Would WWI still have happened....?

[renrich]

"Dreadnought" is, IMO, the best book about the origins of WW1. Tim, I have read "Guns of August, " and "Castles"(have it in my library) and "Dreadnought," if you can get through it, has much more background than the other books.

 

[timshatz]

Renrich, it might be Dreadnought I was thinking of and not Castles of Steel. Both by the same author and excellent books. Get them confused sometimes.

 

[renrich]

Tim, I agree. Because Castles is about the naval war, it is one of my favorite books. Much easier read than Dreadnought where I get all the names of the various royalty mixed up. Amazing how many of them were related ny blood.

 

[BombTaxi]

Tim, I agree. Because Castles is about the naval war, it is one of my favorite books. Much easier read than Dreadnought where I get all the names of the various royalty mixed up. Amazing how many of them were related ny blood.

Dead on about Massie's work, both fantastic pieces of history. Ren, ALL of the German, Russian and British royal families were blood relations - that is one of the things that brings home how utterly futile and stupid the war was. It was also a key factor in the downfall of two of those monarchies - the people wanted to decide their own destinies after the war, rather than leave them in the hands of a ruling clique that spanned Europe.