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KEEGAN**, JOHN: : THE FIRST WORLD WAR

LONDON.HUTCHINSON,1998.

ISBN 0091801788.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2nd imp.[Complete number line 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,colour pictorial battlefield painting 'Bellenglise' or 'Breaking of Hindenberg Line' by James Beadle illustrated front panel of dw/dj with brown+grey lettering; slightly sunned/faded painting's thumbnail detail illustrated head of spine/backstrip with similar coloured lettering as front, rear panel also with painting's same repeated thumbnail detail and brown+grey lettered critics' reviews of author's other military-related titles; with negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present. Top+fore-edges bright,clean and without blemish or foxing/spotting - pristine; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - appears unread - other than my own collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,clean and unblemished,sharp-cornered original maroon cloth boards with bright, crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/ backstrip,a maroon+white striped headband and immaculate sets of b/w regional continental map+key illustrated endpapers. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2nd imp,viii-xiipp+ 3-500pp [paginated] includes endpapers+15 b/w maps list/table,illustrations list/ table with an abbreviations list, acknowledgements,10 chapters,24pp contemporary b/w photographs in 3 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp116/7, pp244/5 and pp372/3 respectively,Notes,a Bibliography an an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,a dedication,contents list/ table,and individual chapter separator pages. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional for a book of it's age,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the minor exterior faults described that prevent a higher grading. The First World War created the modern world.A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era,unleashing such demons of the 20thC as mechanized warfare and mass death.It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times - modernism in the arts,new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about economics and society - and in so doing shattered the faith in rationalism and liberalism that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment. With 'THE FIRST WORLD WAR',John Keegan, one of our most eminent military historians,fulfills a lifelong ambition to write the definitive account of the Great War for our generation.Probing the mystery of how a civilization at the height of its achievement could have propelled itself into such a ruinous conflict,Keegan takes us behind the scenes of the negotiations among Europe's crowned heads (all of them related to one another by blood) and ministers,and their doomed efforts to defuse the crisis.He reveals how,by an astonishing failure of diplomacy and communication,a bilateral dispute grew to engulf an entire continent. But the heart of Keegan's superb narrative is,of course,his analysis of the military conflict.With unequalled authority and insight,he recreates the nightmarish engagements whose names have become legend - Verdun,the Somme and Gallipoli among them - and sheds new light on the strategies and tactics employed, particularly the contributions of geography and technology. No less central to Keegan's account is the human aspect.He acquaints us with the thoughts of the intriguing personalities who oversaw the tragically unnecessary catastrophe - from heads of state like Russia's hapless tsar,Nicholas II,to renowned warmakers such as Haig,Hindenburg and Joffre.But Keegan reserves his most affecting personal sympathy for those whose individual efforts history has not recorded - "the anonymous millions,indistinguishably drab,undifferentially deprived of any scrap of the glories that by tradition made the life of the man-at-arms tolerable." By the end of the war,three great empires - the Austro-Hungarian,the Russian and the Ottoman - had collapsed.But as Keegan shows,the devastation extended over the entirety of Europe,and still profoundly informs the politics and culture of the continent today.His brilliant,panoramic account of this vast and terrible conflict is destined to take its place among the classics of world history. Please contact seller,because of the weight of this item - 1.1Kg unpackaged -for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** This item offered P+p included.Offer available UK only,unless indicated otherwise. ** ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2nd imp.
Not SIGNED.

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