SUMMARY - The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes.



*As you read this summary, you will discover that the First World War was the culmination of a long process during which the protagonists sometimes influenced each other, sometimes betrayed each other and finally confronted each other. Far, far from the laconic descriptions in the textbooks of this Der des Ders, Christopher Clark delivers the impressive details of the relations between European leaders at the beginning of the 20th century, using notes, official correspondence and even excerpts from diaries. Nothing was inevitable, yet everyone, at some point, contributed to this tragic outcome without being aware of it. A somnambulism unfortunately responsible for millions of deaths.



*You will also discover that : none of the European powers involved were able to prevent this conflict, each having chosen to prioritize their own interests at the expense of peace; the assassination of Sarajevo was the trigger for a complex crisis involving one country after another through the play of alliances; the political instability of many countries has left the field open to influential figures who have been able to pursue a warmongering policy and play a crucial role in the outbreak of hostilities; the First World War was only a larger scale replica of the consequences of the Balkanization of Central Europe.



*On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne, arrived at Sarajevo station for a short official visit. Less than forty days later, the First World War put an end to three empires, redistributed the cards of European geopolitics and led to more than twenty million deaths. Even more interesting than the "why" question, the question of "how did we get there?" raises questions about the mechanisms of alliances between countries, the personalities of the decision-makers of the time and the rise of nationalism. Elements that inevitably provoke comparison with the current context and show, for once, that Man is often his own executioner.



*Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!