First World War: Still No End in Sight by Frank Furedi

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JOANNA BOURKE, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, BIRKBECK COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

CHRISTOPHER COKER, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

This book is part of The Great War Collection, Bloomsbury’s one-stop resource for those seeking to understand the Great War and its impact. Please visit www.bloomsbury.com/thegreatwar for more details.

Cover photograph: © Getty Images, 2014

www.bloomsbury.com £18.99

FRANK FUREDI

‘A scathingly honest and bleakly powerful book. A profoundly important reminder that the GreatWar never really ended and that the disturbing questions raised by the conflict are still in search of a satisfactory answer. As one has come to expect Furedi brings a keen eye and a critical mind to a world – our own – that has been living often unknowingly in an extended armistice since the guns fell silent in November 1918.’

FIRST WORLD WAR

‘Frank Furedi’s new book is a brilliant reflection on why the First World War continues to shape the way we think of the world. Intellectually captivating, thoughtful, and passionately argued, this is historical sociology at its best.’

STILL NO END IN SIGHT

Author, broadcaster, social commentator, Frank Furedi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent. He has published widely on issues related to cultural and social conflict. His books include Invitation to Terror:The Expanding Empire of the Unknown and Authority: A Sociological History.

FRANK FUREDI

FIRST WORLD WAR STILL NO END IN SIGHT

In First World War – Still No End in Sight, Frank Furedi argues that the battle of ideas which crystallised during the course of the Great War continue to the present, and claims that the disputes about lifestyles and identity – the Culture Wars of today – are only the latest expressions of a century-long conflict. There are many influences that contributed to the outbreak of World War One. One important influence was the cultural tension and unease that disposed significant numbers of artists, intellectuals and young people to regard the War as an opportunity to give meaning to their existence. Later these tensions merged with social unrest and expressed themselves through the new ideologies of the Left and the Right. While these ideologies have become exhausted the conflicts of culture persist to this date. That is why there is Still No End in Sight for the battle of ideas set in motion in August 1914. Modern wars did not only lead to the loss of millions of lives. Wars also played a significant role in changing attitudes towards the political ideals of modern time. The Great War called into question the future of liberal democracy. It led to the emergence of radical ideologies, which were in turn discredited through the experience of the Second World War and the Cold War. The current Culture Wars have significantly eroded the status of the values associated with modernity. Through exploring the battle of ideas set in motion in August 1914, First World War – Still No End in Sight, provides a framework for understanding the changing focus of political conflict from ideology to culture.


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First World War: Still No End in Sight by Frank Furedi by Bloomsbury Publishing - Issuu