The Great War: An Imperial History (ISBN 0415204402)

A Different Perspective:
Not only is this book brilliantly written, but it is the first work that I've seen that integrates from a global perspective the colonial and European aspects of the war. I have not seen the issues of the home front handled in this manner before, and this book was a real education for me. It's a superior scholarly work but accessible to the layman, and I would highly recommend this to WWI buffs like myself, and to anyone who is interested in a radically innovative take on The Great War.

misleading title; book doesn't prove morrow's thesis:
I read this book when it first came out for a graduate seminar class a few years back. My studies at the time focused on British Imperialism, and I was excited to read a book that would tell a global/imperial version of the First World War. Based on its title and dustjacket, I thought Morrow's book would be just that. I was soon disappointed, however. There is surprisingly little on the actual fighting in the extra-European theaters, and equally surprisingly a lot that deals with the already well-chronicled Western Front. Morrow's background is, as I understand it, primarily in the technological aspects of WWI, and that is really what this book focuses on. That's not a problem in and of itself, but it's not what the book is supposed to be about, according to its title, dust jacket, and introduction. Simply put, the author fails to substantiate his thesis (that imperialism caused world war.) The closest he comes is a kind of circumstantial/atmostpheric argument -- that the European powers in the late-19th/early-20th century held some racist/imperialist ideologies, therefore that MUST HAVE been the real cause of WWI. He provides no direct cause-and-effect linkage between imperial ideology and the Great War, and overlooks the REAL causes of the conflict, which lie entirely in European, and not global/imperial, affairs. If you're interested in learning more about technology and innovation in the Great War, this is the book for you. If you really want to learn about the extra-European components of the conflict, look elsewhere. (Perhaps start with Byron Farwell's GREAT WAR IN AFRICA and branch out from that.)

The Great War from a different perspective:
Dr. Morrow's most recent work is a must read for those interested not only in the European theater of the Great War, but the colonial conflicts as well. It is more than a military history, for the work touches on race, society, the bias of imperialism, and the contributions of colonies to the conflict in Europe. I am certain this book would be useful to professional historians, however it is accesiable and thought-provoking to the layman as well. An excellent read, and a fine addition to Morrow's earlier works on air power in the Great War.

Excellent Scholarly Reexamination of WWI:
This work is as innovative as it is thorough with detailed examinations of previously unexplored themes as well as novel interpretations of common topics. Morrow's ideas and postulations are well argued and meticulously supported throughout the book. His style is engaging yet accessible, scholarly but unassuming. I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in academic military history and especially to those concerned with the history of colonization and imperialism.