The first question that the well-meaning reader of this book likely asks concerns the purpose of this particular publication. The answer focuses on two substantial assumptions, in our assessment. The first relates to the significance of World War I, examined in its entirety, as a historical event, and the second pertains to the relatively limited familiarity of the Greek public with its true dimensions and overall dynamics in European and global history of the 20th century.

This book aims to provide a brief and comprehensive overview of all the key aspects of the war, as well as a small chapter on the Greek dimension, attempting to summarize in a few pages the essential knowledge that has been accumulated and codified regarding each of these widely discussed parameters.

At the same time, it leverages the significant momentum from the centenary events to raise questions and new research challenges around the topic at an international level. A book that appeals both to the general reader and the academic historian, as it serves as a guide for approaching and understanding a pivotal event in world history, adopting a consciously simple and comprehensible narrative.

[From the book's introduction]

Elly Lemonidou is an Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Greek and European History at the Department of History-Archaeology at the University of Patras. Her main research interests relate to the history of World War I and II, the management of contentious and traumatic events from the recent past, the relationship between history and memory, and the public uses of the historical past.

Recently, she edited the collective volume titled 100 ans après: la mémoire de la Première Guerre mondiale / 100 years after: the Memory of the First World War (École française d’Athènes, Athens 2018). Her latest monographs include: History on the Big Screen. History, Cinema, and National Identities (Taxideftis, Athens 2017); History and Memory of World War I in Europe (Papazisis, Athens 2019).