To End All Wars – How the First World War Divided Britain by Adam Hochschild

To End All Wars is Adam Hochschild’s history of how the First World War divided Britain. This is the hardcover edition published by Macmillan in London in 2011.

Hochschild is the award-winning author of King Leopold’s Ghost and Bury the Chains. In this book he turns to the Great War and tells it through the people who fought over it at home as well as on the Western Front.

Alongside the generals, politicians and soldiers, To End All Wars gives full weight to the war’s opponents: pacifists, conscientious objectors, socialists and suffragettes. Many of them faced prison for their beliefs. Hochschild sets their moral courage against the patriotism of the time, and follows how families, friendships and movements were split by the conflict.

The result is a vivid, character-driven narrative that asks why so many went willingly to war and what it cost those who refused. To End All Wars remains one of the most readable modern histories of the First World War.

To End All Wars will appeal to readers of First World War and British social history, and to anyone interested in protest movements, pacifism and the suffrage campaign. It is also a natural addition for readers who enjoyed Hochschild’s earlier books.

Condition – Near Fine

This copy of To End All Wars is a hardcover in dark blue cloth, with attractive silver titling to the spine, and is in near fine condition. The dust jacket is also near fine and is protected by a clear plastic cover. There is a prior ownership stamp on the front endpaper and on the title page, along with some pencil notes on the title page. No other markings were noted, and the text is otherwise clean.