James Joll's study is not simply another narrative, retracing the powder trail that was finally ignited at Sarajevo. It is an ambitious and wide-ranging analysis of the historical forces at work in the Europe of 1914, and the very different ways in which historians have subsequently attempted to understand them. The importance of the theme, the breadth and sympathy of James Joll's scholarship, and the clarity of his exposition, have all contributed to the spectacular success of the book since its first appearance in 1984. Revised by Gordon Martel, this new 3rd edition accommodates recent research and an expanded further reading section.

Discusses and examines the possible causes of World War I.

I. Before Sarajevo: underlying causes of the war.--II. After Sarajevo: immediate causes of the war.

This is the authoritative work on the causes of World War One. The author, Sidney Bradshaw Fay (1876-1967), was an American historian. He was Professor of History at Dartmouth College (1902-14), Smith College (1914-29), and Harvard University (1929-46). This is a book on the causes of the war, not on the war itself. Sidney Fay researches a different conclusion than almost every other researcher on the Causes of the War. Whereas others state that the War was the fault of Germany, who attacked France through Belgium on August 4, 1914, Sidney Fay asserts that Germany was forced to attack because of the circumstances it faced at the time. Sidney Fay says that Austria, Serbia, and Russia were primarily to blame for the war. Few agree with him, but on one point, all authorities agree. At the beginning, all sides believed that the war would be swift and successful. None of the countries had any idea that the war would last four years with 15 million people killed. This book is divided into two volumes. Volume One is "Before Sarajevo." Volume Two is "After Sarajevo." By "Before Sarajevo," it is meant before the assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.

"The Origins of the Second World War explores the reasons why the Second World War broke out in September 1939 and not sooner, and why a European war expanded into world war by 1941. Richard Overy argues that this was not just 'Hitler's War' but one that had its roots and origins in the decline of the old empires of Britain and France and the rise of ambitious new powers in Germany, Italy and Japan. Any explanation of the outbreak of hostilities must be multinational in scope taking into account the basic instability of the international system that had still not recovered from the shocks of the Great War. In this third edition: The role of Italy in the approach to war has been re-evaluated; Overy addresses recent revelations about Soviet policy in the 1930s, particularly exploring Soviet military planning and preparations; Arguments about Chamberlain and his policy of appeasement are rethought and reassessed. This new edition has now been completely overhauled, updated, expanded and reset. With a comprehensive documents section, colour plates, Guide to Who's Who, and a Chronology, The Origins of the Second World War will provide an invaluable introduction to any student of this fascinating period."--Page 4 of cover

The catastrophe of the First World War, and the destruction, revolution, and enduring hostilities it wrought, make the issue of its origins a perennial puzzle. Since World War II, Germany has been viewed as the primary culprit. Now, in a major reinterpretation of the conflict, Sean McMeekin rejects the standard notions of the war’s beginning as either a Germano-Austrian preemptive strike or a “tragedy of miscalculation.” Instead, he proposes that the key to the outbreak of violence lies in St. Petersburg. It was Russian statesmen who unleashed the war through conscious policy decisions based on imperial ambitions in the Near East. Unlike their civilian counterparts in Berlin, who would have preferred to localize the Austro-Serbian conflict, Russian leaders desired a more general war so long as British participation was assured. The war of 1914 was launched at a propitious moment for harnessing the might of Britain and France to neutralize the German threat to Russia’s goal: partitioning the Ottoman Empire to ensure control of the Straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Nearly a century has passed since the guns fell silent on the western front. But in the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, World War I smolders still. Sunnis and Shiites, Arabs and Jews, and other regional antagonists continue fighting over the last scraps of the Ottoman inheritance. As we seek to make sense of these conflicts, McMeekin’s powerful exposé of Russia’s aims in the First World War will illuminate our understanding of the twentieth century.