THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (2)

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Francis-Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The event is widely held to be the start of the First World War; but as I argued in my earlier post, this is too simplistic.

If you don't believe me, then go out and buy The Sleepwalkers, which I am currently reading. Christopher Clark's magisterial book expands that thesis in much more detail. It should also be required reading for any modern politician itching to go to war.

Walter Blotscher