Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The shots that set off a war

On July 28th, 1914 several young Serbian patriots put an operation into motion that would have terrible consequences in the years to come. By the end of that day, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were dead. The assassination provided the Austro-Hungarian leadership with the excuse they needed to declare war on Serbia. By early August Russia, Germany, France, and Great Britain were also involved in the conflict. At that time everyone thought that the war would end in just a few months. Instead it lasted for four long years, and by the end of it, more that sixteen million soldiers and civilians were dead.

These days very few people think about or remember what took place during those four terrible years. We forget too that the seeds for World War II were germinated during World War I. Germany was humiliated and bankrupted by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and Adolf Hitler took advantage of German anger and frustration to take power.

Though we tend to remember those who died during World War I on November 11th, I think we should also try to understand why the war began in the first place. You will find some wonderful books for young people about World War I on the TTLG website on the World War I feature page. I hope you find something here that interests you.

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