14-18: Understanding The Great War

This book shows the Great War was the matrix on which all subsequent disasters of the twentieth century were formed. Stephane Audoin-Rouzeau and Annette Becker examine three neglected but highly significant aspects of the conflict, each of which changed national and international affairs forever. First, the war was unprecedented in its physical violence and destruction: Why was this so? What were the effects of tolerating it for four long years? Second, not just the soldiers but also the citizens of all the belligerent states seemed motivated and exalted by a vehement nationalistic, racist animus against the enemy: How had this "crusade" mentality evolved? Did it ever dissipate? Third, with its millions of deaths the war created a tidal wave of grief, since tens of millions of people worldwide were bereaved: How could the mourners come to terms with the agonizing pain? These elements, all too often overlooked or denied, are the ones we must come to grips with if we are ever going to understand the Great War.