On the morning of June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie Chotek, arrived at Sarajevo railway station, Europe was at peace. Thirty-seven days later, it was at war. The conflict that resulted would kill more than fifteen million people, destroy three empires, and permanently alter world history. Drawing on fresh sources, The Sleepwalkers traces the paths to war in a minute-by-minute, narrative that cuts among the key decision centers in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, paris, London and Belgrade., detailing the mutual misunderstandings and unintended signals that drove the crisis forward in a few short weeks.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional reading list, 2017. "First published in Great Britain by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books"--Title page verso. "First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books." "First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books"--Title page verso. "First U.S. hardcover published in 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers"--Title page verso. Military Reading List: Army 2017. The U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List 2017 Includes maps of: Europe in 1914; Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1914; European System, 1887; 1907 Alliance Systems; Balkans in 1912; Balkans - Ceasefire Lines after the First Balkan War; Balkans - after the Second Balkan War.

Part I. Roads to Sarajevo. I. Serbian ghosts : Murder in Belgrade -- 'Irresponsible elements' -- Mental maps -- Separation -- Escalation -- Three Turkish wars -- The conspiracy -- Nikola Pašić reacts -- The empire without qualities : Conflict and equilibrium -- The chess players -- Lies and forgeries -- Deceptive calm -- Hawks and doves -- part II. One continent divided. The polarization of Europe, 1887-1907 : Dangerous liaison: the Franco-Russian alliance -- The judgment of Paris -- The end of British neutrality -- Belated empire: Germany -- The great turning point? -- Painting the devil on the wall -- The many voices of European foreign policy : Sovereign decision-makers -- Who governed in St. Petersburg? -- Who governed in Paris? -- Who governed in Berlin? -- The troubled supremacy of Sir Edward Grey -- The Agadir Crisis of 1911 -- Soldiers and civilians -- The press and public opinion -- The fluidity of power -- Balkan entanglements : Air strikes on Libya -- Balkan helter-skelter -- The wobbler -- The Balkan Winter Crisis of 1912-13 -- Bulgaria or Serbia? -- Austria's troubles -- The Balkanization of the Franco-Russian alliance -- Paris forces the pace -- Poincaré under pressure -- Last chances: détente and danger, 1912-1914 :The limits of détente -- 'Now or never' -- Germans on the Bosphorus -- The Balkan inception scenario -- A crisis of masculinity? -- How open was the future? -- part III. Crisis. Murder in Sarajevo :The assassination -- Flashbulb moments -- The investigation begins -- Serbian responses -- What is to be done? -- The widening circle : Reactions abroad -- Count Hoyos goes to Berlin -- The road to the Austrian ultimatum -- The strange death of Nikolai Hartwig -- The French in St Petersburg : Count de Robien changes trains -- M. Poincaré sails to Russia -- The poker game -- The ultimatum : Austria demands -- Serbia responds -- A 'local war' begins -- Warning shots : Firmness prevails -- 'It's war this time' -- Russian reasons -- Last days : A strange light falls upon the map of Europe -- Poincaré returns to Paris -- Russia mobilizes -- The leap into the dark -- 'There must be some misunderstanding' -- The tribulations of Paul Cambon -- Britain intervenes -- Belgium -- Boots.