The Diplomatic Background of the War by Charles Seymour

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The Diplomatic Background to the War, written after the outbreak of World War I, but prior to the entry of the US, is an extremely fascinating, detailed, and lucid account of the complex events that ultimately exploded "like a powder keg" and triggered the first great world war.

While the murder of the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, provide the proximate "cause" of the War, its true genesis is only understood by tracing the rise of the German State at the end of the Franco-German war in 1871, which resulted in the crowning of the King of Prussia as Kaiser of the newly founded German Empire.

The shifts and reactions of the other European powers as they adapt to an increasingly assertive Germany, determined to establish its place in the world, is traced in clear and precise detail, making an otherwise complex chain of events comprehensible.

This background to the first World War, the effects of which (and lessons of) are still highly relevant today, is a fascinating read for all students of history