A brilliant account of the senseless slaughter started by the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, and concluded after the deaths of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians.The Great War ushered in the 20th century. It was the war to end all wars, A senseless slaughter that set the stage for the bloodiest century in human history.Yet, it was more than just a war between nations. It was a war between what was and what was to be. The old world was dying and the new world had yet to be born. People of all class and nations saw it as some great cleansing fire that would accelerate this battle and lead to a better world. But, when it was over, more than men had died in the mud of the battlefields. The nave dreams of progress, along with the innocence of the pre-war world, faith in God, and hope in the future all died in the trenches of Europe.