Product Description

As first lord of the admiralty and minister for war and air, Churchill stood resolute at the center of international affairs. In this classic account, he dramatically details how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as the political and military leaders of the time navigated the dangerous currents of world conflict.

Churchill vividly recounts the major campaigns that shaped the war: the furious attacks of the Marne, the naval maneuvers off Jutland, Verdun's "soul-stirring frenzy," and the surprising victory of Chemins des Dames. Here, too, he re-creates the dawn of modern warfare: the buzz of airplanes overhead, trench combat, artillery thunder, and the threat of chemical warfare. In Churchill's inimitable voice we hear how "the war to end all wars" instead gave birth to every war that would follow, including the current war in Iraq. Written with unprecedented flair and knowledge of the events, The World Crisis remains the single greatest history of World War I, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191116 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 880 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780743283434
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"The World Crisis is at once an outstandingly readable history of the First World War -- the seminal drama of modern times -- and an eyewitness account, especially of its opening years. 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

"Winston Churchill's personality suffuses The World Crisis, not only in its arguments but also in its masterful prose. The book, however, aspires to be even more than that -- a general history of the war that shaped the twentieth century as well as the attitudes of one of the century's most powerful personalities."

-- Hew Strachan, author of The First World War

"In this remarkable work, Churchill, as a maker and a writer of history, explores the confusions and complexities of World War I, eerily foreshadowing the later global struggle he would fight alongside Franklin Roosevelt. In a new century, the book remains essential reading, as fresh and compelling as ever, for the central issue it addresses -- how a free people should chart their way through a world of conflicting interests -- is always with us."

-- Jon Meacham, bestselling author of Franklin and Winston

About the Author
Martin Gilbert was named Winston Churchill's official biographer in 1968. He is the author of seventy-five books, among them the single-volume Churchill: A Life, his twin histories The First World War and The Second World War, the comprehensive Israel: A History, and his three-volume History of the Twentieth Century. An Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and a Distinguished Fellow of Hillsdale College, Michigan, he was knighted in 1995 "for services to British history and international relations," and in 1999 he was awarded a Doctorate of Literature by the University of Oxford for the totality of his published work.

Customer Reviews

First World War
Sir Winston has a wonderfull dominion of the English language and, with the simplest words, conveys the action, or completes a description, in way that you feel part of the story.
On this particular opus the style is vintage Churchill and the book is quite a delight to read.
Having said all that, and to go to the point, this is not a book you want to read as your first on WW I.
His is a personal narrative, of all the episodes on which he played a part, with insights that only a witness to the events can give.
Large parts of the events of this war are skimmed over or simply not mentioned, the descriptions of battles are succint and to the point, etc.
His coverage of the Turkish front, specially the infamous Galiopoli campaign, is an attemt to come clean on that dark episode and, this section is worth the rice of the book by itself.It honestly narrates it from the inside and lais the blame evenly and with great sincerity.
If you have a working knoledge of the war, if you have read a general history of it or, for an example of a great starting book "The Guns of August", then this book will be gem on your library's history section

don't be mislead - this is abridged
I would love to read Churchill's World Crisis - but only in the original set. This is a condensed version, and reading it would be like reading an abridgment of Gibbon. If anyone knows where I can get the complete text, please send me a message and let me know.

Not a casual read
The World Crisis is as much a project to be undertaken as a book to read. Churchill approached his writing in much the same manner as his paintings, attempting to include as much color as possible. He once noted that he felt sorry for the color brown. This book strikes out to chronicle a complex and rapidly shifting period of time, and Churchill packs history with as much color and description as possible. Not a book for the casual reader, you need to both enjoy history and thoughtful prose.