4/5

Good but not great, compelling but not riveting. This book takes a complicated subject and manages a satisfying end product that does give you a good sense of the world of 1914-19. The lack of analysis or a general thesis is a bit odd, but I appreciate Gilbert gives the reader the chance to form their own conclusions about the great war and its ‘resolution’. While not the lightning bolt of creative prose and analysis that something like ‘Battle Cry of Freedom’ is for the American Civil War, this is certainly getting close. Gilbert definitely lets his Anglo-Saxon credentials be known here, but I really appreciated the time and breadth that was spent on the Middle East’s fronts and the significance of the Russian Revolutions to the latter half of this story.