'Here is a global history of a global war. This volume is particularly useful on the Central Powers, and on the way in which the revolutionary currents unleashed by the war swept away all three of the empires - German, Austro-Hungarian, and Turkish - who challenged Britain, France, Italy and Russia for dominance of the international order. The fact that the Russian empire followed the path to collapse reinforces Sondhaus's claim that the Great War introduced a revolutionary wave in Europe which in time swept over the rest of the world.' Jay Winter, Yale University
'This provocative analysis convincingly presents World War I as both a global war and a global revolution. Alike in military, political, cultural and intellectual contexts the Great War generated a broad spectrum of responses to the same set of experiences. All of them, however, contributed to a paradigm shift: a fundamental redefinition of what societies and individuals could be coaxed, cozened, or compelled to endure without breaking. A revolution indeed - one whose legacy still shapes headlines.' Dennis Showalter, Colorado College
'Lawrence Sondhaus has set out to provide a new history of the First World War that draws on the latest scholarship, but yet remains accessible. He has succeeded admirably in his task and, as a distinguished scholar of Austria-Hungary, is able constantly to remind his readers that this was a global conflict, and not one fought exclusively on the Western Front. Special sections examining the personal experience of war, as well as the key historiographical debates, also enliven the text for the general reader.' Ian F. W. Beckett, University of Kent
'... beautifully produced and presented ... Maps and illustrations are expertly annotated and placed where they belong in the book. Cambridge [University Press] can be well proud of this superb book. It deserves to be widely used on college courses on the Great War.' Holger Herwig, Journal of Military History
'Sondhaus has packed a lot into his pages, and his text deserves a prominent place on reading lists for First World War and general twentieth century history courses.' Diplomacy and Statecraft
'An excellent political and strategic overview of World War I ... has gives us an very broad look at the origins, events, and consequences of the war, setting it more firmly into its global context than has hitherto been the case. [Sondhaus'] approach to presenting the story of the war is rather innovative and very valuable.' A. A. Nofi, strategypage.com
