Massie begins with the birth of
Queen Victoria and describes the history of
England and
Germany up until the outbreak of
World War I. Making extensive use of contemporaneous sources, such as letters and diaries, Massie sketches even players who are unlikely to be familiar to most readers, such as Georg
Leo von Caprivi, German Chancellor from 1890 to 1894, who is described as having lived a spartan life, never marrying and not smoking. The major players, such as
Kaiser William II are presented with full detail. For example, as an eight-year-old the future Kaiser, who had a withered left arm due to damage from forceps suffered at birth, was made to take riding lessons, and "[o]ver and over" per the supervising tutor, the "'weeping prince' was 'set on his horse, without stirrups and compelled to go through the paces. He fell off continually; every time, despite his prayers and tears, he was lifted up and set upon its back again.'" Other major players include
William I,
Alfred von Tirpitz,
Lord Salisbury,
Edward VII,
Otto von Bismarck,
Joseph Chamberlain,
Arthur Balfour,
H. H. Asquith and
David Lloyd George,
Sir Edward Grey and
Winston Churchill. The development of the
British Navy is also covered in substantial detail, with
Jackie Fisher presented fully. The insights that led to the conception and construction of the title
Dreadnought are explained and the reader is informed that this was not the first HMS " Dreadnought" as there had been ships named "Dreadnought" all the way back to
Elizabeth I. On the German side, the
Tirpitz Plan is described, and the way that the
Imperial German governmental structure permitted its funding is explained. Further, the history of the
Kruger Telegram,
Boer War,
Boxer Rebellion and the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and its aftermath are presented. From Margot Asquith, wife of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, speaking of meeting her husband after the last efforts to avert war had failed, we are given, "I sat down beside him with a feeling of numbness in my limbs.... Henry sat at his writing table leaning back.... What was he thinking of?... His sons?... would they all have to fight?... I got up and leaned my head against his; we could not speak for tears." ==Table of contents==