(Eng ed 19–15817)
The book is a plea for open diplomacy under all conditions. Although the author puts the immediate responsibility for the war on the shoulders of the military power of Germany, he shows that the indirect but more fundamental cause is to be found in the clandestine transactions in the foreign affairs of all countries. He throws much light on the historical antecedents of the war in continental Europe, and exposes the unprecedented schemes of conquest all over the world undertaken by England and her allies even during the war itself. Contents: Introductory; Storm centre in the Balkans; Storm centre in Alsace-Lorraine; Great Britain is drawn into a French alliance; Attitude of Great powers in 1914; How the continent came to war; How Great Britain came into the war; Sir Edward Grey’s speech on 3rd August 1914; Belgium; Was it inevitable? Remedies; Appendix (Sir E. Grey’s speech on 3rd August 1914); Map of the Balkans.
Ath p932 S 19 ’19 200w
“Whatever be one’s personal views upon this thesis, it is impossible not to admit and to admire the ability with which the book is written. And it has something more than mere ability.” L. W.
+ Ath p999 O 10 ’19 500w + Booklist 16:308 Je ’20
“Lord Loreburn’s pages, an analysis as dispassionate as may be of the whole miserably intricate business of the telegrams of July, 1914, destroy whatever remains of the unphilosophic hope that all the evil was compact and corruptingly on one side.” Sganarelle
+ Dial 68:799 Je ’20 150w
“Such an application of commonsense, honesty, and plain speaking should go far towards allaying the virulence of war hatreds and deflating national conceits.”
+ − Nation 109:826 D 27 ’19 1750w