This book, by a well-known authority in the field, provides a wide-ranging exploration of the repercussions of the First World War upon the French people. Professor Becker considers how the attitude of the French differed from that of other European nations during the war and explains their behaviour in terms of their own history. He concludes by trying to answer the vexing question: Why were the French so ready to make sacrifices in 1914 when they had been so unprepared for them in the past and would manifest even less of a sprirt of sacrifice in the future?