The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914

Len's Summary: Europe between the death of Queen Victoria and the eruption of WWI in the throes of massive change. The continent was riddled with militarism, experiencing wide- spread political, economic and cultural upheaval, as well as astounding medical and technical advances. See also: The Proud Tower, Barbara Tuchman (1966), a lively, informative and well-crafted narrative history by the author of The Guns of August and The Zimmermann Telegram reprinted by Library of America in 2012. // The author contends that growing self-doubt among European elites led then to glorify war and welcome the cataclysm as the only way to cleanse their cultures of its sickness. Foretastes of disaster include Britain near-defeat in the Anglo-Borer War, Russia’s humiliation in the Russo-Japanese War and America’s 1907 Wall Street crash