Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding developement of complex subject
Review: John Keegan has written an outstanding overview of World War I. He has succeeded in connecting the many seperate events that took place throughout the 1914-18 period and ties them together into a readable and understandable whole. He deals on the highest levels of command and examines this structure. While people might be interested in the experiences of Rifleman Bloogs, these experiences may have little in common with what was going on back at the higher levels of command and it is there that the most examination must be done. We know about the huge casualty rates but Keegaqn tells us how the soldiers happended to be at a particular place at a particular time and facing a particular enemy. There are other books in print that give a particular point of view but Keegan has given us an excellent wiork to establish a basic understanding of World War I. Other writers and works can give added detail but Keegan lays the foundation to understand what happened and sometimes why.
Rating:
Summary: Scope and Simplicity Unsurpassed
Review: Having read deeply and widely about the Great War, and visited battlefields and cemeteries in Europe, I can say that no other book or combination of books even comes close to accomplishing what John Keegan has done in this amazingly concise volume. The synthesis of so much information: history, tactics, biography, testimony of veterans, the development of technology, and strategy is the work of a master. As a historian and a human being, Professor Keegan offers a wonderful gift in memoriam to the veterans of this war.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Comprehensive History
Review: Keegan does a fine job of illustrating the conflict of WW1 with strokes that are wide enough to give 'the big picture' clarity while also delving into several campaigns and stories that will give the reader some intimate knowledge of the subject. His book was used as a text in a college level history course, which is where I read it, and helped a great deal. The accounts of lesser know theaters of conflict are certainly some of the book's high points. My favorite section was a the German, Paul Lettow von Vorbeck, who was in charge of the German forces in German East Africa. Keegan describes how Vorbeck waged a guerrilla war against English forces for the duration of the war. It is great reading. There are other chapters equally insightfull. Overall, the Keegan rarely becomes traped in the minutia of detail, though at times the various armies, regiments, battalions, and dates can become a bit thick. This is a book that needs about one or two days inbetween chapters for thought fermentation. You need to let it all sink in before moving on, otherwise the details slip away. I highly recomend this book to anyone who knows little about WW1 and wishes to learn more- or, like myself, someone who thought that they knew most of what there was to know (and was wrong). Professors everywhere: get books like this one for classes, they are better than texts, cheaper, and more enjoyable to read! Plus, we students will learn more in return.
Rating:
Summary: Good Writing, Sad Story
Review: While living in Europe I have become interested again in The Great War. This book did not let me down. It is fascinating and well written, but for some reason I could not give it 5 stars. Perhaps the subject matter is just too depressing. Europe marched off to war, somewhat gleefully at the time, and ruined itself for no preceptible gain. And then did it again 20 years later. Hard to make 5 stars out of that sad tale. In response to some of the other reviews I also picked up Spencer Tuckers shorter book. If you are in a hurry it will help you cover the carnage more quickly, but I frequently felt something was missing. He did to a great job re-interpreting the myth of the Versaille treaty and the costs of the war. Also a good book.
Rating:
Summary: The Great War - full of Sound and Fury
Review: Mr. Keegan is our foremost historian on European military history, and he is at the peak of his powers in writing about The Great War. As he relates in introducing this impressive volume, his interest in this catastrophic and utterly purposeless conflict started at a young age and remained highly personal throughout his life to the present day. The Great War was a shattering trauma to the families in the towns and villages where Keegan grew up. Still, today it eclipses in many ways the memory of even the Second World War (which Keegan convincingly argues cannot be understood without a grasp of the Great War that preceded it). To fit this story into less than 500 pages requires a quick pace. (Barbara Tuchman's account of the war's beginnings Guns of August is vital to supplement what is represented herein by Keegan). However, Keegan never neglects the necessary detail and personal aspects of events, never fails to impress the reader. The Western Front - the failure of the Schlieffen plan and the great "turnabout" and counter-offensive of the Marne, Loos, Verdun (again, for the necessary detailed understanding, see Alistair Horne's Price of Glory: Verdun - 1916) - is the focus, but the Eastern Front is not neglected. Keegan's description of the epic struggle between German and Slav (pieced together from scant sources since these lost souls - millions of lives thrown away in unremembered, epic struggles - left few records of their experiences), with the spectre of the Russian Revolution and the coming of the Stalinist state, leaves the reader with a shudder of revulsion (anticipating that this war of hatred would continue and accelerate to worse heights in the Second World War). The Eastern Front was, if anything, in many ways more horrifying than the trench warfare that wasted away - with no purpose or benefit to anyone involved in any way - a generation of manhood from France, Britain and Germany in the Western Front. All of Keegan's works are treasures for the interested reader. This volume is perhaps Keegan's best. It has a personal intensity that enhances the impact on the reader, while still maintaining due balance of storytelling and factual representation of academic research.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I enjoyed this book alot, although I enjoy reading Keegan alot. The lack of maps was not too much of a impairment, but then again I read quite alot about WWI so I was already familiar with the geographical areas concerned. Keegan does a nice job of "bringing things together" for the reader on this complicated subject.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful and Subtly Themed - 4 1/2 stars
Review: This book is not a single volume history of the First World War, although it does chart the causes and consequences of the 2oth Centuries first global conflict. Neither is this book an extended version of the "The Face of Battle", "The Price of Admiralty" or "The Mask of Command", though it does touch on some of the same themes raised in those books. Keegan's "The First World War" is more ambitious and more subtle than that. It explores the changing nature of modern war and shows how the inadequacies of the miltary establishments in dealing with technological warfare condemned a generation of young men to death on the killing fields of Europe. The book's themes are presented chronologically. It graphically depicts the inevitability of the slide into War that came about through the separation of military planning from diplomacy. Keegan's analysis of the shortcomings of German staff work is masterful, eloquently reasoning that the Schlieffen plan could never have succeeded. Keegan proceeds to look at each year of the war in terms of militry and technological evolution (1915 is the year of stalemate and war on other fronts, 1916 is the year of failed tactics, 1917 the year when losses had risen to such volumes that armies could no longer fight, and in 1918 as the American forces arrive, German social cohesion collapses). In exploring these themes, Keegan presents magnificently realised picture of the war. People who are looking for a single volume, day to day account of the war will be disappointed. This is an exploration of the effects of technology on warfare - or on human interaction. It could be argued that the book is overly Anglo-centric, that it does not do justice to the sacrifices of Russian and Dominion forces. That the war in Palestine and the Arab revolt are given short shrift. That there are not enough maps to illustrate the course of the war and of individual battles. But that would be to miss the point of what the author is trying to achieve. This book is not about geography. It is about how the military establishment failed to deal with technology. That is not to say this is a cold book. On the contrary, there is a melancholy and a sadness pervasive throughout that illustrates the author's love of life and his humanity. I recommend this book to those who are willing to look at military history from a slightly different perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: Turning excitement into boredom
Review: I have heard Mr. Keegan speak in person, read his other books,I have taught World War I and find it a fascinating subject.So I was anxious to read this book. What a disappointment! Is this another case of author burnout? riding the wave of past glory? I am more than 3/4 of a way through the book and I am tempted to stop. He has taken an awesome topic and turned it in to something as dry as sawdust. Historians usually agree that this war was a turning point in so many ways. This is not coming across in this book. The human dimension is missing here-much too technical. His writing style gets in the way. About every 3 or 4 pages he produces a sentence structure that leaves me wondering "What was that?" Where was his editor? Missing like most these days? Or once you become THE John Keegan, you don't need an editor? This book is historian/writer burnout at is worst.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterwork
Review: I have just read this incredible book and now the reviews from readers. I take issue with many of the reviewers who are singularly unimpressed with the publication, due to lack of maps etc etc. Take no notice, and take more heed of the serious reviews - from NY Times, Wall Street Journal et al. This is a fabulous book. Keegan has done a masterful job of pulling all the threads together and weaving a masterwork which will endure and will become a definitive text for those seeking a consise record of this horrendous conflict.
Rating: 
Summary: Detail juxtaposed with generalization
Review: Hoping this would be a good, one volume overview of the war, I was greatly disappointed. The explanation for the outbreak, especially Russia's role, was oversimplified and in error, especially regarding Russian mobilization options. Despite some detailed explanation of various campaigns, the treatment of the East (which was critical to the outcome of the war) struck me as a bit superficial. I'm still waiting for "the" WWI survey history.
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