The World Crisis, 1911-1918

As first lord of the admiralty and minister for war and air, Churchill stood resolute at the center of international affairs. In this classic account, he dramatically details how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as the political and military leaders of the time navigated the dangerous currents of world conflict.

Churchill vividly recounts the major campaigns that shaped the war: the furious attacks of the Marne, the naval maneuvers off Jutland, Verdun’s ＂soul-stirring frenzy,＂ and the surprising victory of Chemins des Dames. Here, too, he re-creates the dawn of modern warfare: the buzz of airplanes overhead, trench combat, artillery thunder, and the threat of chemical warfare. In Churchill’s inimitable voice we hear how ＂the war to end all wars＂ instead gave birth to every war that would follow, including the current war in Iraq. Written with unprecedented flair and knowledge of the events, The World Crisis remains the single greatest history of World War I, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was prime minister of Great Britain from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. A prolific writer, whose works include The Second World War and A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

Martin Gilbert was named Winston Churchill’s official biographer in 1968. He is the author of seventy-five books, among them the single-volume Churchill: A Life, his twin histories The First World War and The Second World War, the comprehensive Israel: A History, and his three-volume History of the Twentieth Century. An Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and a Distinguished Fellow of Hillsdale College, Michigan, he was knighted in 1995 ＂for services to British history and international relations,＂ and in 1999 he was awarded a Doctorate of Literature by the University of Oxford for the totality of his published work.