Europe's Last Summer

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. Most have cited the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand; some concluded that it was nobody's fault. But David Fromkin, whose account is based on the latest scholarship, provides a different answer. He shows that hostilities were started deliberately.

In a gripping narrative that has eerie parallels to events in our own time, Fromkin shows that two wars were waged and that one served as pretext for the other. Shedding light on such current issues as preventive war and how to combat 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 destined to fail.

Europe's Last Summer is a striking recreation of a crucial moment in twentieth-century history.

• Previous
• 1
• Next