The Great War, 1914-1918

London, England: Ark Paperbacks, 1987. First Ark Paperback Edition. Presumed first printing thus. Trade paperback. Good. xi, [1], 239, [5] pages. Translated from the original French edition of 1969. Includes Translator's Note, Introduction, two black and white maps, four full-page tables, a Select Bibliography, and an Index. Some darkening to text noted. This edition incorporates corrections to the French and Italian editions, as well as some new material produced by M. Ferro for this English version. The bibliography notes English translations of books the author cited in French translation or in their original language. Marc Ferro (born 24 December 1924) is a French historian. He has worked on early twentieth-century European history, specializing in the history of Russia and the USSR, as well as the history of cinema. His Ukrainian-Jewish mother died during the Holocaust. He is Director of Studies in Social Sciences at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. He is a co-director of the French review Annales and co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary History. He has also directed and presented television documentaries on the rise of the Nazis, Lenin and the Russian revolution and on the representation of history in cinema. The author shows how a set of separate but connected conflicts--from the mud of Flanders to the empty plains of Russia, a war fought under the ocean in submarines, as well as in the steamy heat of East Africa--formed a new style of war. He shows a conflict which engulfed the whole world, directly or indirectly. Ferro reveals how statesmen unwittingly loosed uncontrollable social forces, like nationalism and religious hatred, onto the world in an effort to win. The Great War, 1914-1918. 'Home by Christmas!' That was the confident cry of the young men who marched to the frontlines in 1914. From London, Paris and Berlin they went in their millions, and in their millions they died. Marc Ferro's work, 'The Great War' looks at the realities faced by those men and their families at home. Ferro's book is a great piece of work to help understand the First World War. The opening chapter is perhaps the best part of the analysis, as it brings the reader into the story. A landmark history of the war that firmly places the First World War in the context of imperialism and gives due weight to the role of non-Europeans in the conflict.