Since the Armistice, a vast literature has been produced on the First World War and its repercussions. In this 2005 book, two leading historians from the United States and France have produced a fully comparative analysis of the ways in which this history has been written and interpreted. The book identifies three generations of historians, literary scholars, film directors and writers who have commented upon the war. Through a thematic structure, it assesses not only diplomatic and military studies but also the social and cultural interpretations of the Great War as seen primarily through the eyes of French, German and British writers. It provides a fascinating case study of the practice of history in the twentieth century and of the enduring importance of the national lens in shaping historical narrative. This interesting study will prove invaluable reading to scholars and students in history, war studies, European history and international relations.
- A fully comparative analysis of the writing of the history of the First World War
- Written together by a French and an American historian, both leading figures of the social and cultural history of the First World War
- This study is interdisciplinary in its approach, addressing political, military, economic, social, and cultural historiographies
Read more
Customer reviews

Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review

Log in to review

Review was not posted due to profanity
×

, create a review

(If you're not , sign out)

Please enter the right captcha value

Please enter a star rating.

Your review must be a minimum of 12 words.

How do you rate this item?

Reviews must contain at least 12 words about the product.

×

Product details
- Date Published: July 2005
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9780521850834
- length: 264 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 158 x 24 mm
- weight: 0.545kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. Three historiographical configurations
2. Politicians and diplomats: why war and for what aims?
3. Generals and ministers: who commanded and how?
4. Soldiers: how did they wage war?
5. Businessmen, industrialists and bankers: how was the economic war waged?
6. Workers: did war prevent or provoke revolution?
7. Civilians: how did they make war and survive it?
8. Agents of memory: how did people live between remembrance and forgetting?
9. The Great War in history
Bibliography
Index.
Look Inside
Instructors have used or reviewed this title for the following courses
- The First World War
Authors
Jay Winter, Yale University, Connecticut
Jay Winter is Professor of History at Yale University. He is a specialist on the First World War and its impact on the 20th century. His numerous publications include Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History (1996) and 1914–1918. The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (1998).
Antoine Prost, Université de Paris I
Antoine Prost is Professor of History at the Université de Paris I. He is the author and editor of several books, including Republican Identities in War and Peace, Representations of France in the 19th and 20th Centuries (2002) and The Emergence of European Trade Unionism (with Jean-Louis Robert and Chris Wrigley, 2004).