Reddit reviews The Great War and Modern Memory

The Great War in Modern Memory by Paul Fussell is a book every human being should read. Though your interest is in the grander, political causes of war, it's important to keep in mind that the war the powers started was not the war they had anticipated. The psychological/cultural preparation for the war that every citizen—those in government as well as those doomed for the trenches—underwent was responsible for their accepting war as an option. And that preparation came from history and literature. The tragedy was that they were prepared for another Napoleonic War but what was awaiting them was mechanized slaughter. Fussell explicates the interplay between history, literature, and politics beautifully. I recommend this book to everyone.

Yea, SlyReference basically covers it and I may have been overstating things with China (given their past 100 years in particular). All the same, where Western/European culture ends up from here is an interesting question to me.

A book I really like that's relevant is The Great War and Modern Memory.

Of course the war and its aftermath set the stage for the deaths of the old empires (all gone or changed beyond recognition by 1945), and was a nexus point for the conflicts that would shape the next century - Paris 1919 covers that quite well.

Three books at the top of my current pile:

The Great War and Modern Memory - This is superb. I'll be buying copies as Christmas presents this year.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome - Did you know there were five-story apartment buildings in ancient Rome?

The Trouble with Physics - I heard the author speak recently. I am not competent to judge the worthiness of his ideas, but I am eager to believe that there is something wrong with much of modern physics.

Try the following:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Modern-Memory/dp/0195133323/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289962516&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Rites-Spring-Great-Birth-Modern/dp/0395937582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289962495&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-History-Alun-Munslow/dp/0415391431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289962236&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Punish-Prison-Michel-Foucault/dp/0679752552/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289962265&sr=8-1

read the above in tandem with:

http://www.amazon.com/Read-Foucaults-Discipline-Punish-Theory/dp/0745329810/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289962292&sr=8-2

It'll be out in the summer.

Also:

http://www.amazon.com/War-Human-Civilization-Azar-Gat/dp/0199236631/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289962330&sr=1-1

And:

http://www.amazon.com/Civilizing-Process-Sociogenetic-Psychogenetic-Investigations/dp/0631221611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289962353&sr=1-1

Last one:

http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Nations-Medieval-Origins-Europe/dp/0691114811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289962458&sr=1-1

Actually, again you have yet to provide anything conclusive to prove your claims, and again ignored the core of my post. I said that this was a tiny smidge of easily accessible data. So no front, you just need to not be lazy. Again you ignore anything that clearly proves you wrong, honestly I dont even know why I bother since you are clearly so deluded you cannot even read, let alone respond to anything outside your own (completely false) narrative.


Again nothing ad-hominem just observations any sane person would make about your replies. Your like one of those spineless politicians, when asked an uncomfortable question, you give a totally unrelated answer.



So yeah you want some book recommendations? Here you go:
http://www.amazon.com/Germany-After-First-World-War/dp/0198219385


http://www.amazon.com/Paris-1919-Months-Changed-World/dp/0375508260


http://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Modern-Memory/dp/0195133323/sr=8-1/qid=1158256555/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5230486-6363002?ie=UTF8&s=books


http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Third-Reich-Richard-Evans/dp/B000HOJGLI/sr=1-4/qid=1158258029/ref=sr_1_4/102-5738646-8788965?ie=UTF8&s=books



http://www.amazon.com/Nazism-Fascism-Working-Class-Timothy/dp/0521437873



http://www.amazon.com/Fascist-Ideology-Territory-Expansionism-1922-1945/dp/0415216125


There are plenty more, but the expansionist rhetoric of the fascist states, especially Germany can not be overlooked. In addition early German planning to not fight a multi-front again indicates that they were indeed aware of a coming conflict in which they would be aggressors. Did they want to fight the powers they did? Well arguments can be made either way but certainly I'm sure they would rather have just been given massive tracks of land, hence the negotiations with England.



So unless you have some documents that show otherwise, this drastic oversimplification that Germany was merely responding to polish aggression is as I have said, nonsense.

11-9-18 4 hour...

The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fusselll

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The Impossible HL Mencken, HL Mencken

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The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman