An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
9. Causes of the First World War
December 14, 2020
Description
Books Referenced
Author: Christopher Clark
Context:
Referenced as a 'brilliant book' when discussing the vast amount of literature written about the causes of WWI, noting that even Clark who 'seems to have read everything on the subject' acknowledges it's impossible for one person to read all that has been written
Author: William Le Queux
Context:
Described as an invasion scare story commissioned by the Daily Mail, featuring Germans invading Britain through towns with high Daily Mail circulation; noted that it sold a million copies
Author: George Tomkyns Chesney
Context:
Mentioned as an example of the invasion literature genre alongside Le Queux's work, representing fears of foreign invasion of Britain
Author: Saki
Context:
Explicitly called 'Saki's novel' about Germans launching a naval attack, winning, and occupying Britain, used to illustrate British fears about naval vulnerability
Author: Erskine Childers
Context:
Described as 'the classic book about German spies and about the Germans plotting to invade Britain'; noted that the author later smuggled guns for the IRA and was executed
Author: H.G. Wells
Context:
Called 'one of the great novels about the First World War' despite being written in the late 19th century; discussed how Wells compared the Martian destruction of London to British treatment of Tasmanians