In "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Blasco Ibáñez tells the story of two ideologically opposed families, the Desnoyers and the Von Hartrott, who will fight on opposite sides in the First World War. War, Hunger, Plague and Death are the four horsemen that the author uses to represent the advance of horror and desolation that tear Europe immersed in the warlike conflict. The novel achieved such worldwide success that in 1921 "The Illustrated London News" claimed it was the most widely read book in the world apart from the Bible. Then came the adaptations to Hollywood cinema of a story that transcends chronological limits to denounce the eternal human propensity to war.