What I have found to be interestings from our assigned readings are the paradoxes and ironies that surface due to the politics and practicality of war. For instance, we read in Chapter 5 of The First World War that "everywhere governments assumed powers over the lives of their citizens to a degree that was not only unprecedented but had previously been unimaginable" (56).  This is understandable considering the advent of modern technology and mass propaganda, however, it also necessarily eclipses a value that I would argue is essentially democratic.  

Several times throughout the book we read that WWI became not just a traditional struggle for power, but especially for Germany and Great Brittain it was a conflict of ideologies (38). Interestingly, the ideologies for which either side fought were not always evidenced by that nation's conduct in a state of war. For example, "every belligerant European state" (57) is said to have become a command economy during the war. It makes sense that war conditions would put a unique strain on supply and demand, but it is nevertheless interesting to consider countries like Great Brittain and Russia having similar economic structures. Another irony of the war is that Germany is harshly punished for its agressive expansionism, all while the other major powers involved had great imperialist histories of their own.

I found this map that helped me while I was doing my readings.  You can check it out at the following link:

http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome06/