The First World War

An Agrarian Interpretation

Avner Offer

In this interpretation of the First World War, Dr Offer weaves together the economic and social history of the English-speaking world, the ...

Reissue

The First World War

An Agrarian Interpretation

Avner Offer

Description

This is a completely new interpretation of the First World War. Dr Offer weaves together the economic and social history of the English-speaking world, the Pacific Basin, and Germany, with the development of food production and consumption. He argues that the roots of Germany's defeat went back to the late-Victorian decline of British agriculture and the development of Canada, Australia, and the United States as agrarian exporters, while the agrarian interests of America and Australia were crucial in shaping the peace. The book examines the relation between economic and military power, and legal and moral questions of selecting civilians as a strategic target.

Reissue

The First World War

An Agrarian Interpretation

Avner Offer

Author Information

Avner Offer, Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford

Reissue

The First World War

An Agrarian Interpretation

Avner Offer

Reviews and Awards

Winner of the 1992 Trevor Reese Memorial Prize for an outstanding work of scholarship in the field of Commonwealth and Imperial history

"Offer has opened up a rich seam of enquiry, as well as producing a masterly and fascinating book...a magnificently original piece of research" - Economic History Review

"Dr Offer's breadth of vision is remarkable, his scholarship is challenging and his eye for the telling detail is keen. In range and depth this book would be hard to equal; and its style and structure make it something of a rarity, for it is as enjoyable as it is important." - Times Higher Educational Supplement

"a brilliant, deeply disturbing and intellectually restless account... For students of the period, this book is full of insights... Offer has no competition at all in his marvellous discussion of the imperial dimension of agrarian history, or of its poltiical and diplomatic meaning. Overall, this book will open a new debate... It is historical writing of the highest order: shrewd, compassionate, occasionally moving, always alive." - Rural History

"This is a superb piece of historical writing." - Journal of Economic History

"Offer has opened up a rich seam of enquiry, as well as producing a masterly and fascinating book...a magnificently original piece of research" - Economic History Review

"Dr Offer's breadth of vision is remarkable, his scholarship is challenging and his eye for the telling detail is keen. In range and depth this book would be hard to equal; and its style and structure make it something of a rarity, for it is as enjoyable as it is important." - Times Higher Educational Supplement

"a brilliant, deeply disturbing and intellectually restless account... For students of the period, this book is full of insights... Offer has no competition at all in his marvellous discussion of the imperial dimension of agrarian history, or of its poltiical and diplomatic meaning. Overall, this book will open a new debate... It is historical writing of the highest order: shrewd, compassionate, occasionally moving, always alive." - Rural History

"This is a superb piece of historical writing." - Journal of Economic History