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If you want something for the immediate pre-war period (1890-1914), Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 covers events and trends in the U.K.,France,Germany and Russia,and is very readable. A great introduction to the pre-war period. Of course, it only describes the end-phase of a vast series of changes over the 1815-1914 period.
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