Gordon Martel is a leading authority on war, empire, and diplomacy in the modern age. His numerous publications include studies of the origins of the first and second world wars, modern imperialism, and the nature of diplomacy. A founding editor of The International History Review, he has taught at a number of Canadian universities, and has been a visiting professor or fellow in England, Ireland and Australia. Editor-in-chief of the five-volume Encyclopedia of War, he is also joint editor of the longstanding Seminar Studies in History series.
Gordon Martel's book stands for its authoritative judgements and for its no-nonsense focus on the decisions that caused the conflict's outbreak. It offers a detailed but compelling narrative of the July 1914 crisis, based overwhelmingly on first-hand and contemporary evidence. * David Stevenson, author of 1914-1918: the History of the First World War * [A] very readable day-by-day analysis of the crisis * Duncan Kelly, Financial Times * This gripping account of the descent into the abyss of war makes clear just how little the conflict was premeditated, preordained, or predictable. * Military History Monthly *