
The War That Ended Peace
The Road to 1914
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Narrated by:
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Richard Burnip
About this listen
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.
The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world.
The War That Ended Peace brings vividly to life the military leaders, politicians, diplomats, bankers, and the extended, interrelated family of crowned heads across Europe who failed to stop the descent into war: in Germany, the mercurial Kaiser Wilhelm II and the chief of the German general staff, Von Moltke the Younger; in Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph, a man who tried, through sheer hard work, to stave off the coming chaos in his empire; in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife; in Britain, King Edward VII, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and British admiral Jacky Fisher, the fierce advocate of naval reform who entered into the arms race with Germany that pushed the continent toward confrontation on land and sea.
There are the would-be peacemakers as well, among them prophets of the horrors of future wars whose warnings went unheeded: Alfred Nobel, who donated his fortune to the cause of international understanding, and Bertha von Suttner, a writer and activist who was the first woman awarded Nobel’s new Peace Prize. Here too we meet the urbane and cosmopolitan Count Harry Kessler, who noticed many of the early signs that something was stirring in Europe; the young Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty and a rising figure in British politics; Madame Caillaux, who shot a man who might have been a force for peace; and more. With indelible portraits, MacMillan shows how the fateful decisions of a few powerful people changed the course of history.
Taut, suspenseful, and impossible to put down, The War That Ended Peace is also a wise cautionary reminder of how wars happen in spite of the near-universal desire to keep the peace. Destined to become a classic in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August, The War That Ended Peace enriches our understanding of one of the defining periods and events of the twentieth century.
©2013 Margaret Macmillan (P)2013 Random HouseListeners also enjoyed...
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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.
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I thought I knew the battle of the frontiers
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-21
By: Max Hastings
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1944
- FDR and the Year That Changed History
- By: Jay Winik
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Jay Winik brings to life in gripping detail the year 1944, which determined the outcome of World War II and put more pressure than any other on an ailing yet determined President Roosevelt.
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Stimulating
- By Jean on 11-14-15
By: Jay Winik
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War: How Conflict Shaped Us
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control?
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Horrible choice of narrator derails this book
- By Steve Winnett on 02-25-21
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The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
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An Absolutely SUPERB Book for Lovers of History
- By Dipam on 06-27-21
By: Peter Frankopan
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The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- By: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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little-known period following WWI is illuminated
- By John on 02-16-17
By: Robert Gerwarth
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The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
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The Fall of the Ottomans
- The Great War in the Middle East
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Fall of the Ottomans, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict.
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Great Book About A Little Known Part of WWI
- By Nostromo on 06-08-15
By: Eugene Rogan
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A New World Begins
- The History of the French Revolution
- By: Jeremy D. Popkin
- Narrated by: Pete Cross, Jeremy D. Popkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The principles of the French Revolution remain the only possible basis for a just society - even if, after more than 200 years, they are more contested than ever before. In A New World Begins, Jeremy D. Popkin offers a riveting account of the revolution that puts the listener in the thick of the debates and the violence that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new society.
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Narration
- By Kindle Customer on 04-26-22
By: Jeremy D. Popkin
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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
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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.
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Incisive Overview
- By J.Brock on 01-19-22
By: Nick Lloyd
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Russia
- Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Rob Heaps
- Length: 21 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Between 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. The doomed White alliance of moderate socialists and reactionary monarchists stood little chance against Trotsky’s Red Army and the single-minded Communist dictatorship under Lenin.
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Not Enough Context
- By Amazon Customer on 02-14-23
By: Antony Beevor
Phenomenal WW1 Overview
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Would you listen to The War That Ended Peace again? Why?
Yes. Ms. MacMillan is a marvelous historian and this book does not disappoint. Moreover, the narrator is excellent. A real pleasure to listen to.What about Richard Burnip’s performance did you like?
Just all around excellent.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NoExcellent review of background and causes of WWI
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overwhelming information
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Extremely comprehensive
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Would you listen to The War That Ended Peace again? Why?
Yes. There is so much information and it is so well presented that I undoubtedly will listen to it again. (Actually, I will read it since I also bought the hardcopy.)What other book might you compare The War That Ended Peace to and why?
I would compare it favorably to August 1914. Both concern WW1 and both are by excellent writers. This one is much broader and has more of a philosophic and historic goal. August 1914 is more simply narrative, it tells what happened. This tries to get at why it happened.Which scene was your favorite?
N/ADid you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It impressed on me again (as though I am not reminded of it every single day listening to and reading the news) that our leaders are human -- and sometimes leave their humanity behind and become insane or simply stupid.Any additional comments?
One thing I especially appreciated about this book as an audio book was that the author is constantly reminding the lister of who any given person is and where they fit into the story. This is good for reading but for an audio book, in which one cannot easily flip back 10 pages, it is essential. When Bethman-Hollweg shows up, the author reminds you that he was the Chancellor of Germany. I found this enormously helpful. (In contrast, the book Heretic Queen has just as many characters but one was almost never reminded who they were after their first appearance.)This was simply a wonderful history book, informative and very, very thoughtful.One of the finest, most well-written history books
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Any additional comments?
The author goes to great lengths to add context to the events and major players leading up to WWI. This is done by creating a very compelling narrative, taking the time to explain those major players in terms of their background, family life, economic and cultural times of their country, etc. However, I did roll my eyes a few times when the author editorialized about modern events in a very one-dimensional manner, for example, referring to the 'right-wing" West European politicians who want to keep Eastern Europeans out of their countries and American Republicans who want to do the same to Mexicans coming over the southern border of the U.S. Not placing these events in a larger economic and cultural context, as was done with the players in the lead up to WWI, was unfair and took away from those few places in an otherwise good book.Adds dimension to the major players
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So many nations trying to be right that no one is wrong. In the end a lot of young men, women and civilians die.
Social Darwinism is a sin and always leads to war.
Very well written and read no one reads better than the English. It’s worth the time but try not to be afraid because you can see where we are headed again I am afraid.
We Are Right
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A different viewpoint
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MacMillan touches on all the major factors leading up the Great War. I read this after GJ Meyer's A World Undone, and combining the two has given me more insight into the Great War than I expected.
This is probably the best history book I've read or listened to, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Burnip is the ideal narrator, spot-on perfect.
Outstanding!! 15 star review.
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Throughout the work it’s made clear that most of the people in power were in over their head. Those that did know what they were doing were removed because they were trying to raise the alarm or they were buried in confidence, nepotism, and tradition. And yet, I still felt for all of them. Even though millions would die because of them none of the major players a made out to be evil, in my opinion.
I love the work. It’s not dry. It feels like a good middle ground between academic and pop-history works. I highly recommend it.
All too human
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