The causes of the Great War are examined in this first volume of the series that is "essential reading, as fresh and compelling as ever" (Jon Meacham, bestselling author of Franklin and Winston). An absorbing history of the outbreak of World War I from a true insider's point of view, the first volume of Winston S. Churchill's five-volume The World Crisis is unsurpassed as both a historical and personal account of the earth-shaking events leading up to WWI. Beginning in 1911, when Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty, this report is based on thousands of his personal letters and memos. Churchill's epic series opens with a chilling description of the Agadir Crisis, and provides an in-depth account of naval clashes in the Dardanelles, one of Churchill's major military failures. It takes readers from the fierce bloodshed of the Gallipoli campaign to the tide-turning battles of Jutland and Verdun-as well as the United States' entry into the combat theatre. Written in powerful prose by a great leader who would also go on to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature, The World Crisis, 1911-1914 provides a perspective you won't find anywhere else: a dynamic insider's account of events that would shape the outcome of modern history. "Whether as a statesman or an author, Churchill was a giant; and The World Crisis towers over most other books about the Great War." -David Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All Peace

World War 1 and its aftermath.

World War 1 and its aftermath.

The aftermath of World War I is explored in the fourth volume of Winston Churchill’s “remarkable” eyewitness account of history (Jon Meacham, bestselling author of Franklin and Winston). Once the war was over, the story didn’t end—not for Winston Churchill, and not for the West. The fourth volume of Churchill’s series, The World Crisis: The Aftermath documents the fallout of WWI—including the Irish Treaty and the peace conferences between Greece and Turkey. The period immediately after World War I was extremely chaotic—and it takes a genius of narrative description and organization to accurately and accessibly describe it for us. Churchill, who went on to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature, depicts the international disorganization and anarchy in the period immediately after the war—with the unique perspective of both a historian and a political insider. “Whether as a statesman or an author, Churchill was a giant; and The World Crisis towers over most other books about the Great War.” —David Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All Peace

Now in trade paperback and repackaged for the first time in more than 75 years, this is Churchill's definitive history of the first World War. 48 maps, plans & diagrams.

Written with Churchill's customary flair and his firsthand knowledge, The World Crisis series remains the greatest history of World War I. Volume I offers vivid accounts of early triumphs and disasters.