Who Started the Great War in 1914?
By David Fromkin. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. $26.95. ISBN 0-375-41156-9. World War I was the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century, slaughtering an entire generation and changing the worlds political and social structure forever. According to Boston University professor David Fromkin, however, the Great War was no accident, no surprise, and not avoidable. Fromkins latest book, one of the best describing the real origins of World War I, suggests Germany and Austria-Hungary both had long planned to start a European war, no matter what other nations said or did to prevent it. Fromkin offers a scholarly, detailed, and dramatic account of the manipulation, aggression, and maneuverings in Berlin and Vienna, Austria, and the miscalculations in Belgrade, Serbia; Paris; London; and St. Petersburg, Russia. His conclusions are stunning and convincing, especially in light of General Helmuth von Moltkes advice: When starting a world war one has to think very carefully. William D.
