Beginning of World War One
I found David G. Herrmann's book to be both interesting and very informative. It delved deeply into an area of history in which I previously had little knowledge. I found Herrmann's view of the interaction between military and diplomatic spheres of the European nations in the decade preceding the Great War, fascinating. I feel that students of diplomatic history as much or more, than students of military history could appreciate Herrmann's book.
In his discussion, Herrmann weaves an examination of the development and preparedness of armies of the Great Powers against a backdrop of successive political crises. He points to the fluctuations in the balance of military power caused by these crises and the Great Powers reaction to them, to explain why the war began in 1914, instead of at some other time. He bases his thesis on extensive documentary research into the military and state archives in Germany, France, Austria, England, and Italy, to identify and quantify the previously unexplored effects of the changes in the strength of the European armies in the last decade prior to the Great War. I appreciate and admire the depth of Herrmann's research, and find and his collation of historical data in several languages impressive.
