Book info

• Title World War One
• Author Rupert Colley
• Year 2012
• Genre History

The ‘Great War’, from July 1914 to November 1918, was without parallel. It brought to an end four dynasties, ignited revolution, and forged new nations. It introduced killing on an unprecedented scale, costing an estimated nine million lives. It was the war that destroyed any notion of romance or chivalry in battle; it pulled in combatants from nations across the globe and shattered them, body and mind. The War involved all of the world’s great powers – the Central Powers, dominated by Germany and Austria-Hungary; the Triple Entente, lead by Britain, France and Russia; and America. World War One: History in an Hour explains the unprecedented battles on land, sea and in the air and describes the Home Front, espionage, and the politics behind them. This, for the first time in history, was ‘total war’.

Thoughts

The trouble with reviewing these excellent “In an Hour” books is that I just end up displaying my complete ignorance of the topic in the first place. And they are usually quite important topics. This time, I read the book in my lunch hour, meaning it really did take just sixty minutes to devour.

I followed the detail well, liked the in depth look at the main characters, and skipped over the timeline because I’d just read the facts in order. Could be useful for future reference though.

I thought this book was a bit harder going than some of the others, but only because it’s such a sprawling topic to cover - so many names and countries getting involved, weaving in and out of the action. It’s incredible to think all that happened took place in just four or five years, but this book does a great job at summing it all up and making it digestible. As ever, I enjoyed reading it, and will probably wind up reading it again at some point as a refresher!

Rating: 4 / 5