Armageddon—And After

Courtney, W. L. (William Leonard), 1850-1928Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 117K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Armageddon—And After by W. L. CourtneyAuthor: Courtney, W. L. (William Leonard), 1850-1928,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Nov 26, 2005

Editor's review

Courtney's small book discusses the problems of the late First World War and the postwar order. "Armageddon" in the title points to that great war, while "And After" directs attention to the postwar world arrangement. The author was a British commentator and writer, and the prose carries the quality of political commentary and essay writing rather than strict military history or archival research. Its value lies in presenting how British intellectuals of the time understood the war's outcome, peace conditions, and the direction of the international order; readers can see judgments and anxieties from someone at the historical scene. The language is rather formal, with many long sentences, and the argument relies on contemporary observations rather than later data, so it is better suited as corroborating evidence for intellectual and public-opinion history rather than the sole source for factual narrative. Reading it today, the most interesting aspect is comparing it with the actual course of later history—seeing which predictions held, which fell short, and how the anxiety of "what will come after the war" was expressed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Historical readers interested in the intellectual climate of the late First World War
Scholars studying British political writing and public discussion
Readers wanting to understand intellectuals' postwar predictions at the time
Advanced students capable of reading long English political commentary sentences

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking details of First World War battles and military data
Readers hoping for systematic international relations theory
Readers not yet proficient in English reading and intimidated by long sentences

Reading tips

Before reading, review the timeline of major events around the end of the First World War to locate the context of the author's discussion.
Annotate the author's specific judgments about the postwar order while reading, then compare them point by point with historical facts.
Excerpt political commentary passages separately from factual narrative, noting the sources on which the author's argument relies.
Read alongside articles by other British commentators of the same period to compare differences in stance and wording.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book about the military process of the First World War?

No. Its focus is on the war's outcome and postwar arrangements; it is political and commentary in nature and does not provide military history details such as battle courses or troop deployments. Those seeking the course of the fighting need separate specialized military history works.

Do the author's views still have reference value today?

They have value as historical documents. The book records how British intellectuals of the time thought about war and peace, helping to understand the public mood and ways of judgment of that era, but it cannot be directly cited as conclusions verified by later history.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

It is best to have some understanding of the basic outlines of the outbreak of the First World War, American entry into the war, the armistice, and the Paris Peace Conference; otherwise many references in the book will seem abrupt. Experience in reading English political commentary will also make understanding much smoother.

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About the author

Courtney, W. L. (William Leonard), 1850-1928 Author · English · 1850–1928

William Leonard Courtney (W. L. Courtney, 1850–1928) was a British journalist and literary critic who served for many years as editor of The Fortnightly Review, earning a place in late Victorian and early twentieth-century British periodical publishing and literary criticism. Combining a journalist's concern with current affairs and a critic's literary sensibility, his writing often brought social questions together with intellectual commentary. One of his works is held in this collection, Armageddon—And After. Judging from its title, the book uses the imagery of Armageddon to discuss the Great War and the situation and prospects that followed, bearing clear marks of topical and intellectual commentary and reflecting his attention to the changes of his time. Because public information is limited, details of his life and his specific writing style are difficult to describe in full; readers may come to appreciate his critical perspective and manner of expression through the content of this book.