Dynamic of Destruction

• The First World War was the most apocalyptic the world had ever known - this book tells you how and why
• Uses eyewitness accounts and a wide range of case studies to bring home the reality of war
• Takes a world view of a world war - from the Western Front to the Balkans, Italy to the war in the East

Readership: Students and lecturers in history and cultural studies; anyone interested in the history of violence and warfare

Alan Kramer, Professor in History, Trinity College, Dublin

Review(s) from previous edition

"This stimulating, scholarly and shrewd book is as rich in original ideas and accounts of unfamiliar aspects of World War I as it is energetic in its revisionism. - New York Times Book Review

"This stimulating, scholarly and shrewd book is as rich in original ideas as it is energetic in its revisionism." - Simon Sebag-Montefiore, New York Times Review of Books

"A sobering book with a bleak message, but one that needs to be heard." - Malcolm Brown, BBC History Magazine.

"No serious student of the history of the twentieth century can afford to ignore this book." - Jay Winter, author of 'Remembering War'

1: The Burning of Louvain
2: The Radicalization of Warfare
3: The Warriors
4: German Singularity?
5: Culture and War
6: Trench Warfare and its Consequences
7: War, bodies, and minds
8: Victory or trauma?
Conclusion
Historiographical Note
Bibliography