This fascinating look at World War I has the heartening 1914 Christmas truce bartered by individual soldiers on both sides along the front as its focal point, but author Jim Murphy spends considerable time laying the groundwork for that event. Murphy describes the politics and propaganda that led to the war, and how the soldiers and civilians on both sides and in many countries were victims of both. Murphy also discusses how the First World War was a war of change, when military leaders discovered that nineteenth-century strategies and twentieth-century technologies were not compatible. Many firsthand accounts of soldiers on both sides are incorporated into a narrative that ultimately emphasizes the human story of this time and place in history. Photographs, a detailed timeline, source notes for each chapter, and suggestions for additional information round out this compelling work. (Age 12 and older)