Rating: 
Summary: An aerial view
Review: Knowing almost nothing about World War I, I really wanted to read a general history of it -- and I guess that's what I got. However, I still don't feel terribly well informed. First, the book gives a sort of high-altitude view, covering troop movements and major battles and (shocking) casualty numbers, but not much sense of what was really happening on the ground. Second, I needed a map every two pages to know which army was moving where -- I wish they'd been more generous in that respect. There's some pretty good information about strategy and technology. There's almost no information about personal experiences or the impact on the societies of Europe.
Rating: 
Summary: WWI In a Nutshell
Review: John Keegan's lineage and the perceptions and memory of his youth exert a strong influence on the style of this book. Born and raised in England, he grew up in the company of some of the men who had fought in WWI and the civilians that had been affected by it while on the "home front". Both his father and father-in-law were direct participants while one of his aunts had been widowed by the war. While growing up he was also, of course, exposed to the numerous war monuments and cemeteries dedicated to the casualties of the war and these obviously made a deep impression. The book is very wide ranging. Geographically it covers all the major ground campaigns of the war; Gallipoli, the western and eastern fronts, the Isonzo battles, and touches on the minor fronts in Asia and in the African and Pacific colonies. The major naval campaigns, or events, are also considered. Unlike the typical "History of World War I" book, Keegan also devotes a not insignificant amount of space to the big political events, and the politicians behind those events leading up to and all the way through the conclusion of the war. He also spends a surprising amount of time discussing the mood and climate of Europe prior to the war and how it was changed during and following the war. This book is a good "read". It is probably the best high level account of the war in it's entirety that I've read. The goal of the book is to impart to the reader an understanding of the ebb and flow of the war at the strategic military level. As such, the major campaigns and battles of the war are all explained in detail. Though the differing political situations and personalities of the belligerents are explained this is done in order to explore the military campaigns in the proper context. This style makes the flow of the war, why Italy chose not to honor the Triple Alliance and enter the war at the beginning with Germany and Austria-Hungary, much more understandable because the reasoning behind a lot of the major actions can be understood. Similarly, there are some short personal accounts dealing with the tactical, or soldier, level of the war and the difficulties that were encountered though the book does not get lost in the minutia of a soldiers life or require that the reader be an expert on the geography of Europe. These short detours seems mainly to have been done, as with the sections on political events, to help provide the reader a better understanding of the difficulties of waging mass war during WW I that the generals had to deal with, and helps explain the success or failure of the campaigns. Though the different technologies and tactics used and developed during the war are discussed, this book would not interest or be beneficial to a person who likes to focus on the "nuts and bolts" of a battle, nor would it interest a reader who is interested in gaining insight to the horror experienced by the combatants and noncombatants of the war. A person who already has a good understanding of the prelude, major actions and consequences of the war would not learn much new from this account. This book is a good strategic overview of WW I. By itself it provides a good political and strategic overview of the war, but it does not provide a good understanding of the major changes that occurred at the technical and tactical levels of combat nor does it explain any of the major battles in great detail. It should be supplemented by additional readings on those subjects. PJZ
Rating:
Summary: World War I, From A to Z
Review: "The First World War," is THE definitive history of WWI. Author John Keegan narrates every significant battle in each theatre, complete with an analysis of the tactics employed and the strengths and weaknesses of the commanders involved. The result is a thorough review of one of the greatest conflicts of all time. Keegan provides both a macro and a micro view of the war. National level war plans and stories of wounded soldiers slowly drowning in shell craters are recounted with equal emphasis, showing how the decisions made by politicians and generals affected soldiers on the ground. One can almost feel the elation of young men hurrying off to war amidst bands playing and the adulation of adoring female populaces. This enthusiasm became a distant memory as days in the trenches turned to weeks, then months, and then years. Keegan describes artillery bombardments lasting for weeks, followed by hoards of infantrymen charging into still uncut barbed wire. Defenders then emerged from muddy trenches to pour murderous machine-gun fire into the attacker's ranks, turning battles into carnage on an unprecedented scale. Mere yards of real estate were bought and paid for by the blood of thousands. These attacks would then be repeated in reverse by the opposing side a few short weeks later. He then describes attempts made to end the stalemate. Keegan graphically portrays the horror of French troops at Ypres, as they became the first soldiers in history to experience the hell of poison gas. Later, tanks were introduced to break the deadlock. General officers and their staffs, not at all insensitive to the suffering of their troops, studied tactics manuals and the possibilities inherent in new technologies. Human beings were not supposed to be able to survive the attacks they so meticulously planned. Yet they did survive! Soldiers inevitably emerged from their trenches to inflict massive casualties on their attackers. The result was near mutiny in the ranks by French, and later British, soldiers who had endured the misery for longer than human beings could stand. Finally, exhausted both at home and on the battlefield, the German Army capitulated; the ensuing peace and the technologies developed in WWI sewing the seeds that would grow into an even more destructive war a few decades later. Keegan's work is not light reading. His descriptions challenge the powers of visualization of the average reader. Still, it is a detailed scholarly review of one of the most significant conflicts in history. Vietnam has Harold Moore's, "We Were Soldiers Once and Young." Korea has S.L.A. Marshall's, "Pork Chop Hill." World War II has Shirer's, "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." Keegans, "The First World War," ranks up there with all of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Not enough maps
Review: Keegan does a great job discussing the series of events leading up to the outbreak of the war. Once the war starts, though, it's hard to follow the action since there are too few maps. He discusses in detail where battles occur and enemy objectives in terms of locales. These places, are often not included on the few maps provided. The maps that are included are very general and only pertain to a small portion of the writing. I found myself trying to follow along using a world atlas. This was limiting since the action often takes place in and around small European towns that he seems to think we're familiar with. Another point I didn't like: Keegan fails to convey the intesity and desperation of the battles of which he writes. Rather, he looks at the action from the genral's point of view which is sanitized and objective. For example, he often gets bogged down with recounting division and battalion movements in terms of ground gained or lost or casualities incurred. The German third army moved here or the French fourth division of the sixth army went there after losing to the German second army, etc. I would have liked a more descriptive account of the engagements and some picture of the events as they happened from a soldier's point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Dry but very informative
Review: I can't recall the last time a book took me as long to get through as this one did. Which isn't to say Keegan isn't economical with his words, just that he has a lot to say about the First World War. I often found myself re-reading paragraphs or even pages to be sure I understood what was going on. But while it's not a quick or easy read, Keegan has amassed an amazing amount of information about life on the front lines of what many see as history's bloodiest conflict - and it's all here. While most histories I've seen concentrate on the political causes of the war's beginning and duration, Keegan looks almost exclusively at the military half of the equation, providing only the barest of details about such factors as the instability in Sarajevo in 1914 or the Russian Revolution. As a result, his narrative of the horrors of combat sometimes lacks context - just what was going on behind the scenes amidst all the fighting? - but makes up for it in the in-depth look at the sheer magnitude of the collective disaster that was life in the ranks. Given the huge numbers of lost lives which Keegan sprinkles throughout the book, the narrative can't help but take on a somewhat anonymous quality in places; but Keegan does a great job of personalizing the account with memories of those who were there where available. It's a fitting tribute to those who fought the war, and a good source for anyone who wants a thorough overview of the minutae of all the war's battles.
Rating:
Summary: A serviceable work
Review: Keegan's book renders the big picture of WWI battles in good, concise detail. Many campaigns are extensively described, and the inclusion of key maps is of great help in determining where armies met. He is judicious in opinions, if perhaps too charitable to generals in this reviewer's mind, and balanced in assessments. What I find missing is a prose style that suits the topics. While not every historian can be Gibbon, Keegan's presentation is almost monotonous. Considering the subject, this can be viewed as either a mistake or a benefit. It depends on taste. With empires collapsing, several countries enlarged, shrunk, created and destroyed, millions dead, there is probably, for some readers, no need for forced verve, which could come across as sensationalism. For other readers, the devastation caused by WWI would perhaps demand a style that would convey events in a more memorable way, in turns of phrase or from a standpoint that lift writing about a matter of black ink on a white page. There can be no denying Keegan's command of the presentation of material. (He says at several junctures that there is argument about why someone did this action, or what the meaning was behind another's scheme, so it can be assumed there are those who will argue with his interpretations of events.) It is swiftly told, with enough information provided so that one does not get mired in minute details. However, the absence of lengthy discussion on the social context of the populations at home, on the political situations (russia excepted), and of the interests of banking and business in war, are flaws. No war is fought only on its fronts, which Keegan knows, and it is understood that he had to concentrate on certain matters to get what needed to be said in one book. As he points out in the end papers, there are many other books one can refer to on a host of issues. So while this book can be recommended, it shouldn't be the only book one reads on WWI. Its strengths and omissions are best seen in a fuller context.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: When this book first became available I did not read it because I had read, on July 22, 1995, Martin Gilbert's The First World War: A Complete History, which I liked a lot and which I thought made it unnecessary to read Keegan's book. But no one interested in World War I should omit reading this and I now have and I have found it eminently well worth reading. I think it is more felicitously written than is Gilbert's book, with a surer grasp of the topic and one is bowled over anew by the epic things Keegan points out. I suppose I have read maybe 100 books on the First World War, but this is one not to be omitted regardless of how much one has read in the area.
Rating: 
Summary: Top rate military history
Review: While World War I has been widely covered by historians. I give Keegan credit for giving it a go. There is not one thing wrong with this book. While there is no groundbreaking info it hold its own with any book on the subject. Keegan's coverage of the less known battles in Turkey, Serbia, Georgia and Russia are excellent. His coverage of the Americian role is balanced. The books needed better maps, but I love maps and always want to see more maps. Worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Overview
Review: John Keegan's latest book provides a masterful treatment of the first world war in one relatively succinct volume. Keegan deftly switches between the military and political dimensions of the conflict. He also provides an excellent analysis of the tactics involved and most interestingly, the technological limitations which made those tactics almost inevitable. What is remarkable is the belief of the high commanders almost until the end that a strategic breakout could still be achieved. The book does suffer from a couple of flaws. The one that would have been the easiest to prevent is the paucity of maps. If length were a concern, I'd have gladly traded a few pages of text for more maps (it was frustrating to have flip back 100-200 pages to find a map that he had used four chapters before). I also would have been interested to get more of Mr. Keegan's take on why the common troops stayed as loyal and stoic as they did. He argues that the revolts tended to occur when total casualties exceeded the original strength of an army, but why only then... the futility of the effort must have been apparent long before then. But overall, Mr. Keegan does a masterful job of presenting the great war (all around the globe) in all its aspects.
Rating:
Summary: A strong overview of the conflict
Review: This book came highly recommended to me by several sources, but I must confess that, while I enjoyed it, in the end I found it a bit wanting in several areas. Keegan does an excellent job covering the tactical and strategic matters of the war, but I believe some of his priorities are a bit off. It would have been useful for more personal stories of life in the trenches (while he says it was bad, there really are no descriptions of what it was really like--at least, not lengthy ones). Rather, he focuses on the grand strategy of the war. Yes, this is useful (and I cannot fault his meticulous research). But, more first-hand accounts of daily combat life would have been useful. I believe it would also have been stronger had he paid more attention to the roles of espionage, and had given U boats more than simply passing references (one of the great weaknesses of the book is its coverage of the U boats, in my opinion). Still--a highly enjoyable read, and quite thought provoking. Recommended to anyone seeking a backgrounder on the course of WW1.
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