Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Ebook510 pages6 hours
A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
In six weeks during April and May 1915, as World War I escalated, Germany forever altered the way war would be fought. On April 22, at Ypres, German canisters spewed poison gas at French and Canadian soldiers in their trenches; on May 7, the German submarine U-20, without warning, torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania, killing 1,198 civilians; and on May 31, a German Zeppelin began the first aerial bombardment of London and its inhabitants. Each of these actions violated rules of war carefully agreed at the Hague Conventions of 1898 and 1907. Though Germany's attempts to quickly win the war failed, the psychological damage caused by these attacks far outweighed the casualties. The era of weapons of mass destruction had dawned.
While each of these momentous events has been chronicled in histories of the war, celebrated historian Diana Preston links them for the first time, revealing the dramatic stories behind each through the eyes of those who were there, whether making the decisions or experiencing their effect. She places the attacks in the context of the centuries-old debate over what constitutes “just war,” and shows how, in their aftermath, the other combatants felt the necessity to develop extreme weapons of their own. In our current time of terror, when weapons of mass destruction-imagined or real-are once again vilified, the story of their birth is of great relevance.
While each of these momentous events has been chronicled in histories of the war, celebrated historian Diana Preston links them for the first time, revealing the dramatic stories behind each through the eyes of those who were there, whether making the decisions or experiencing their effect. She places the attacks in the context of the centuries-old debate over what constitutes “just war,” and shows how, in their aftermath, the other combatants felt the necessity to develop extreme weapons of their own. In our current time of terror, when weapons of mass destruction-imagined or real-are once again vilified, the story of their birth is of great relevance.
Author
Diana Preston
Diana Preston is an acclaimed historian and author of the definitive Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology), The Boxer Rebellion, and The Dark Defile: Britain's Catastrophic Invasion of Afghanistan, 1838–1842, among other works of narrative history. She and her husband, Michael, live in London.
Read more from Diana Preston
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Evolution of Charles Darwin: The Epic Voyage of the Beagle That Forever Changed Our View of Life on Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoices of the Lusitania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to A Higher Form of Killing
Related ebooks
Her Privates We Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCountdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assasinate Hitler Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mystic Christianity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurviving Katyn: Stalin's Polish Massacre and the Search for Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghost Stories of Ambrose Bierce Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Great War Handbook: A Guide for Family Historians & Students of the Conflict Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bugs And Bombs: A History of the Chemical and Biological Arms Race Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPoilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914 – 1918 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndertones of War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5European Disposal Operations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fighting 30th Division: They Called Them Roosevelt's SS Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 The Epic Battle That Ended the First World War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5British Widows of the First World War: The Forgotten Legion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost Battalion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEurope Against the Jews, 1880-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The A to Z of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElegy: The First Day on the Somme Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eyewitness to the Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lamps Went Out: Sir Edward Grey and the 'War to End All Wars' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, and Other Great Sea Disasters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor Valour: Canadians and the Victoria Cross in the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAces High: The War in the Air over the Western Front 1914-18 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great War: From Memory to History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coal Black Sea: Winston Churchill and the Worst Naval Catastrophe of the First World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA House Divided: Slavery and American Politics from the Constitution to the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related podcast episodes
The Western Front: The Generals in the First World War: The Western Front, that cauldron of war, a bubbli… 0% found this document usefulEpisode 4: Chemical Agent Terrorist Attack 0% found this document usefulFrom the Cold War to the present day: The role chemists have played in the development of chemical weapons 0% found this document usefulOrigins of WW1: Beyond the Archduke 0% found this document usefulOver There: America Enters WWI 0% found this document usefulThe Red Cross: Learn more about the history and mission of the Red Cross 0% found this document usefulTanks: From the Second World War to Ukraine 0% found this document usefulZBT #170: Interview w/ Rep. Duncan Hunter on Eddie Gallagher's Trial 0% found this document useful
Related articles
Anxiety-Ridden Era American HistoryArticle
Anxiety-Ridden Era
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readThe ‘Oops’ War Military HistoryArticle
The ‘Oops’ War
Jan 1, 1970
11 min readInto The Abyss The Story Of The First World War Volume 1 History of WarArticle
Into The Abyss The Story Of The First World War Volume 1
Jan 1, 1970
2 min readThe Indian Empire At War History of WarArticle
The Indian Empire At War
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readParis Peace Conference History of WarArticle
Paris Peace Conference
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readWin The First World War Remembered History of WarArticle
Win The First World War Remembered
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readIn Flanders Fields Land Rover MonthlyArticle
In Flanders Fields
Jan 1, 1970
10 min readIndia, Empire, And First World War Culture History of WarArticle
India, Empire, And First World War Culture
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readThe Decisive Year 1918 History of WarArticle
The Decisive Year 1918
Jan 1, 1970
2 min read1917: WAR, PEACE, & REVOLUTION All About HistoryArticle
1917: WAR, PEACE, & REVOLUTION
Jan 1, 1970
2 min readCrucible History of WarArticle
Crucible
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readAbout Face New Zealand ListenerArticle
About Face
Jan 1, 1970
6 min readGambling On War History of WarArticle
Gambling On War
Jan 1, 1970
Author: Roger L. Ransom Publisher: Cambridge University Press Price: £31.99 Roger L. Ransom’s book fills a gap on the groaning shelves of World War I histories, by arguing that these four years of massive bloodshed resulted overwhelmingly from an eco
2 min readThe Great War: Western Front PC PowerplayArticle
The Great War: Western Front
Jan 1, 1970
1 min readDavid Olusoga: ‘Black Soldiers Were Expendable – Then Forgettable’ The GuardianArticle
David Olusoga: ‘Black Soldiers Were Expendable – Then Forgettable’
Jan 1, 1970
7 min readLest We Forget... The Vital Role Of Wartime Railways The Railway MagazineArticle
Lest We Forget... The Vital Role Of Wartime Railways
Jan 1, 1970
THIS year sees the centenary of the end of the First World War. Railways played a crucial and differing role in each of the two major global conflicts of the 20th century. Trench warfare was a prime strategy in the First World War, with narrow-gaug
3 min readAmerica Is Teaching Syria a Dangerous Lesson The AtlanticArticle
America Is Teaching Syria a Dangerous Lesson
Jan 1, 1970
3 min readAt A Hefty Cost, World War I Made The U.S. A Major Military Power NPRArticle
At A Hefty Cost, World War I Made The U.S. A Major Military Power
Jan 1, 1970
3 min readU.S. Lays Out Case For Assad's Culpability In Chemical Weapons Attack NPRArticle
U.S. Lays Out Case For Assad's Culpability In Chemical Weapons Attack
Jan 1, 1970
2 min readCommentary: Syria Is Normalizing The Use Of Chemical Weapons Chicago TribuneArticle
Commentary: Syria Is Normalizing The Use Of Chemical Weapons
Jan 1, 1970
4 min readWhy Does Syria Still Have Chemical Weapons? The GuardianArticle
Why Does Syria Still Have Chemical Weapons?
Jan 1, 1970
4 min readAssad Defies Another American President The AtlanticArticle
Assad Defies Another American President
Jan 1, 1970
4 min read<
