New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 1, No. 1: From the Beginning to March, 1915, with Index

This is history as it was being written, not remembered. Compiled by the New York Times in the early months of 1915, this volume captures World War I from inside the fog of war itself, before the Somme, before American involvement, before the full scale of the catastrophe had revealed itself. The opening essay is George Bernard Shaw's incendiary "Common Sense About the War," a radical critique that refuses to bow to patriotic sentiment. Shaw argues that the war serves the interests of ruling classes in every nation, that the supposed unity against a common enemy is manufactured propaganda, and that the real struggle is class war dressed in national flags. Other contributors add their own perspectives on the political landscape of Europe, the war's causes, and its implications. What emerges is not a unified narrative but a snapshot of intelligent people trying to make sense of a conflict that was already spiraling beyond comprehension. This is primary source material for anyone who wants to understand how contemporaries experienced the war's opening act: confused, angry, frightened, and far from certain that their governments were telling them the truth.