An interesting look at a variety of movements; the peace movement and conscientious objectors, socialism, suffragettes and their allies, all juxtaposed to the wider social and political movements in Europe as the First World War loomed, broke, and then receded. Field Marshalls John French and Douglas Haig are shown to be men well out of their depths during the conflict, both of them holding on to strategy and tactics from a bygone era, and dooming thousands and thousands of their own troops to brutal conditions and horrible deaths because they could not successfully adjust to the deadly mechanized war. Hochschild shows that at times it was left to civilians like Alfred Milner, and his group of followers, including novelist John Buchan (author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, among others)and eventual Prime Minister, David Lloyd George to save the Army leadership from itself. Rudyard Kipling, his wife and son, Bertrand Russell, Margaret and Stephen Hobhouse, Sylvia, Charlotte, and Emily Pankhurst are among the huge cast that populate this account of an incredibly turbulent time.A far-ranging book that tries to weave many disparate threads into one narrative.
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