Books about World War I have made a resurgence, and the best introduction among them is The Western Front: Battle Ground and Home Front in the First World War, by T. Hunt Tooley. Despite its somewhat misleading title, The Western Front masterfully covers numerous aspect of the war, including the pre-war diplomatic crises, the growing glorification of violence in European culture, the bloody battles of the Marne, Verdun, and the Somme, wartime restrictions on civil liberties, and the war’s contributions to the growth of government.
Ralph Raico (1936–2016) was Professor Emeritus of History at Buffalo State College and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute.
Defense and Foreign PolicyEuropeGovernment and PoliticsInternational Economics and DevelopmentPolitical History
Other Independent Review articles by Ralph Raico
Fall 2008 Was Keynes a Liberal?
Spring 2002 On the Brink of World War II: Justus Doenecke’s Storm on the Horizon
Fall 1998 Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776