Reddit reviews A Short History of World War I

If you did read that article (which is possible in 24 minutes), you have about as good an understanding as you would from listening to Blueprint for Armageddon. Not as much nightmare imagery but more facts. If you still want to know more read this book., which also won't take as long as Carlin's podcast.

A Short History of World War I by James L. Stokesbury is a fantastic book. I finished it a few months ago and, in my mind, no other author is able to cover so much of the conflict in a single, concise volume with so much insight.

He doesn't mince words, either. If a general was an idiot, Stokesbury will call him an idiot. If a campaign was stupid, he'll say so. Needless to say, because it was World War I and we have hindsight, there is a lot of this, but it's very enjoyable and touching and a great work of history.

From an Amazon review:

> Unlike some authors, Stokesbury pulls no punches. When a commander is dense, stupid, or even worse, he tells it like it is. One of my favorite lines from the book goes something like (I don't have my copy at hand) `General ... was appointed to command the ... army, and was expected to do nothing, which he did exceedingly well.' This gives you a flavor of his writing style. This is not to say that Stokesbury is flippant, just direct.

I like the "short history on" books.

A Short History of World War II.

A Short History of World War I.

A Short History of the Korean War.

A Short History of the American Revolution.

I've found them to be really easy to read and exciting.