The First World War in British history (ajánló)
The First World War had profound and lasting effects on the belligerents, beyond any dreamed of when the first armies were cheered on their way to battle. The immediate effects were for the most part only too evident, and were particularly noticeable in Britain, where a small regular army was transformed into a massive conscript force and where – against the grain of tradition – the state came to involve itself directly in many areas of daily life. These changes are well documented. More elusive and difficult is analysis of the effects of the war beyond the immediate experience of the struggle, and that dimension is at the heart of this fresh assessment.
Issues of historical continuity and discontinuity take centre stage. At one extreme, it can be argued that the war retarded developments, in re-emphasizing the links between Britain and Empire, and in checking the German bid for mastery in Europe for a further two decades. Yet there is much evidence to suggest that the war served to accelerate pre-existing trends – for instance, the marketing and structural problems confronting Britain's staple export industries and the disparity between imperial defence commitments and the material resources necessary to sustain them. Each contributor considers the war as a catalyst of coming change, as a revolutionary influence, and as a force for reaction. The interpretative problem of identifying the onset of developments specific to the interwar period is also addressed.
The pivotal place of the First World War in British history is unassailable. No reader of this book will have any doubt why that is so.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
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