Around two thirds of the way through the last Revolutions season, it's a good reminder that I should probably do a deep dive on...
Around two thirds of the way through the last Revolutions season, it’s a good reminder that I should probably do a deep dive on WWI sooner or later (maybe @centrally-unplanned or someone else has a book recommendation? podcasts work too)
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the scale of the tragedies of the past, the Iraq War is probably the single biggest tragic conflict of my lifetime (just eyeballing it) and both world wars were so much bigger, if nothing else I hope we as a species never do that shit again
World War One is one of those subjects where its vastness kindof defies one book, there are so many angles to it! If you really do want a “101 me with a book bro” take, honestly the classic is the oldie-but-goodie Stokebury’s Short History of World War One, it covers every angle in concise ways, and in ways that you can skip if it isn’t your area. It is a little outdated, having been written in the 1980′s, but I don’t think anything too problematic is in there (sections on the Russian Revolution will have the most ‘couldn’t access the documents in the 1980′s” issues).
From there is just, man what do you want to know, ya know? For the “how did it happen?” question, Joll’s Origins of the First World War is the classic, really blends the blow-by-blow diplomatic history with the grand social trends. If you want the consequences of the war and the world it made, the legendary Adam Tooze has The Deluge, which goes from the latter half of the war through the twenties to look at how the peace shook out and then fell apart.
Or if you are an economic history nut like me, you can just go all in with The Economics of World War 1, which contains an essay for each major combatant of how they mobilized, financed, and traded through the war, but I doubt you want this ^_^
Ill give a niche but easy opener recommendation to Bret Devereaux’s brilliant essay (2-partner) on the fundamental military dynamics of World War One, answer the question “why did trench warfare occur, and how come it couldn’t be broken?” An extremely quick way to grapple with the central military reality that shaped the war effort of each combatant.
But yeah if you want something more specific let me know and I will see if I have anything I can recommend.
(I am not much of a podcast person, alas, others can cover that I’m sure).
!!!
This is really helpful, I think I’ll jump off from the sources here and if I feel like something is missing when I make my way through them I’ll ask you