A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

In six weeks during April and May as World War I escalated Germany forever altered the way war would be fought On April at Ypres German canisters spewed poison gas at French and Canadian soldiers in their trenches on May the German submarine U- without warning torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania killing civilians and on May a German Zeppelin began the first aerial bombardment of London and its inhabitants Each of these actions violated rules of war carefully agreed at the Hague Conventions of and Though Germanys attempts to quickly win the war failed the psychological damage caused by these attacks far outweighed the casualties The era of weapons of mass destruction had dawnedWhile each of these momentous events has been chronicled in histories of the war celebrated historian Diana Preston links them for the first time revealing the dramatic stories behind each through the eyes of those who were there whether making the decisions or experiencing their effect She places the attacks in the context of the centuries-old debate over what constitutes just war and shows how in their aftermath the other combatants felt the necessity to develop extreme weapons of their own In our current time of terror when weapons of mass destruction--imagined or real--are once again vilified the story of their birth is of great relevance.