{"product_id":"the-vanquished-why-the-first-world-war-failed-to-end-19171923-9780141976372","title":"The Vanquished Why the First World War Failed to","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A breathtaking, magisterial panorama, telling the epic story of  post-war anarchy, dying empires and rising nation states. It makes us  rethink our understanding of Europe''s twentieth century'' David Motadel, \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the Western allies 11 November 1918 has always been a solemn date -  the end of fighting which had destroyed a generation, and also a  vindication of a terrible sacrifice with the total collapse of their  principal enemies: the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman  Empire. But for much of the rest of Europe this was a day with no  meaning, as a continuing, nightmarish series of conflicts engulfed  country after country. In this highly original, gripping book Robert  Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World  War. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Lucid, incisive and packed with fascinating details'' \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, Books of the Year \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Important  and timely ... obliges us to reconsider a p\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis narrative of continent-wide chaos makes it easier to understand why order came to seem a supremely desirable objective in 1930s Europe, trumping freedom ...  it helps us understand why few wars reach tidy conclusions: once a society has suspended its instinctive, social and legal prejudice against killing, it often proves hard to restore. -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003ePulls together a complex narrative about the uneasy peace of the late Twenties and shine a piercing light into darkened corners of history ... an unnerving reminder of how stubbornly some geopolitical fault-lines endure -- Sinclair McKay * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA mixture of fast-paced narrative and fluent analysis ... Gerwarth demonstrates with an impressive concentration of detail that in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe the carnage of the first world war by no means came to an end, as it did for the British and French, in late 1918. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eCombining a big-picture overview with close-up detail - we hear the voices of soldiers, politicians, civilians - Gerwarth has written a vivid if disturbing account -- Matthew Price * National *\u003cbr\u003eSearing and vivid ... a timely reminder that the roots of century-long violence can be traced back to the cataclysmic end of the Great War -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eA thorough explanation for the rise of the nationalist and fascist groups who set the stage for World War II. * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003eGerwarth's fascinating and finely crafted book is a rich combination of military, political, cultural and social history. He makes good use of literary sources and witness testimony to bring the events he narrates to life ... an impressive work of highly accessible scholarship -- Geoffrey Roberts * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eThis is an important and compelling book with a fascinating and chilling narrative ... Gerwarth reveals how the forgotten postwar violence comprised a key step on Europe's descent into darkness. -- Alexander Watson * BBC History Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eWhile Gerwarth's warfare theories are cogent and convincing, he never loses sight of the human dimension. He skillfully avoids the danger of getting bogged down in a mass of detail, livening up his narrative by using contemporary quotes from politicians, soldiers and writers. One mark of a good history book is that it allows the reader to see familiar events from a new perspective. In this respect, \u003ci\u003eThe Vanquished \u003c\/i\u003eis an exceptional history book. -- Andrew Lynch * Sunday Post Business Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e[Gerwarth] shines a light on what is, from a western European point of view, a somewhat obscure and relatively short period of time ... from the layman's vantage point, it is so well written that it reads like a novel. Tragically, for the people killed, wounded and forced to flee from their homes, it is not. This book is well worth the read. -- Frank MacGabhann * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003eThis fine and timely study makes a compelling case for the argument that the bloody aftermath of the war did more to destroy European civilisation than the declarations of war in 1914 ... at a time when Vladimir Putin seems intent on regaining Tsarist Russia's frontiers, and the map of the Middle East drawn by the victorious powers becomes ever more blurred, we might well ask whether the First World War has ended yet. -- A.W. Purdue * Times Higher Education Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eA clear and excellent account of the abrupt break-up of the Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Ottoman and Romanov empires and the difficult birth of their successor states during 1917-23 * History of War Reviews *\u003cbr\u003eThis is difficult, often horrifying reading, but Gerwarth provides an essential contribution to our understanding of the interwar years. -- Jay Freeman * Booklist *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49399850500439,"sku":"9780141976372","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141976372.jpg?v=1730468914","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-vanquished-why-the-first-world-war-failed-to-end-19171923-9780141976372","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}