Reddit reviews Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age

Another couple of good books about WWI are Rites of Spring by Modris Eksteins. Rites of Spring spends a lot of time talking about the political and cultural climate of Europe immediately before the War - talking about German political will for their "time in the sun" specifically, but also about other countries as well. One review I remember reading calls it the "anatomy of the suicide of the European middle classes" and I think that's true - Modris shows in part that there was immense enthusiasm for a "short victorious war" (which of course never materialized) across Europe, and many people willingly participated rather than being "tricked" or coerced into fighting by their government.

There is also 14-18: Understanding the Great War by Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau and Annette Becker. This book delves more into the war itself and I'm a little embarrassed to say that even though I remember loving it, I don't remember the book itself very well except for some sections on propaganda and the treatment of civilians in the war zone.

I took a class in college about world war one that included these books in the curriculum, among others; they were my favorite of the books we read, and provide a very different and interesting perspective from the usual "military histories" that often get thrown around.

Modris Eksteins uses that episode as a signal moment in the development of modernity, together with the First World War; see his The Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age which is a provocatively engaging read even if you don't quite agree with him about all of it.

If you're looking for a history of the experience of British women and civilians A Testament of Youth is a good read.

Now if you're looking for military history Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is an incredibly detailed account of the largest battle of the great war. I can't recommend this book enough, it's also part of a three book set that deals with France and Germany's relationship over the years you're looking at.

Finally if you'd like something a little more out there The Rites of Spring is a good book.

You will want to read The rites of spring by Modris Eksteins. A good read and a very good explanation of the British Civilization and the German Kultur and why they (were bound to) clash. http://www.amazon.com/Rites-Spring-Great-Birth-Modern/dp/0395937582

Modris Eksteins' Rites of Spring covers WWI but goes much further than that. It focuses much more on the cultural changes of the period you're interested in, and national psychologies. It's a great read--I highly recommend it!

The second one reminds me a lot of people's attitudes going into war: believing they could only prove themselves and the superiority of their race in armed conflict. Then all the standing armies of Europe were almost entirely destroyed in a single battle and it got a lot less glamorous. Reading some cultural and social history could make some great grist for the mill. Check out Rites of Spring by Modris Eksteins

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

Modris Eksteins Rites of Spring

To be fair, it kind of was a fucked up decade, as historians have noted.