1916: A Global History

By 1916, the Great War had already been slogging on for two long years and was, indeed, a world-wide affair. This book looks at this single year, 1916, an extremely tumultuous time, which included revolutionary as well as imperial or nationalistic conflicts. Key battles are examined with an eye to their greater impact, not only on the course of the war, but also on the combatants on the home front, the civilians and industries, the cultural changes, and ideologies that were affected. It is quite comprehensive, probing each area of the world in turn, from the Western to the Eastern front, from Asia to Africa to the Mediterranean to the USA. Each region had its own challenges and felt the war in its own way, but all were deeply affected. It is a fascinating read: detailed, brisk, and urgent, filled with particular accounts drawn both from official records and personal writings – the latter bring an immediacy and poignancy to the overwhelming statistics of the former. This is an excellent look at the events of 1916, which demand study for a true understanding of the global impact of the Great War.