The Generation of 1914

Thegenerationof1914holdsaspecialplaceinmemory,affection,andmyth.Inthisirresistibleandmovingbook,RobertWohlrescuesitfromtheshadowsoflegendandbringsitfullyintotherealmofunderstanding.Hetellsthestoryoftheyoungmen--themiddleclasseliteoffiveEuropeancountries,France,Germany,England,Spain,andItaly,torecreatethegenerationalconsciousnessthatunitedthemaswellastheuniquenationalexperiencethatmadethemdifferent.Theseweremenbornattheendofthenineteenthcenturywhentheworldofreasonwasdisintegratingintoaworldofirrationality.Theyweredestinedtorulebuttheirliveswereinterruptedbythegreatestofwars,leavingthemsearchingforidentityandhistoricalcontinuity.Wohlrecapturesthissearchthroughnovels,poems,autobiographies,memoirs,sociologicaltreatises,philosophicalessays,universitylectures,politicalspeeches,conversationswhenrecorded,letters,personalnotebooks,andnewspaperarticles.HisbookisabrilliantstudyofEuropeanmentalities,bothcollectiveandindividual.Probingbehindideastofindtheexperiencethatinspiredthem,WohlilluminatesinunexpectedwaystheoriginsofWorldWarIanditsimpactonitsparticipants.Hisexplorationoftheconsciousnessofgenerationalunityandthepowerofthegenerationalbondenableshimtoplaceinanovelcontextthespreadofpessimismanddespair,thewaningofliberalandhumanitarianvalues,theriseofCommunistandFascistmovements,andthesuddeneruptionofviolenceinEurope'sprogressivecountriesbetweenthetwoworldwars.