Michael Bennett

Lunch with the Kaiser Michael Bennett

'Lunch with the Kaiser' provides a detailed analysis of the causes of the First World War. The book uses a series of fictional interviews with Kaiser Wilhelm II during October 1938, as he lived out his old age in exile, to establish a chronological narrative of the key decisions taken in the capitals of Europe. A vivid picture emerges of a complex man who was at the very centre of late nineteenth and early twentieth century European history. Wilhelm is not resolved of responsibility for the outbreak of war but his decisions are placed in the context of those made by others in Berlin, Paris, St Petersburg and Vienna. The book also provides clarity on the process by which Britain was led to war, replacing the accepted narrative of strategic imperative, with one of low politics and policy miscalculation.