From Publishers Weekly
Over the last 15 years, French scholars have produced a body of research that has fundamentally altered the history of WWI, though much of the work remains largely unknown in the U.S. The authors, directors of the French Museum of the Great War, draw on much of that work and see the war through three transformative, overlapping lenses: violence, crusade and mourning. In a striking contradiction to current U.S. historians' approaches, the authors assert the necessity of battle history-not as a techno-historical end in itself, but as source material for a richly textured analysis of the interrelated effects of violence on soldiers and civilians alike, culminating in a discussion of the way the confinement of military prisoners and the widespread internment of civilians combined to institutionalize a "concentration-camp phenomenon that would reemerge two decades later in far more sinister contexts." Further, when the combatants began by defining the war in patriotic terms, as a war of national defense, it became a crusade. Patriotism escalated into a perception of the conflict as between civilization and barbarism, a dichotomy accompanied by crude hatreds and reflexive dehumanization of the enemy, fueled by the experiences of military occupation, and by the myths (or what we might now call "urban legends") produced by it. The final consequence, the authors argue persuasively, was the development of full-blown eschatologoical expectations-that the war would really prepare the way for God's dominion on earth. The resulting disillusion opened the way for individual and collective mourning as the bereavements caused by war finally sank in. Disillusion, however, also opened the path to even higher levels of violence to force achieve the frustrated messianic ends. In the final analysis, the authors suggest, the Great War left a dual legacy-grief and totalitarianism. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
It seems impossible to escape the legacy of World War I. The collapse of Communist regimes in eastern and Central Europe certainly removed one odious legacy of that conflict. Yet that collapse triggered a resurgence of the extreme nationalism and interethnic hatreds that were both a cause and a result of the war. Audoin-Rouzeau and Becker have written extensively on the causes, course, and effects of the war. Here they have written a reappraisal of both the nature and the effects of the war that is striking and likely to evoke considerable controversy among both historians and laymen. They begin by examining the sheer and unprecedented violence of the war, during which many of the previous restraints were dropped. They emphatically assert that the responsibility for this violence must be placed on ordinary soldiers as well as on the easy target, the "leaders." They proceed to explore the role of a "crusading" spirit in generating enthusiasm for the war among the populace. The authors reject facile efforts to portray gullible lambs led to slaughter; rather, war enthusiasm seems to have bubbled up from below, and there were strong sentiments on both sides to "exterminate" the enemy. Finally, the phenomenon of mass mourning as a reaction to the scale of death is suggested as a constant strain in European consciousness over the past nine decades. This is an important and provocative work that offers new perspectives on a seminal conflict. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"A pioneering, impassioned book." --Éric Roussel, Le Figaro Littéraire

"Extraordinarily lucid on complex themes . . . [A] sophisticated attempt to recover the war's significance . . . Audoin-Rouzeau and Becker are directors of the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne, and their book offers a splendidly readable synoptic introduction to the comparative and interdisciplinary work of that research center." --Hew Strachan, Foreign Affairs



Review
"A pioneering, impassioned book." --Éric Roussel, Le Figaro Littéraire

"Extraordinarily lucid on complex themes . . . [A] sophisticated attempt to recover the war's significance . . . Audoin-Rouzeau and Becker are directors of the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne, and their book offers a splendidly readable synoptic introduction to the comparative and interdisciplinary work of that research center." --Hew Strachan, Foreign Affairs

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"This book shows the Great War was the matrix on which all subsequent disasters of the twentieth century were formed. Stephane Audoin-Rouzeau and Annette Becker examine three neglected but highly significant aspects of the conflict, each of which changed national and international affairs forever." First, the war was unprecedented in its physical violence and destruction: Why was this so? What were the effects of tolerating it for four long years? Second, not just the soldiers but also the citizens of all the belligerent states seemed motivated and exalted by a vehement nationalistic, racist animus against the enemy: How had this "crusade" mentality evolved? Did it ever dissipate? Third, with its millions of deaths the war created a tidal wave of grief, since tens of millions of people worldwide were bereaved: How could the mourners come to terms with the agonizing pain? These elements, all too often overlooked or denied, are the ones we must come to grips with if we are ever going to understand the Great War.

SYNOPSIS

Audoin-Rouzeau (U. of Picardy Jules Verne) and Becker (U. of Paris X-Nanterre) are directors of an international museum on World War I at the Chateau de Pérone. In light of renewed interest following the 80th anniversary, they explore how it lay the foundation on which subsequent conflicts of the 20th rose. Éditions Gallimard published the original 14-18, retrouver la Guerre in 2000; the English translation was published in 2002 by Profile Books in Britain with the dates expanded. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Over the last 15 years, French scholars have produced a body of research that has fundamentally altered the history of WWI, though much of the work remains largely unknown in the U.S. The authors, directors of the French Museum of the Great War, draw on much of that work and see the war through three transformative, overlapping lenses: violence, crusade and mourning. In a striking contradiction to current U.S. historians' approaches, the authors assert the necessity of battle history-not as a techno-historical end in itself, but as source material for a richly textured analysis of the interrelated effects of violence on soldiers and civilians alike, culminating in a discussion of the way the confinement of military prisoners and the widespread internment of civilians combined to institutionalize a "concentration-camp phenomenon that would reemerge two decades later in far more sinister contexts." Further, when the combatants began by defining the war in patriotic terms, as a war of national defense, it became a crusade. Patriotism escalated into a perception of the conflict as between civilization and barbarism, a dichotomy accompanied by crude hatreds and reflexive dehumanization of the enemy, fueled by the experiences of military occupation, and by the myths (or what we might now call "urban legends") produced by it. The final consequence, the authors argue persuasively, was the development of full-blown eschatologoical expectations-that the war would really prepare the way for God's dominion on earth. The resulting disillusion opened the way for individual and collective mourning as the bereavements caused by war finally sank in. Disillusion, however, also opened the path to even higher levels of violence to force achieve the frustrated messianic ends. In the final analysis, the authors suggest, the Great War left a dual legacy-grief and totalitarianism. (Dec.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Directors of the Historial of the Great War in Peronne, France, the authors have written an innovative work concerning some neglected aspects of World War I. Breaking with historiography of the past, the authors take an anthropological approach to the cataclysm that engulfed Europe in 1914 and examine three significant aspects of the war: violence, crusade, and mourning. Never before in the history of warfare had there been so much physical violence. Violence not only on the battlefield but also in the cities and towns affecting civilians. The concentration camp phenomenon was also a part of this level of violence. The Great War was also a crusade for all countries involved. Nationalistic and racist attitudes against the enemy are thoroughly discussed. Millions of deaths were caused by the war, creating a collective mourning and personal bereavement for the survivors. Supported by contemporary documentation, this unique work will become a classic study. Recommended for all collections.-David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews