July 1914: Countdown to War
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Steve Coulter
-
By:
-
Sean McMeekin
About this listen
When a Serbian-backed assassin gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in late June 1914, the world seemed unmoved. Even Ferdinand’s own uncle, Franz Josef I, was notably ambivalent about the death of the Hapsburg heir, saying simply, "It is God’s will." Certainly, there was nothing to suggest that the episode would lead to conflictmuch less a world war of such massive and horrific proportions that it would fundamentally reshape the course of human events.
As acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin reveals in July 1914, World War I might have been avoided entirely had it not been for a small group of statesmen who, in the month after the assassination, plotted to use Ferdinand’s murder as the trigger for a long-awaited showdown in Europe. The primary culprits, moreover, have long escaped blame. While most accounts of the war’s outbreak place the bulk of responsibility on German and Austro-Hungarian militarism, McMeekin draws on surprising new evidence from archives across Europe to show that the worst offenders were actually to be found in Russia and France, whose belligerence and duplicity ensured that war was inevitable. Whether they plotted for war or rode the whirlwind nearly blind, each of the men involvedfrom Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold and German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and French president Raymond Poincarsought to capitalize on the fallout from Ferdinand’s murder, unwittingly leading Europe toward the greatest cataclysm it had ever seen.
A revolutionary account of the genesis of World War I, July 1914 tells the gripping story of Europe’s countdown to war from the bloody opening act on June 28th to Britain’s final plunge on August 4th, showing how a single monthand a handful of menchanged the course of the twentieth century.
©2013 Sean McMeekin (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Ottoman Endgame
- War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908-1923
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing retelling of 20th-century history from the Ottoman perspective, delivering profound new insights into World War I and the contemporary Middle East. Between 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, was World War I - a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the "wars of the Ottoman succession", we know far less than we think.
-
-
WWI from a different perspective
- By Michael L Krogh on 11-09-15
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sleepwalkers is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
-
-
Very interesting take on a complex problem
- By Steve on 01-24-15
-
The Russian Revolution
- A New History
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an award-winning scholar comes this definitive, single-volume history that illuminates the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the events which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and introduced Communism to the world. Between 1917 and 1922, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation.
-
-
Great Book on the Russian Revolution
- By Nostromo on 09-02-17
By: Sean McMeekin
-
Stalin's War
- A New History of World War II
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east.
-
-
Sean McMeekin Does It Again!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 04-21-21
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
-
The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
-
-
Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
-
The Ottoman Endgame
- War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908-1923
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing retelling of 20th-century history from the Ottoman perspective, delivering profound new insights into World War I and the contemporary Middle East. Between 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, was World War I - a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the "wars of the Ottoman succession", we know far less than we think.
-
-
WWI from a different perspective
- By Michael L Krogh on 11-09-15
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sleepwalkers is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
-
-
Very interesting take on a complex problem
- By Steve on 01-24-15
-
The Russian Revolution
- A New History
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an award-winning scholar comes this definitive, single-volume history that illuminates the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the events which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and introduced Communism to the world. Between 1917 and 1922, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation.
-
-
Great Book on the Russian Revolution
- By Nostromo on 09-02-17
By: Sean McMeekin
-
Stalin's War
- A New History of World War II
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east.
-
-
Sean McMeekin Does It Again!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 04-21-21
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
-
The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
-
-
Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
-
The Great War
- A Combat History of the First World War
- By: Peter Hart
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War I altered the landscape of the modern world in every conceivable arena. Millions died; empires collapsed; new ideologies and political movements arose; poison gas, warplanes, tanks, submarines, and other technologies appeared. "Total war" emerged as a grim, mature reality. In The Great War, Peter Hart provides a masterful combat history of this global conflict.
-
-
Horrible Listen
- By Eric Ring on 11-16-21
By: Peter Hart
-
A People’s Tragedy
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 47 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Opening with a panorama of Russian society, from the cloistered world of the Tsar to the brutal life of the peasants, A People’s Tragedy follows workers, soldiers, intellectuals and villagers as their world is consumed by revolution and then degenerates into violence and dictatorship. Drawing on vast original research, Figes conveys above all the shocking experience of the revolution for those who lived it, while providing the clearest and most cogent account of how and why it unfolded.
-
-
It would be 5 stars
- By Michael Polevoy on 01-31-19
By: Orlando Figes
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
-
The First World War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the 20th century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times - modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about economics and society - and in so doing shattered the faith in rationalism and liberalism that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment.
-
-
Best Military History of First World War
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 06-13-19
By: John Keegan
-
The Western Front
- A History of the Great War, 1914-1918
- By: Nick Lloyd
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War. In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918.
-
-
Incisive Overview
- By J.Brock on 01-19-22
By: Nick Lloyd
-
Six Days of War
- June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- By: Michael B. Oren
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.
-
-
Great overview of Middle East troubles
- By Patrick Marstall on 07-23-06
By: Michael B. Oren
-
The Collapse of the Third Republic
- An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 48 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.
-
-
So much information
- By Daniel L Carmony on 05-14-19
-
Paris 1919
- Six Months That Changed the World
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize, renowned historian Margaret MacMillan's best-selling Paris 1919 is the story of six remarkable months that changed the world. At the close of WWI, between January and July of 1919, delegates from around the world converged on Paris under the auspices of peace. New countries were created, old empires were dissolved, and for six months, Paris was the center of the world.
-
-
Good book, well narrated
- By W. F. Rucker on 02-07-09
-
A World Undone
- The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War.
-
-
A great book!
- By Jodi Bernard on 07-11-23
By: G. J. Meyer
-
The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- By: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes.
-
-
little-known period following WWI is illuminated
- By John on 02-16-17
By: Robert Gerwarth
-
The Battle for Spain
- The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the 20th century. With new material gleaned from Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible audiobook (Spain's number-one best seller for 12 weeks) provides a balanced and penetrating perspective, explaining the tensions that led to this terrible overture to World War II and affording new insights into the war - its causes, course, and consequences.
-
-
Not an Accurate History Book
- By Jose on 10-16-19
By: Antony Beevor
-
A Mad Catastrophe
- The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire
- By: Geoffrey Wawro
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Wawro
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Austro-Hungarian army that marched east and south to confront the Russians and Serbs in the opening campaigns of World War I had a glorious past but a pitiful present. Speaking a mystifying array of languages and lugging outdated weapons, the Austrian troops were hopelessly unprepared for the industrialized warfare that would shortly consume Europe.
-
-
Wawro's Diatribe Against A-H Military Leadership
- By Placeholder on 08-30-14
By: Geoffrey Wawro
Related to this topic
-
Munich, 1938
- Appeasement and World War II
- By: David Faber
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to London from his meeting at Munich with the German chancellor Adolf Hitler and was greeted with a hero's welcome. As he paused on the aircraft steps, he held aloft the piece of paper, bearing both his and the Fuhrer's signatures, that contained the promise that Britain and Germany would never go to war with each other again.
-
-
Great insight into the events of 1938
- By Carolyn on 05-18-13
By: David Faber
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
-
-
Superb - Review of Both Volume I & Volume II
- By Wolfpacker on 01-23-09
-
The Collapse of the Third Republic
- An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 48 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.
-
-
So much information
- By Daniel L Carmony on 05-14-19
-
The Maisky Diaries
- Red Ambassador to the Court of St James's, 1932-1943
- By: Gabriel Gorodetsky
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The terror and purges of Stalin's Russia in the 1930s discouraged Soviet officials from leaving documentary records, let alone keeping personal diaries. A remarkable exception is the unique diary assiduously kept by Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to London between 1932 and 1943. This selection from Maisky's diary grippingly documents Britain's drift to war during the 1930s, appeasement in the Munich era, negotiations leading to the signature of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact....
-
-
Informative look at the Soviet perspective
- By Mike From Mesa on 03-17-16
-
Yalta
- The Price of Peace
- By: S. M. Plokhy
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning Harvard historian S.M. Plokhy delivers a “convincing revisionist analysis” ( Publishers Weekly) of the February 1945 Yalta conference. Bolstered by Soviet wiretaps, Plokhy’s engrossing narrative of Stalin, Churchill, and FDR’s negotiations reveals the West did better than previously thought.
-
-
The depth and breadth of understanding
- By Robin LaCorte on 06-27-19
By: S. M. Plokhy
-
Japan 1941
- Countdown to Infamy
- By: Eri Hotta
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Japan attacked the United States in 1941, argues Eri Hotta, its leaders, in large part, understood they were entering a conflict they were bound to lose. Availing herself of rarely consulted material, Hotta poses essential questions overlooked by historians in the seventy years since: Why did these men - military men, civilian politicians, diplomats, the emperor - put their country and its citizens in harm's way? Why did they make a decision that was doomed from the start?
-
-
Japanese viewpoint
- By Jean on 01-01-14
By: Eri Hotta
-
Munich, 1938
- Appeasement and World War II
- By: David Faber
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to London from his meeting at Munich with the German chancellor Adolf Hitler and was greeted with a hero's welcome. As he paused on the aircraft steps, he held aloft the piece of paper, bearing both his and the Fuhrer's signatures, that contained the promise that Britain and Germany would never go to war with each other again.
-
-
Great insight into the events of 1938
- By Carolyn on 05-18-13
By: David Faber
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
-
-
Superb - Review of Both Volume I & Volume II
- By Wolfpacker on 01-23-09
-
The Collapse of the Third Republic
- An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 48 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.
-
-
So much information
- By Daniel L Carmony on 05-14-19
-
The Maisky Diaries
- Red Ambassador to the Court of St James's, 1932-1943
- By: Gabriel Gorodetsky
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The terror and purges of Stalin's Russia in the 1930s discouraged Soviet officials from leaving documentary records, let alone keeping personal diaries. A remarkable exception is the unique diary assiduously kept by Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to London between 1932 and 1943. This selection from Maisky's diary grippingly documents Britain's drift to war during the 1930s, appeasement in the Munich era, negotiations leading to the signature of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact....
-
-
Informative look at the Soviet perspective
- By Mike From Mesa on 03-17-16
-
Yalta
- The Price of Peace
- By: S. M. Plokhy
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning Harvard historian S.M. Plokhy delivers a “convincing revisionist analysis” ( Publishers Weekly) of the February 1945 Yalta conference. Bolstered by Soviet wiretaps, Plokhy’s engrossing narrative of Stalin, Churchill, and FDR’s negotiations reveals the West did better than previously thought.
-
-
The depth and breadth of understanding
- By Robin LaCorte on 06-27-19
By: S. M. Plokhy
-
Japan 1941
- Countdown to Infamy
- By: Eri Hotta
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Japan attacked the United States in 1941, argues Eri Hotta, its leaders, in large part, understood they were entering a conflict they were bound to lose. Availing herself of rarely consulted material, Hotta poses essential questions overlooked by historians in the seventy years since: Why did these men - military men, civilian politicians, diplomats, the emperor - put their country and its citizens in harm's way? Why did they make a decision that was doomed from the start?
-
-
Japanese viewpoint
- By Jean on 01-01-14
By: Eri Hotta
-
The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sleepwalkers is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
-
-
Very interesting take on a complex problem
- By Steve on 01-24-15
-
The China Mission
- By: Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As World War II came to an end, General George Marshall was renowned as the architect of Allied victory. Set to retire, he instead accepted what he thought was a final mission - this time not to win a war, but to stop one. Across the Pacific, conflict between Chinese Nationalists and Communists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. His assignment was to broker a peace, build a Chinese democracy, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III.
-
-
A Previously Untold Story of a Failed Mission
- By Jonathan Love on 05-29-18
-
Ministers at War
- Winston Churchill and His War Cabinet
- By: Jonathan Schneer
- Narrated by: Matthew Brenher
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In May 1940, with France on the verge of defeat, Britain alone stood in the path of the Nazi military juggernaut. Survival seemed to hinge on the leadership of Winston Churchill, whom the king reluctantly appointed prime minister as Germany invaded France. Churchill's reputation as one of the great 20th-century leaders would be forged during the coming months and years as he worked tirelessly first to rally his country and then to defeat Hitler.
-
-
Welcome addition to the literature of World War II
- By Mike From Mesa on 05-02-15
By: Jonathan Schneer
-
Darkest Hour
- How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
- By: Anthony McCarten
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
May 1940. Britain is at war, Winston Churchill has unexpectedly been promoted to prime minister, and the horrors of Blitzkrieg witness one Western European democracy fall after another in rapid succession. Facing this horror, with pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, Churchill wonders what words could capture the public mood when the invasion of Britain seems mere hours away. It is this fascinating period that Anthony McCarten captures in this deeply researched and wonderfully written new book, The Darkest Hour.
-
-
Gripping
- By Jean on 12-06-17
By: Anthony McCarten
-
Hitler's American Gamble
- Pearl Harbor and Germany's March to Global War
- By: Brendan Simms, Charlie Laderman
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked - and the United States remained at peace. Hitler’s American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11.
-
-
A waste of time based on a flawed premise
- By Grant on 11-30-21
By: Brendan Simms, and others
-
De Gaulle
- By: Julian Jackson
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 41 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a definitive biography of the mythic general who refused to accept Nazi domination of France, Julian Jackson captures this titanic figure as never before. Drawing on unpublished letters, memoirs, and resources of the recently opened de Gaulle archive, he reveals how this volatile visionary put a broken France back at the center of world affairs.
-
-
Extremely British approach to de Gaulle
- By Keith on 05-31-19
By: Julian Jackson
-
The Mantle of Command
- FDR at War, 1941–1942
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful - and underappreciated - command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes listeners inside FDR’s White House Oval Study - his personal command center - and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.
-
-
Great Book, Terrible Narration
- By Ross Mackey on 04-11-22
By: Nigel Hamilton
-
Ike's Gamble
- America's Rise to Dominance in the Middle East
- By: Michael Doran
- Narrated by: Casey Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1956 President Nasser of Egypt moved to take possession of the Suez Canal, thereby bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. The British and the French, who operated the canal, joined with Israel in a plan to retake it by force. Despite the special relationship between England and America, Dwight Eisenhower intervened to stop the invasion.
-
-
Tightly Argued
- By Jean on 01-10-17
By: Michael Doran
-
Five Days in London, May 1940
- By: John Lukacs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the days between May 24th and 28th, 1940, the British War Cabinet held a historical debate over whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue the war. In this magisterial work, John Lukacs demonstrates the decisive importance of those five days. Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill, who had only been prime minister for a fortnight, painfully considered his war responsibilities.
-
-
Less Than Meets the Eye
- By Michael Moore on 01-06-09
By: John Lukacs
-
Roosevelt and Stalin
- Portrait of a Partnership
- By: Susan Butler
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Susan Butler's brilliantly listenable audiobook firmly places FDR where he belongs, as the American president engaged most directly in diplomacy and strategy, who not only had an ambitious plan for the postwar world but had the strength, ambition, and personal charm to overcome Churchill's reluctance and Stalin's suspicion to bring about what was, in effect, an American peace and to avoid the disastrous consequences that followed the botched peace of Versailles in 1919.
-
-
The History We Never Knew
- By LS1015 on 05-03-16
By: Susan Butler
-
The Balfour Declaration
- The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- By: Jonathan Schneer
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Issued in London in 1917, the Balfour Declaration was one of the key documents of the 20th century. It committed Britain to supporting the establishment in Palestine of "a National Home for the Jewish people", and its reverberations continue to be felt to this day. Now the entire fascinating story of the document is revealed in this impressive work of modern history.
-
-
From the Zionist Point of View
- By Sam Peter on 10-11-19
By: Jonathan Schneer
-
Masters and Commanders
- How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic joint biography, Masters and Commanders explores the degree to which the course of the Second World War turned on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the 20th century: political masters Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the commanders of their armed forces, General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall.
-
-
Holocaust?
- By binkabul on 09-21-20
By: Andrew Roberts
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Ottoman Endgame
- War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908-1923
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing retelling of 20th-century history from the Ottoman perspective, delivering profound new insights into World War I and the contemporary Middle East. Between 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, was World War I - a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the "wars of the Ottoman succession", we know far less than we think.
-
-
WWI from a different perspective
- By Michael L Krogh on 11-09-15
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Russian Revolution
- A New History
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an award-winning scholar comes this definitive, single-volume history that illuminates the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the events which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and introduced Communism to the world. Between 1917 and 1922, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation.
-
-
Great Book on the Russian Revolution
- By Nostromo on 09-02-17
By: Sean McMeekin
-
Stalin's War
- A New History of World War II
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east.
-
-
Sean McMeekin Does It Again!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 04-21-21
By: Sean McMeekin
-
To Overthrow the World
- The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe. In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes.
-
-
An informative tale of plots and revolution that, tragically, loses the plot itself
- By Anonymous User on 12-22-24
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
-
-
Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
-
Catastrophe 1914
- Europe Goes to War
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 25 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: the dramatic stretch from the breakdown of diplomacy to the battles - the Marne, Ypres, Tannenberg - that marked the frenzied first year before the war bogged down in the trenches. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings gives us a conflict different from the familiar one of barbed wire, mud, and futility.
-
-
I thought I knew the battle of the frontiers
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-21
By: Max Hastings
-
The Ottoman Endgame
- War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908-1923
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing retelling of 20th-century history from the Ottoman perspective, delivering profound new insights into World War I and the contemporary Middle East. Between 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, was World War I - a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the "wars of the Ottoman succession", we know far less than we think.
-
-
WWI from a different perspective
- By Michael L Krogh on 11-09-15
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Russian Revolution
- A New History
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an award-winning scholar comes this definitive, single-volume history that illuminates the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the events which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and introduced Communism to the world. Between 1917 and 1922, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation.
-
-
Great Book on the Russian Revolution
- By Nostromo on 09-02-17
By: Sean McMeekin
-
Stalin's War
- A New History of World War II
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east.
-
-
Sean McMeekin Does It Again!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 04-21-21
By: Sean McMeekin
-
To Overthrow the World
- The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe. In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes.
-
-
An informative tale of plots and revolution that, tragically, loses the plot itself
- By Anonymous User on 12-22-24
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
-
-
Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
-
Catastrophe 1914
- Europe Goes to War
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 25 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: the dramatic stretch from the breakdown of diplomacy to the battles - the Marne, Ypres, Tannenberg - that marked the frenzied first year before the war bogged down in the trenches. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings gives us a conflict different from the familiar one of barbed wire, mud, and futility.
-
-
I thought I knew the battle of the frontiers
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-21
By: Max Hastings
-
The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sleepwalkers is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
-
-
Very interesting take on a complex problem
- By Steve on 01-24-15
-
The First World War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the 20th century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times - modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about economics and society - and in so doing shattered the faith in rationalism and liberalism that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment.
-
-
Best Military History of First World War
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 06-13-19
By: John Keegan
-
A World Undone
- The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War.
-
-
A great book!
- By Jodi Bernard on 07-11-23
By: G. J. Meyer
-
The Russian Revolution
- By: Richard Pipes
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 41 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Groundbreaking in its inclusiveness, enthralling in its narrative of a movement whose purpose, in the words of Leon Trotsky, was "to overthrow the world", The Russian Revolution draws conclusions that aroused great controversy. Richard Pipes argues convincingly that the Russian Revolution was an intellectual, rather than a class, uprising; that it was steeped in terror from its very outset; and that it was not a revolution at all but a coup d'etat - "the capture of governmental power by a small minority."
-
-
Destruction of the Lenin Myth
- By philip on 09-08-19
By: Richard Pipes
-
The First World War
- By: Hew Strachan
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A century has passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the "war to end all wars" is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world.
-
-
Outstanding narrative of the military action
- By Tad Davis on 04-30-17
By: Hew Strachan
-
The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 is historian Christopher Clark’s riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself, but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
-
-
Excellent, but
- By James A. Nietopski on 03-12-22
-
The Storm of Steel
- By: Ernst Jünger
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This classic war memoir, first published in 1920, is based on the author's extensive diaries describing hard combat experienced on the Western Front during World War I. It has been greatly admired by people as diverse as Bertolt Brecht and Andre Gide, and from every part of the political spectrum. Hypnotic, thrilling, and magnificent, The Storm of Steel is perhaps the most fascinating description of modern warfare ever written.
-
-
Horror and randomness of war
- By 9S on 12-26-14
By: Ernst Jünger
-
Modern Times
- The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 37 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
-
-
The Anti-Howard Zinn
- By Pork C. Fish on 05-22-12
By: Paul Johnson
-
Paris 1919
- Six Months That Changed the World
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize, renowned historian Margaret MacMillan's best-selling Paris 1919 is the story of six remarkable months that changed the world. At the close of WWI, between January and July of 1919, delegates from around the world converged on Paris under the auspices of peace. New countries were created, old empires were dissolved, and for six months, Paris was the center of the world.
-
-
Good book, well narrated
- By W. F. Rucker on 02-07-09
-
Heaven on Earth
- The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism
- By: Joshua Muravchik
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Socialism was man's most ambitious attempt to supplant religion with a doctrine claiming to ground itself in "science". Each failure to create societies of abundance or give birth to "the New Man" inspired more searching for the path to the promised land: revolution, communes, social democracy, communism, fascism, Arab socialism, African socialism. None worked, and some exacted a staggering human toll. Then, after two centuries of wishful thinking and bitter disappointment, socialism imploded in a fin de siecle drama of falling walls and collapsing regimes.
-
-
A biased yet informative masterpiece
- By CodyPeacock12349 on 04-04-21
By: Joshua Muravchik
-
Iron Kingdom
- The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist. In their eagerness to erase all traces of the Third Reich from the earth, the Allies believed that Prussia, the very embodiment of German militarism, had to be abolished. But as Christopher Clark reveals in this pioneering history, Prussia's legacy is far more complex.
-
-
Let me make it easier for you.
- By alexyakkavoo on 06-03-20
-
The Weimar Years
- Rise and Fall 1918–1933
- By: Frank McDonough
- Narrated by: Paul McGann
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Established in 1918–19, in the wake of Germany’s catastrophic defeat in the First World War and the revolution that followed swiftly on its heels, the Weimar Republic ushered in widespread social reform, a radical cultural flowering and the most democratic conditions the German people had ever known. The Weimar Years is a vivid narrative of a dramatic period in German history. Year by year, from 1918 to 1933, Frank McDonough covers the major events in both domestic and foreign policy and the personalities who shaped them, together with developments in music, art, theatre and literature.
-
-
An excellent history of the time period
- By Jackie Renee Johnson on 04-02-24
By: Frank McDonough
What listeners say about July 1914: Countdown to War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JustBob81
- 03-06-21
Glaring pronunciation problems
The narrator makes jarring repeated mistakes pronouncing names of people and places.
Quality control fell apart for this recording.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jason Faucher
- 02-10-23
very knowledgeable
this book goes indepth. not a lot of action. but pure political brain food.
makes you think.
lots of what ifs.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SPC
- 04-14-20
Modern research and conclusions of an old topic
Who was to blame for WW1? In a refreshingly balanced book, McMeekin does a fine job unravelling the events of July 1914 and provides enough facts to blame everyone. The degrees of blame are left to the reader, along with the blend of incompetence and malevolence. Should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in the subject, and a perfect antidote for McMillan and Hastings's retreads on the blank check and Kaiser's personality disorders.
Not overly long, but it is intense and I found myself re-playing sections multiple times. It helps to have a grasp of the protagonists and the sequence of events beforehand. There are many, and the book isn't gentle - definitely not the best book to use as an introduction to the topic, but rather an excellent work to destroy existing preconceptions on the 20th century's defining moments.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BJ
- 01-13-24
Excellent
Well written and researched. Very insightful providing details linking the historical grievances and the unique personalities leading up to WWI.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard Valdez
- 08-31-13
Great Book, Narrator Isn't the Best though
Would you listen to July 1914: Countdown to War again? Why?
Yes, most likely in July 2014 for the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.
What did you like best about this story?
This book goes into more detail than the Guns of August about the actual start of the war, specifically, the 34 days between Franz Ferdinand's assassination and the attack by Austria-Hungary on Serbia.
What aspect of Steve Coulter’s performance would you have changed?
A major problem with the narrator is that he isn't pronouncing the German names right. He pronounces von Moltke's name wrong. When he first said "Molt," I actually stopped listening and thought "Who the Hell is 'Molt?'" It's pronounced mɔltkə, two syllables.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Not particularly.
Any additional comments?
Audible Inc. needs to make sure that their narrators have cheat sheets to pronounce names right. It can really throw you off when you hear a name pronounced wrong like Moltke.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Acteon
- 04-13-17
Illuminating
If you could sum up July 1914: Countdown to War in three words, what would they be?
Illuminating, convincing, important
Who was your favorite character and why?
Istvan Tisza, the Hunagrian prime minister. He was one of the very few clear-sighted players, and an admirable man (he resigned in 1917 and joined the army to experience what it is like on the front lines; assassinated by Soviet collaborators in 1918, none of whom came to a good end — one, József Pogány, aka John Pepper, ended up tortured and executed by Stalin after agitating in the U.S.). Unfortunately, his efforts to stave off aggression toward Serbia only stalled it and made impossible a contained war against Serbia, which might not have led to a world war.
Have you listened to any of Steve Coulter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
His reading is not nearly as bad as some reviewers pretend. I found it good in general. It is true that he mispronounces some foreign words, e.g. Caillaux should sound like Ka yo (as in yoyo), not Kay yo, because the 'i' forms a phonic unit with 'll' that follows and not with the preceding 'ca'; the German word Kriegsgefahrzustand should have the accent on Krieg with a secondary accent on "zu" (pronounced 'tzoo'), and not on -fahr). But such instances, though annoying, are few enough not to bo overly distracting, and I have alas come across few audiobooks where foreign names are pronounced well or even correctly. Here most names come out correctly, and I can think of none that is unrecognizable (contrary to one reviewer's objection, the name Moltke is properly pronounced).
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
A Tragedy of Errors
Any additional comments?
I have long thought that Germany deserved the punishment the Versailles treaty imposed (which however does not justify the treaty's lack of insight and foresight). This book, by providing a precise blow by blow account of the days leading up to the outbreak of war, shows clearly that Germany did not plan or intend this war but ended up appearing to have started it through Russian (and to some extent French) trickery together with its own minister Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg's ineptitude. McMeekin's account elucidates (by being sufficiently detailed, and by incorporating evidence that has come to light in recent years) how such a monstrous war came about and the responsibility each player bore.However, if I can no longer think of Germany as responsible for starting the war, I do think Germany bears the blame for the atrocities in Belgium, and above all, for continuing the war after the slaughter took on monstrous proportions (9 million soldiers killed with as many civilians): the Germany army was in France after all, which means Germany could have decided to pull out (as the French could not). Russia pulling out in 1917 could have ended the war if Germany had been willing to use the opportunity. But there the 'logic' of war prevailed, not concern for humanity or even the good of the country and its people. From the French point of view, it was certainly just (though not exactly smart) to make Germany pay for the monumental damage France suffered. Of course it looked different from the viewpoint of Germans, especially those who knew how Germany had been drawn into war. The tricky and/or obtuse players who brought about the war did more than bring ruin and death to their countries and citizens; their short-sighted gamesmanship and ineptitude were ultimately responsible for Hitler, possibly the Bolshevik revolution, and the subsequent hell whose flames flared terrifyingly twenty years later and are still singeing us today.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Juho
- 03-26-14
A different view of the origins of WWI
Would you consider the audio edition of July 1914: Countdown to War to be better than the print version?
Probably not. In theory the structure of the book should be really well suited for an audiobook. The events of July of 1914 make for such a dramatic and gripping story. With many non-fiction books it's easy to phase out while listening, and then realize you've have no recollection of the last 15 minutes of the book. There's no danger of that here. But the constant mispronunciation of names is grating, and a real problem.
What was one of the most memorable moments of July 1914: Countdown to War?
The most interesting bits to me were the handling of the crisis in France and Russia. The pre-planned French Balkan Inception scenario, the aggressive stance of Poincare during the StP meeting, and the prepared plans and execution of the Russian mobilization (based on a hidden early mobilization while trying to prevent German mobilization for as long as possible via diplomacy). McMeekin's telling of these parts ends up painting a very different picture than the "standard" explanation where the German war council of 1912 is treated as the smoking gun.
But this isn't a one-sided book by any means. In the final analysis McMeekin seems happy to heap blame of the war on everyone involved. (Even the British, who if this book is to believed must have had one of the most gullible diplomatic corps and least effective foreign ministry of the era.)
Would you listen to another book narrated by Steve Coulter?
Maybe one that doesn't have difficult foreign words for him to mangle. It wasn't a bad narration otherwise.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elliott
- 08-27-21
Great treatment of the subject
I have ready many books about WWI and firmly believe this is the best modern one about the origins of the war. The best older one being Tuchman of course. A good antidote to some of the more recent works trying to pin all of the blame on one side. Very balanced. The author also has great narrative skills. I could not put it down and highly recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rolando Briones
- 08-30-20
Eagerness to Blame
How many historical events have we learned incorrectly? Here is a perfect example when historians are willing, to make an honest effort, to put aside their bias we can begin to learn the otherside of the story. McMeekin makes a noble attempt to do just, with well developed arguments based on original sources. Whats most impressive is he is transparent, when he is surmising as to each actor's motives, this just adds credibility to his argument. If we agree or not, we should all welcome listening to facts that might fly in the face of what we currently believe. Let's try to stop blaming and demonizing others. We would be better off just trying to learn, from our past, in hopes of not duplicating are mistakes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 09-24-13
An exciting story, indifferently read
Would you listen to July 1914: Countdown to War again? Why?
Yes, there are many details in the story that are worth rehearing.
What other book might you compare July 1914: Countdown to War to and why?
The Guns of August. They are both good narratives, but this is more current
What aspect of Steve Coulter’s performance would you have changed?
He needs to research the correct pronunciation of names. For example, "Choristers Bridge," the shorthand name for the Russian foreign office, is pronounced with a silent "h." Many other names are mispronounced, but that one grates.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No.
Any additional comments?
It is a very valuable corrective to the standard interpretation, which places the heaviest portion of the blame for the start of WWI on the Central Powers, especially Germany. It is clear that blame must be more widely apportioned, and that the Dual Monarchy must be given a heavier portion.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful