alliances in the decade before the war.

Liam

I agree with you and have a copy of Strachan. Haven't read it from cover to cover but often refer to it, reading various sections and have read that chapter

Think it is the largest book on my bookshelf. Hoping he will write the next one but someone mentioned it's unlikely.

Caryl

[mmckay395]

I read Europe's Last Summer a few years ago.

The book is okay, nothing less and certainly nothing more. Fromkin doesn't introduce any new or revised perspective on an already well covered topic. He has Germany marked as the chief architect of why Europe went to war in 1914. However, recent historiography, especially in the last decade have at least shared blame amongst Germany and Austria (see Kiessling - topos of desireable war, Afflerbach - topos of improbable war, and especially Kroenenbitter who highlights how war was in fact advocated amongst Austrian decision makers). Being published in 2004 there is Fromkin has no excuse not to accomodate these theories in his work. However, Fromkin simply doesn't deviate from the view advocated by Fischer, which may have held credence in the 1960's but is not so readily accepted fifty years later. Europe's Last Summer simply has nothing new to offer.

Also, I found Fromkins writing style was designed for those who have short attention spans. Very short chapters and paragraphs and nowhere near enough referencing. This is a book that could well be found in a shop at an airport and sold to those wanting an easy read on holiday!

Nevertheless, if you are new to the subject then this will give you a good and an easily readable overview of the July Crisis and the causes of World War One. However, there are other, more scholarly and more recent works that do the same job and also serve to add something to the historiographical debate surrounding this period which Fromkin most definitely does not do.

Mark

[Old Tom]

I am just reading this for the second time as a follow as a follow on from Annika Mombauer's The origins of the Great War. While I do not feel qualified to comment on the finer points of interpretation, the book seems to me to be an admirable account of the many threads leading to the Great War. Having just started re-reading Robert Massie's Dreadnaught I am beginning to appreciate the rather convoluted events, ambitions and intentions that lead to the war.

Old Tom

[Martin Bennitt]

I'm currently reading Clive Ponting's "Thirteen Days: Countdown to the Great War", which goes into a lot of

detail on all the diplomatic discussions and manoeuvrings. Haven't really got to his conclusions yet.

cheers Martin B

[kenneth505]

IMO Europe's Last Summer makes some fine contributions. True there isn't much new or especially groundbreaking material but let's be honest, that not what keeps us coming back to the topic of this war, or in some cases never leaving it.

I think it advances works like Tuchman's Proud Tower and

I enjoyed the chapter on Moltke's breakdown, the exploration of the Kaiser's mental state(s) and a more detailed examination of Moroccan Crises. His summation that I took away;the argument that Austria and Germany embarked upon distinct wars nearly simultaneously and each assumed they would be able to ensare the other to support their aims is quite helpful for me trying to suss out WWI origins.

mmckay395 wrote in post #

However, Fromkin simply doesn't deviate from the view advocated by Fischer, which may have held credence in the 1960's but is not so readily accepted fifty years later. Europe's Last Summer simply has nothing new to offer.

If the two war argument comes from Fischer so be it, but I and I suspect some others of us haven't had the chance to read Fischer yet.

[Marilyne]

Goodday,

Having myself started on the origins of the war not long ago, I stumbled on the topic when browsing through the forum in search of leads. And I felt like putting it into action again.

I've read Fromkin and found it really good. In his objectives, he says he is going to prove that the fault lies with Germany and Austria, but he relativises this theory as the search for the "culprit" goes on. what I also find very good in Fromkin - call it ma bête noire , the thing I'm always looking for in a scientific writing - is his axiologic neutrality. His writing in itself does not shift the blame to one side or another;

But i don't believe we can compare it to Fischer. I've just started on Fischer, so please give me some time, but from the outset on, the books pursue different aims, as well as covering different times. Fischer said it himself; a lot of books had already in his time been written about the origins of the war, all stopping their argumentation with the first shot, so to speak, in august 1914. Fisher covers the WHOLE war and watches how the aims develop with the years of war.

as said, I'm not done with Fischer, but I reserve the right to pick up this thread where I leave it now, when I have done, and I'll be able to compare both.

Meanwhile, another interesting read I can propose ADELINE, Yves-Marie: 1914: une tragédie européenne, Editions Ellipses, Paris, 2011

For those who read French, here my view/resume in my bibliography:

En faisant d’abord méthodiquement la présentation des protagonistes et en mettant vers l’avant les liens et tensions qui les unissent, Y-M A présente la première guerre mondiale comme une tragédie antique grecque. Tous les éléments sont là, est-ce inévitable ? Ensuite, il examine les différentes étapes ayant mené à la guerre. Encore une tragédie. Du meilleur Marivaux !! Malentendus, suspicions et suppliques… tous les éléments sont là, encore une fois. Ne rentre pas dans des détails futiles, compréhensible, langage simple et surtout … une neutralité axiologique remarquable ! Il ne rejette la faute sur personne. Au contraire, il parvient à laver la réputation des grands dirigeants de l’époque, y compris Guillaume II.

[Alan Tucker]

I would have thought that essential reading is Chris Clark's new book 'The Sleepwalkers' etc.

[Jim Hastings]

I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture given by Annika Mombauer on the subject last year, a brilliant speaker - you ever get the opportunity to, go for it! I read Fromkin and must say he made me think. Joll's book on the origins I found good reading too.

All the best

Jim

[Marilyne]

Oufti !!! That's really recent, Alan. thanks for the tip!! I'll certainly try to find a copy !!