The first world war changed the course of the 20th century – we examine the first global conflict from soldiers'-eye view to the grand sweep of history

One hundred years after the first world war we look back at a conflict which shaped its century.

We begin with the soldiers' perspective. Over the last 25 years, the historian Richard van Emden has assembled a vast collection of writings and images from the war. He tells us how this testimony, often created in defiance of regulations, summons up the boredom, comradeship and terror of war.

Scott Anderson widens our horizons, charting how TE Lawrence managed to make a name for himself in the Middle East while the eyes of the world were on Flanders. The Guardian's Berlin correspondent, Philip Oltermann, explores how the second world war has obscured the first in Germany, while Martin Kettle examines, with the historian Adam Tooze,

the lasting impact of the first war to truly span the globe.

Reading list

Tommy's War by Richard van Emden (Bloomsbury)

Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson (Atlantic)

The Deluge by Adam Tooze (Allen Lane)