![]() ![]() But for all the sense of stability and calm the photograph masks the fragility of great power diplomacy. ![]() The imperial Russian flag flutters easily from the car − a sign of confidence and continuity of the old order. He is being driven in a motorcar flanked by an escort of cavalrymen sporting plumed helmets and shining cuirasses. The cover of my copy shows a remarkably crisp photograph of Russia's Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich on a visit to France in 1912 to observe the French Army's annual manoeuvres. Clark's analysis is insightful drawing together as it does the many strands of politics, alliances, personalities, geography and fear and false hopes which together underpinned the last few years before 1914. ![]() Clearly its focus is 'how' rather than 'why' and that is the germ of this engrossing and erudite study. It is difficult to condense in a few hundred words this magisterial study of World War One. The Sleepwalkers is an immensely informative and enjoyable book. ![]() Re-reading its small print over many pages has not diminished my respect for the author's skills as a writer nor for his scholarship. I first read his book in 2014 in an effort to move away from the usual British-centric works to which I found myself referring. Clark is an Australian historian and the Regius Professor of history at Cambridge University. ![]()
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