'A chronicle of World War I recounts the major campaigns, outlines the strategies forged by the generals, and details the beginnings of modern warfare. "Churchill was alive to his task with every nerve and fibre, and this aliveness survives and animates The World Crisis, making it the extraordinarily fascinating book that it is". So proclaimed the New York Herald Tribune when Sir Winston Churchill's four-volume The World Crisis was published more than sixty years ago. As First Lord of the Admiralty and Minister for War and Air, Churchill stood resolute at the center of international affairs, and now Scribners proudly welcomes back into print the one-volume Abridgment of his classic account of World War I. The World Crisis dramatically details the strategies forged by the generals, how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as these men carefully 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. 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 our century. Amazon / Google Description