Summary: The historian Margaret MacMillan told us why it's important to understand the "mental framework" of decision makers when talking about why Europe went to war in 1914... MacMillan explains how ideas around social Darwinism contributed to a perception that armed combat was almost a desirable option, and how - as with more recent conflicts like Iraq - there is always a choice when it comes to going to war. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCCt1qekMfw&feature=youtu.be You can buy The War That Ended Peace: How Europe Abandoned Peace for the First World War from your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/Yu5LpV) or buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1aHdRiI) For more information about the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and to buy tickets, click here (http://bit.ly/GD2KgS)
