I used Hart’s book once when teaching the class, it didn’t go well, but it’s an excellent work. Hew Strachan started a three volume “history” of the war 15 years ago, or so, but never finished books 2 & 3, still the one volume he did publish is excellent.
Thank you for the recommendations! I’m currently reading Ian Toll’s second book in his trilogy of the Pacific War after having read Rick Atkinson’s trilogy on the N. African and European theaters of conflict. Both are incredible writers, thankfully Toll’s third book in the trilogy is due out in September so won’t have to wait long to get my hands on it.
For fun, not work, I’ve been reading a bit about Midway and the Pacific war. Currently reading about the history of submarines (Dad was a submariner)…I’ve read a couple of Toll’s books, quite good, though I’m no WW2 historian, so my critiques are that of a just an average Joe reading for fun.
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Just finished his chapter on submarines, specifically the Wahoo. Fascinating stuff.
Trying to catch up on this thread. I figured when I started it that it would eventually migrate over to being done in Russian. OK, may be not. I’m pleased to see how much interest there is.
I have heard Dan Carlin before but not specifically on WWI. He’s an entertaining guy. If it brings attention to the subject, I tend to think that’s a good thing.
I have struggled with Hart. His book on indirect strategy was painful. The German General Talk is interesting, but it’s flawed IMO. The German Generals had every reason to tell Hart what he wanted to hear, which was that his own inter-war philosophies influenced their doctrinal development prior to WWII.
As far as general works on the war, I echo the Michael Neiburg recommendation. Fantastic writer. A nice guy, too. He visited HPU several times while I was in grad school and even took the time to consult on some of my work.
While I’m thinking about it, my favorite general history of WWII is The Second World
War by Antony Beevor. Really well-written.
Have to admit that I haven’t read anything else by Liddell Hart beyond the general histories of both World Wars. As such, I haven’t delved into the controversy surrounding his “influence” on the Nazi military strategy as concerns Blitzkrieg.
As it happens, I am currently reading a book about the British policy of appeasement during the late 1930s. Apparently Liddell Hart’s ideas on military strategy found favor with PM Neville Chamberlain.
Also interesting that MI5 placed Liddell Hart under surveillance in 1944 as relates to leaks concerning the D-Day invasion, though the investigation never found any wrongdoing on his part.
FWIW, with the racist legacy of Josephus Daniels in the news as of late, I am reminded that the North Carolinian - publisher of the Raleigh News & Observer - served as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of the Navy.
And the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was Franklin D. Roosevelt. While FDR handled the major wartime decisions, Daniels is probably most remembered for banning alcohol on American naval vessels.
If you are interested in fictional history - Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants is a good read. It is part of a trilogy that follows one family from each of the USA, the UK, Germany, and Russia through WWI, WWII, and the Cold War.
Ken states that it isn’t history, but he goes out of his way to ensure the any conversations involving historical figures could have happened (i.e. Wilson was in a town on that day).
Today’s the day.
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.
Over the four years, an average of 6,000 soldiers died per day. A war that did not need to happen.
That’s quite a trilogy by Follett - over 3,000 pages worth! Anyway, I am an occasional reader of historical fiction, so will put it on my list of things to check into.
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Sorry to correct you: June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo…was also the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Field (making it a Serbian national day).
I agree, not a war that should have happened, but the same could probably be said about every war…as historians our job is to try to understand why it did happen…historians still struggle with that question.
I pulled that statement from something I saw elsewhere. I’m not the historian y’all are.
Social media news-information-history will screw you over time and time again. 
War and the threats of war have probably done more to advance mankind than anything else. Ironic.
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There is irony in the technological advances, medical, transportation, etc. The problem is the cost…right? WW1 lost a generation of artists, poets, architects, engineers, medical, scientific, and so much that we’ll never know the potential lost…
The costs. The horror
It did save my dad’s life. Early 1940’s. Penicillin. His father took him to at least 5 hospitals across the state where each told him his son would soon die of an infection from an injury near his brain inside his sinuses. I think it might have been a doctor at Duke that suggested trying a new military wonder drug. Story I have been told
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I’m not a history major, and while not necessarily in reference to WW1 but to the comment, as an architecture major WW2 definitely helped assist the Modern style and its popularity. Many of the times famous architects were of German or Austrian heritage and Hitler was not a fan of modernism (big surprise). Many of these architects fled to the states or neighboring (allied) countries and saw fairly good success. I’m not saying modernism wouldn’t have occurred in a similar fashion, but it definitely did the way it did due to war.
I imagine similar happened with WW1.
Sorry for the tangent. I’ve been enjoying this thread so please keep it going.
Impressed that this is still going. Maybe we’ll catch the pole vault thread one of these days…
If necessity is the mother of invention, war is often its father.