Ebook: Europe's last summer: who started the Great War in 1914?

Out of the blue -- The importance of the question -- A summer to remember -- Part 1: Europe's tensions -- 1. Empires clash -- 2. Classes struggle -- 3. Nations quarrel -- 4. Countries arm -- 5. Zarathustra prophesies -- 6. Diplomats align -- Part 2: Walking through minefields -- 7. The eastern question -- 8. A challenge for the Archduke -- 9. Explosive Germany -- Part 3: Drifting toward war -- 10. Macedonia-out of control -- 11. Austria-first off the mark -- 12. France and Germany make their play -- 13. Italy grasps: then the Balkans do too -- 14. The Slavic tide -- 15. Europe goes to the brink -- 16. More Balkan tremors -- 17. An American tries to stop it -- Part 4: Murder! -- 18. The last waltz -- 19. In the land of the assassins -- 20. The Russian connection -- 21. The terrorists strike -- 22. Europe yawns -- 23. Disposing of the bodies -- 24. Rounding up the suspects -- Part 5: Telling lies -- 25: Germany signs a blank check -- 26. The great deception -- 27. Berchtold runs out of time -- 28. The secret is kept -- Part 6: Crisis! -- 29. The fait is not accompli -- 30. Presenting an ultimatum -- 31. Serbia more or less accepts -- Part 7: Countdown -- 32. Showdown in Berlin -- 33. July 26 -- 34. July 27 -- 35. July 28 -- 36. July 29 -- 37. July 30 -- 38. July 31 -- 39. August 1 -- 40. August 2 -- 41. August 3 -- 42. August 4 -- 43. Shredding the evidence -- Part 8: The mystery solved -- 44. Assembling in the library -- 45. What did not happen -- 46. The key to what happened -- 47. What was it about? -- 48. Who could have prevented it? -- 49. Who started it? -- 50. Could it happen again? -- 51. Summing up -- 52. Austria's war -- 53. Germany's war.;When war broke out in Europe in 1914, it surprised a European population enjoying the most beautiful summer in memory. For nearly a century since, historians have debated the causes of the war. Some have cited the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; others have concluded it was unavoidable. David Fromkin provides a different answer: hostilities were commenced deliberately. In a re-creation of the run-up to war, Fromkin shows how German generals, seeing war as inevitable, manipulated events to precipitate a conflict waged on their own terms.