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Hm. Sounds like I should pass on that one, alright. Legolas Send a noteboard - 11/12/2012 10:45:03 PM
I do think that, of all his arguments, the notion that Home Rule could have started a major civil war in Ireland that would preclude the UK's involvement is a valid one. With no BEF forces to stop the Germans, the "miracle of the Marne" would likely not have been possible. However, might that not have been a good thing? How many fewer people would have died in a four-year struggle if Germany had just won? Looking at the EU today, it's clear that Germany is destined to dominate Continental Europe anyway.

Ireland and the Home Rule question have influenced the course of European - and world - history at so many points in those few decades, it's fascinating. So many "what if"s - what if the Liberals hadn't lost power for a generation (and such a crucial generation) in Britain due to the failure of the Second Home Rule Bill, what if Parnell hadn't been politically ruined by his romance with a fellow MP's wife, and so on. And that's all even before the turn of the 20th century, without counting the effects of the Easter Rising - or the effects, as in this book, of their *not* rising prior to that. And then there's the effects on North-American history, with the Fenian Brotherhood playing its role in the genesis of the Canadian state and all that.

As I think I've mentioned before, I'm inclined to agree with you on the point that perhaps Germany winning the war rapidly would have been better. Britain declaring war to protect Belgium's neutrality as they'd sworn was all very noble, but perhaps they shouldn't have. Then again, France might've grown still more aggressive and frustrated after yet another defeat - and the Balkan would've gone up in cinders again a couple times one way or another.
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The Lost History of 1914 by Jack Beatty - 11/12/2012 07:28:05 PM 1343 Views
Hm. Sounds like I should pass on that one, alright. - 11/12/2012 10:45:03 PM 1437 Views
I get the impression that I would eviscerate this book and perhaps the author as well - 12/12/2012 12:27:42 AM 860 Views
You almost certainly would - 12/12/2012 03:39:24 AM 873 Views
It's a cultural history of the 1910s-1930s - 12/12/2012 11:34:22 AM 836 Views

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