Review of The Last Great War, by Scott ParkerAdrian Gregory, The Last Great War: British Society and the First World War. (Cambridge University Press, 2008), endnotes, illustrations, charts, and index, p. 354.Oxford University professor, Dr. Adrian Gregory, has compiled a concise social history of the British populace surrounding the advent of, and the British participation in, WWI. Gregory attempts to touch upon all the relevant social issues and concerns of the British population surrounding England's entry into the war. He discusses and debates British wartime participation within such subjects as demographics (urban vs. rural), the positions of the British press, the stances of churches and religion, the impacts of feminism and labor on upon Britain's decision to enter and participate in the war, the positions and impacts upon British social classes and families, the ramifications of propaganda, and the monumental debate surrounding the tragic casualty lists of various English communities.To center his debate, Gregory writes, "Reading the newspapers on either side of the outbreak of war suggests very strongly that the public were not as innocent about the consequences of war as is often imagined. Even those who were pro-intervention appear quite clear headed about the perils of war." [18-19]. Thus, does Gregory take on his social debates and arguments pertaining to British WWI participation.At this point he brings all of the afore mentioned topics into discussion. He establishes his topical theses and debates by writing:We will understand the First World War a great deal better if we jettison the teleology of war as an inevitable outcome of mass jingoism and anti-German antagonism. Instead we should try to get the causality right: although these phenomena were not absent, they did not cause the war [for the British]. It was the other way around: it was the war that massively increased anti-Germanism and popular patriotism. [39.]of which he does an exemplarily objective job of synopsizing.Was one to give critique of Gregory's monograph it have to center around his chapter concerning church and religious impacts upon WWI British society. The chapter is much too lengthy and could have been more concise had he focused more closely upon his chapter statement, "Furthermore, to assume that the patriotism of the State Church somehow discredited it is to accept an exaggerated idea of wide spread disillusionment with organised religion after the end of the war." [184.]. Further, and totally uncharacteristic of Gregory throughout his book, he only discusses the religious impacts on British society of the various Protestant faiths. He totally ignores the Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. Though, admittedly, all were rather minority religious groups in Britain at the time, they, nonetheless, were part of the British social fabric in 1914. Many in the latter three categories were British citizens/immigrants from the various colonies and Commonwealth countries, and were very much a part of the British social, economic, and political framework.Adrian Gregory's argument is very subtle throughout his work. He does such a marvelous job of presenting both sides of topical discussions, so much so that the reader has to look for those subtle messages, such as, "Was German action a real threat to Britain or not? Most people carried a little of each within themselves." [37.]. He then counters that question with the statement, "Intervention could be justified on the basis that the failure to act was likely to endanger the nation...This moral case was about as clear cut as a war can ever be." [294.]. Gregory eventually becomes more blatant and adamant about his conviction and argument that the war was a tragic mistake for Britain. Considering the numbers of casualties, the total lack of British national interests, the economic hardships, and the war induced British social stratifications, he summarizes within his conclusion paragraph his unbiased thesis when he states, "The same urge to support military interventions will be present until war is renounced...Then and only then can we finally state with justified confidence that we have fought the last war." [296.].For those readers who would appreciate an in-depth narrative surrounding the social and political ramifications for inter-war British culture, this book is an absolute necessity for understanding that topic, and must be read. Scott Parker - University of North Carolina-Charlotte