By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known.
This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the Great War-from the state of Europe in 1914, to the role of the US, the collapse of Russia, and the eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Examining how and why the war was fought, as well as the historical controversies that still surround the war, Michael Howard also looks at how peace was ultimately made, and describes the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany.
Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is considered by many to have been one of the greatest writers on war. His study On War was described by the American strategic thinker Bernard Brodie as 'not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war.' It is hard to disagree. Even though he wrote his only major work at a time when the range of firearms was fifty yards, much of what he had to say remains relevant today. Michael Howard explains Clausewitz's ideas in terms both of his experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and of the intellectual background of his time.
Death is a delusion. See for yourself.
Greta, Anne, and Mark make an unusual love triangle. Greta is the late wife who died of Huntington's disease. And Anne, the volatile second wife, sees dead people.
Husband Mark is a consulting engineer with no inclination toward flights of fancy until Anne's shocking death. He's convinced he spent hours in conversation with her, but she was already lying lifeless in a coroner's office miles away. The doctor tells him his experience is typical of psychotic episodes induced by trauma.
So begins Mark's journey into the paranormal. He worries his experiences are symptoms of his cracked mind, but the enlightening presence of Anne, and a spiritual teacher's wisdom, begin to convince him otherwise.
Then indisputable proof. Mangled metal and dismembered bodies fade from his sight as he enters the eternal sea of consciousness. It is time to know that the good doctor's diagnosis was wrong. Time to look and see for himself that the line between this world and the next is blurred, and death is a delusion.
