A massively destructive and transformative event, the First World War left in its wake many legacies. Beyond 1917 explores both the consequences of the war for the United States (and the world) and American influence on shaping the legacies of the conflict in the decades after US entry in 1917. From the fields, seas, and airspace of battle, we live today with the consequences of the Great War's poison gas, post-traumatic stress disorder, and technological inventions such as air bombardment of civilians, submarine and tank warfare, and modern surgical techniques. Conscription, pacifism, humanitarian campaigns, and socialist movements emerged from the war to shape politics within countries for decades to come. Governments learned the value of propaganda, both in print and in film. Society changed: women were emancipated in some countries and citizenship was altered in many places, while aristocracy and monarchies went into decline. European empires were transformed and in some
cases destroyed; in the Middle East, the change was enormous, beginning with the final collapse of Ottoman hegemony in the region. Fascism and communism, mass migration, independence, militarism, an influenza epidemic, the rise of Wall Street and American economic power, a slowdown in the process of globalization, and the pursuit of world peace by an organization based on collective security numbered among the most significant and lasting legacies of this conflict.
Beyond 1917 explores how and why the war has become an integral milepost for human history, reflects the importance of the conflict, the forces that led to it, and the forces it unleashed. On the occasion of the centennial commemorations, an international group of scholars considers the long-term policy, political, social, economic, and cultural consequences of the war for the United States itself and for the world. In addition to interpretive essays, the volume provides a comprehensive bibliography and timeline of events.
Industry Reviews
"Extraordinarily usefulâ There is certainly much the reader will learn from each of the fifteen chapters gathered together in this well-balanced volume." -- Michael Cox, English Historical Review
"Stimulating...The controversial nature of some of the contributions and the divergences among the authors on certain issues (for example, whether U.S. entry into the war dramatically transformed it) may make the collection useful for stimulating discussion....The essays are also valuable for the ways they address neglected topics, sketch the state of current scholarship, and promote rethinking of the waging, meanings, and effects of World War I. The collection
is enhanced by a useful timeline and an excellent, up-to-date bibliography."--Robert Foglesong, Journal of American History
"Scholars and general readers alike will benefit from these essays, which clearly demonstrate that the Great War left global legacies that still shape world history in the twenty-first century."--Lloyd Ambrosius, H-Diplo
"This excellent collection of essays presents an overview of recent historiography regarding the legacies of the Great War with particular focus on the United States' involvement....Scholars and general readers alike will benefit from these essays, which clearly demonstrate that the Great War left global legacies that still shape world history in the twenty-first century."--Lloyd Ambrosius, H-Diplo
"We are anything but 'Beyond 1917,' and for that reason, this volume is a welcome addition to the historical literature on the catastrophe we call the First World War. Told from many angles, this account of World War I and its aftermath is timely and disturbing in equal parts."--Jay Winter, editor of The Cambridge History of the First World War
"This superb collection of essays probes the consequences of US involvement in the First World War. It is hard to imagine a more bracing range of perspectives than these distinguished scholars provide--on the impact of belligerency on American citizenship and religion, on humanitarian endeavor on the battlefield, on the demands of diplomacy in responding to revolution in the midst of war, on the beginning of the collapse of a global system based on empires.
Together they demonstrate that the wake of the catastrophe born of the nineteenth century has not ceased churning even in the twenty-first century."--Thomas J. Knock, author of To End All Wars: Woodrow
Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order
"A fascinating collection of diverse perspectives on the American experience of World War One and its global repercussions."--David Reynolds, author of The Long Shadow: The Great War and the Twentieth Century
