More than any other event, the First World War made the twentieth century what it has been. Now, as the century draws to a close, eighty years after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the time is right for a radical reassessment of the 'Great War'. In this boldly conceived book, aimed to appeal not only to students but also to the general reader, Niall Ferguson explodes many of the myths surrounding the war.