From August 1914 to November 1918, an unprecedented catastrophe gripped the world that continues to reverberate into our own time. World War I was touched off by a terrorist act in Bosnia and all too quickly expanded far beyond the expectations of those who were involved to become the first "total war"—the first conflict involving entire societies mobilized to wage unrestrained war, devoting all their wealth, industries, institutions, and the lives of their citizens to win victory at any price.
Henry Warren was already a wealthy man and money was his sole interest. Then he found a woman with faith in the future and a town that needed to win back its self-respect.
![The Viking Way [BBC]](http://englishtips.org/uploads/posts/2007-09/1188642342_viking.jpg "The Viking Way [BBC]")
