Through two world wars and tumultuous years between, no event, nor its causes and effects, ever stood by itself. Always there were multiple influences, economic, domestic political, international political, ethnic, religious, and diplomatic, as well as rivalries and jealousies, sincere philosophical differences and numerous other pressures muddying the currents swirling about events and personnel. Treating events in isolation has always led to disastrous results. Events and the characters involved are never free from the web of their comprehensive background. No historian has ever been more conscious of this than Dr. Hickman as he carries the reader through World War I into its disastrous result, the Second World War, and from there through complexities of that war and the political struggle it bred which played the major role in the genesis of free trade. It is this comprehensive approach to this tapestry that will make War and Crises an outstanding reference for years to come.