The First World War has been described as "the prime example of war as horror and futility." Bond (emeritus, history, King's College London) counters this interpretation with the argument that Britain's decision to enter into the war against Germany should be characterized as judicious and that its prosecution of the war was, while "painful and costly," remarkably successful. He locates the most successful development of anti-war "myths" about the British involvement on the Western Front as having originated in the 1960s and surveys some of the perpetuation of the "war as horror" view in 1990s literature and television. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)