The book deals with the evolution of British war aims in the First World War (as the title indicates). Initially the British claimed only two war aims: reinstate the independence of Belgium and the defeat of Prussian militarism. As the war progressed, additional aims were considered, added, deleted, denied, etc. This study in and of itself I found interesting. However, as I read the book, I began to understand the material presented more in light of what the British leaders were going through rather than just studying the process of change and evolution. By this I mean what were they experiencing as they debated the various challenges in light of the following:

what did they actually know how long would the war last
what did they believe were 'peace feelers' to be trusted or were they traps
what did they suspect politically what was the best approach
what were their allies thinking
what was the stand of the United States

The list is almost endless. When you review the British leadership's actions and uncertainty you really have to be amazed that anything came to as much success as the it did. I must highly recommend this work to anyone with an interest in WWI. If you can view the material from the point of view of the conflicting information coming in, the uncertainty of events, the views of the allies and so on, I think you too will find the book fascinating. ( )