Good for reading for one who knows historical context & has a critical eye. Ludendorff is a great example to use when illustrating how pre-war attitudes contributed both to the slide into WWI, and to it's continuing for 4 years, even after it was clear there would be no swift conclusion. The book is also a great illustration of the need for goals in life & the dangers of handing political power to military technocrats, & the dangers of war without political aims. Depicts the German political leaders as handing decision-making to the military, and then the military refusing to articulate political goals for the war. Ludendorff held the German militarist attitude before the war that a conflict had to be fought soon, or else their European rivals would be too strong. From what I've read, these attitudes and dynamics were not unique to Germany or the German Military, but were common throughout Europe. This book surprised me in that it indicates how little the German Military leaders realistically thought they could gain from continued war, and how little they seriously considered any peace efforts before the very end of the war in 1918.