About this item
The "Great War" claimed nearly 40 million lives and set the stage for World War II, the Holocaust, and the Cold War. One hundred years later, historians are beginning to recognize how unnecessary it was. In Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!, acclaimed political psychologist Richard Ned Lebow examines the chain of events that led to war and what could reasonably have been done differently to avoid it. In this highly original and intellectually challenging book, he constructs plausible worlds, some better, some worse, that might have developed. He illustrates them with "what-if" biographies of politicians, scientists, religious leaders, artists, painters, and writers, sports figures, and celebrities, including scenarios where: there is no Israel; neither John Kennedy nor Barack Obama become president; Curt Flood, not Jackie Robinson, integrates baseball; Satchmo and many Black jazz musicians leave for Europe, where jazz blends with klezmer; nuclear research is internationalized and all major countries sign a treaty outlawing the development of atomic weapons; Britain and Germany are entrapped in a Cold War that threatens to go nuclear; and much more.
About the Author
Richard Ned Lebow was born in France in 1941 and grew up in New York City and a Long Island suburb. He is a citizen of the US and Germany, married, the father of three children, and the grandfather of two. He is Professor of International Political Theory in the War Studies Department of King's College London, Bye-Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, and James O. Freedman Presidential Professor, Emeritus at Dartmouth College He is a Fellow of the British Academy and recipient of honorary degrees in France, Greece, and the U.S. In an academic career now in its seventh decade he has authored or coauthored 40 books and over 400 scholarly articles and book chapters. Ned has made scholarly contributions to international relations, comparative politics, political theory, political psychology, history, classics, and philosophy of science. Ned writes short stories and translates opera libretti into English from German, French, and Italian. He is an avid hiker, runner, and mean tennis player. His major frustration is his inability to date to find an agent or publisher for his two novels.
