the war that ended peace
But back to MacMillan's masterwork; the book's main message is that people in this world have choices, and those choices have consequences. “The War That Ended Peace tells the story of how intelligent, well-meaning leaders guided their nations into catastrophe. The War That Ended Peace, written by Margaret MacMillan and published in 2013, is one of several recent history books exploring the causes of World War I. Impeccably researched, this seven hundred page tome of twenty-two chapters also includes an exhaustive bibliography and a well-placed set of supporting photographs. Comprehensive, Easy to read, Thorough and Illuminating, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2019. The history of the First World War has always fascinated and confused me at the same time, and MacMillan has delivered a fine tome to help us understand it all. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2018. Once in a while a book comes along that absolutely fulfils my interests. This conflict was, however, more than a simple interaction of cousins on the world scene. October 29th 2013 Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In the days following July 24, 1914, every domino fell in just the right way so that war became the only possible outcome. MacMillan on the other hand covers the diplomats and politicians showing step by step how they had avoided war numerous time and why this occasion they failed. I'm pleasantly surprised to see the book live up to the fanfare. I recently read Max Hastings “Catastrophe 1914”. Margaret Macmillan explains in clear and and thoughtful prose why Europe went to war in 1914 after a century of peace and material and social progress (following the defeat of Napoleon.) Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2017, Unlike other reviewers, I found the writing neither dry nor boring. Very good and recommended to the beginner. . The intricacies of Balkan politics and and the ambitions of innumerable ethnic groups in southeastern Europe produced an eruption of conflict and hatred that shocked and surprised the rest of Europe, already divided by alliances and and rivalries of their own. This is a very long book, and it’s very academic and therefore pretty dry. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict that killed millions, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe’s dominance of the world. I found it interesting but tedious. Margaret MacMillan begins her book about the events leading up to World War I with the Paris Exposition of 1900. A cascade of human folly arrogance stupidity weakness - a great example as to why we have no need of 'leaders' at all . With indelible portraits, MacMillan shows how the fateful decisions of a few powerful people changed the course of history. War that Ended Peace.indd 23 21/08/2013 16:02 . Not capable of such disasters as this ? Those looking to understand why World War I happened will have a hard time finding a better place to start.”—The Christian Science Monitor “The debate over the war’s origins has raged for years. There is a fair amount of history on the ruling European monarchs, most of whom were related to one another. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. There are those who bring up Tuchman's. After a particularly trying interval of time, for example. Margaret Macmillan is a Canadian historian who is teaching at Oxford University. I'm kind of tempted to add this to my 'too-stupid-to-live' shelf, though that's actually intended for poorly constructed fictional characters. MacMillan does a good job of interweaving all the various crises, treaties, alliances, and threats, and if the fact that the war happened still doesn't make sense, at least it's possible to see the failure of imagination on the part of rulers, governments, and diplomats that made it possible. As the centennial year of the commencement of the Great War has arrived, MacMillan returns to offer the other book-end in her Great War history tomes. First published in Great Britain in 2013 by PROFILE BOOKS LTD 3a Exmouth House Pine Street London ec1r 0jh www.profilebooks.com Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014. MacMillan does a good job of interweaving all the various crises, treaties, alliances, and threats, and if the fact that the war happened still doesn't make sense. If several world leaders had tried diplomacy, the Great War may have never been fought. . This book describes the complex mosaic of history, politics, personalities, relationships, institutions, and ideas that developed and interacted with each other through the 19th century and into the 20th century that then lead to a set of circumstances in Europe that caused the nation’s leaders to see no alternative to war. The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 I typically read a book about World War I (the Great War) by beginning at the back with the bibliography. few suspected that the collapse of the Ottoman Empire would lead to minor conflicts in southeastern Europe that would drag all t, Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015. Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August still holds the top spot in my own humble opinion. The book starts with sort of a World Fair type deal where many of the European countries and their colonies had various cultural displays for the world to see. Wow. 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. Following her previous book, Paris: 1919, which focuses on the peace settlement at war’s end, The War That Ended Pea. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Hasting covered the role of general staff of rival governments showing a step by step documentation leading up to war. Her previous books include Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World, Women of the Raj: The Mothers, Wives, and Daughters of the British Empire in India, and Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize, and the Duff Cooper Prize and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. In terms of western culture, 1914 was truly a watershed year that ended one way of life and introduced another. Margaret MacMillan received her PhD from Oxford University and is now a professor of international history at Oxford, where she is also the warden of St. Antony’s College. Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021. I now have a better understanding, not only of the events that led to the War but the dynamic conditions that led to the catastrophe of 1914. This book is easily the second to best account I've read of the events immediately preceding the Great War. It offers a lively and engaging account of the origins of one of the greatest wars that humankind has ever witnessed. This book simply flowed as she undertook strenuous analysis of the causes of the Great War, from Austro Hungarian designs on the Balkans, to the defence of Serbia by Russia through to a German quest to have their-day-in-the-sun not to mention alliances, which drew Great Britain and France into the conflict. MacMillan has an annoying habit of using the term "conservative" for things she dislikes and makes modern illustrative references to people like George W. Bush and the U. S. Congress, catering to left-leaning readers. MacMillan on the other hand covers the diplomats and politicians showing step by step how. Shop now. Through her wonderful style and presentation, MacMillan rehashes some of what many historians have already presented, but does so in such a compelling way that the reader cannot help but want to read and learn more. On why it happened, though, MacMillan is more tentative. But I digress. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; a senior fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto; and an honorary fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto, and of St Hilda’s College, Oxford University. It is long and can be complex. Another book that infatuates itself with Europe and the idealised civilisation that it pretends to be. History might have run differently in that regard if Europe had not been so damaged, economically and in human terms by the war. Far from it. The style is easy-to-read and there were times when I could not put the book down. I found it illuminating in its description of social as well as political and military history. ( 全部 ) "Whatever differences may separate us the mother is always the mother, and when we lose her we bury a … See all 3 questions about The War That Ended Peace…, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, Peacemakers: The Paris Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War, Get Inspired! The appeal lies in a number of factors - the complex interaction of events, motives and personalities bears all the fascination of the most gripping of true crimes. It celebrated the best in arts, sciences, and technology around the world. At dinner, if my wife asks me about my day, I reply: “Better than the English on the first day of the Somme.” When my little daughter says, “Dada, milk,” I tell her she’s as helpless as an Austro-Hungarian field marshal. MARGARET MacMILLAN is the renowned author of the international bestsellers The War that Ended Peace, Nixon in China and Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War, which won the Duff Cooper Prize, the Hessell-Tiltman Prize, the Samuel Johnson Prize, and the 2003 Governor General's Literary Award in Canada.The past provost of Trinity College … She attempts to show how the war came about primarily because too many people either wanted war or did not do enough to prevent it from happening. At the bar, when others try to talk about the National Football League, I’m busy trying to kick-start an exchange on the League of Nations. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. MacMillan reminds the reader of the blood ties of t. As the centennial year of the commencement of the Great War has arrived, MacMillan returns to offer the other book-end in her Great War history tomes. No trace of one here now. Wow. Please try again. It was a war that could have been avoided up to the last moment—so why did it happen? However, they were all basically relying on bluff, and had given relatively little thought as to what would happen when all the bluffs were called. Having said that, if you have an interest in the foundations of the modern world, you must understand World War I, and to understand how and why this event took place, I recommend this book most highly. It is a well-written history that I have read before – and may have formally reviewed although that is not of consequence now. 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 far too many varnished centennial ceremonies marking the start of World War One these days, when the stupidity and extremity of the war's slaughter should be the focus, and I looked for a caustic and probing analysis of how such a meaningless disaster could have happened. She is the great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister. Given that there are few wasted words in this leng. Margaret MacMillan followed up her epic study of the Versailles Treaty with this equally impressive work. I can’t help it; I’m obsessed. This book gets a prominent nod from me and a choice spot among my WW1 books on my shelves. Hasting covered the role of general staff of rival governments showing a step by step documentation leading up to war. Margaret MacMillan was a forerunner and felt overhyped, in spite of her laudable credentials*. marvelous . My first book by MacMillan, and it turned out to be a great read. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. This opening was done to I think show the collaboration and partnership that existed throughout Europe. MacMillan reminds the reader of the blood ties of three of the major players in the European arena: King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, all of whom were grandchildren to the famed Queen Victoria. Something went wrong. Sometime I need to find a good overview of cultural and artistic change engendered by the war; as far as I can tell, the loss of young artists and writers in the war directly impacted, in a negative way, the culture of the 20th Century. Ms. MacMillan’s explanation goes straight to the heart of political fallibility. ... describing the transition from peace to a war of movement that finally bogged down in the mud and blood of the trenches. 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. I've been trying to learn more about this period as I see it as a grand operatic tragedy, full of lessons, parallels, and warnings for us contemporary folk. by Random House, Inc. Even though Macmillan’s book is scholarly it is very readable. We’d love your help. This is also probably the strongest presentation of the situation in the Balkans that I've come across. While I accept that the term 'conservative' is not to everybody's liking, it does for the most part describe well the politics of the time (especially in the UK where there was and still is a Conservative party). Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2018. At dinner, if my wife asks me about my day, I reply: “Better than the English on the first day of the Somme.” When my little daughter says, “Dada, milk,” I tell her she’s as helpless as an Austro-Hungarian field marshal. On a recent hiking trip I took along Margaret MacMillan’s pre World War I history, “The War That Ended Peace – The Road to 1914” (Penguin Canada, 2013). History might have run differently in that regard if Europe had not been so damaged, economically and in human terms by the war. It is overflowing with information and sometimes I think that it could have been organized a little better. The War That Ended Peace will certainly rank among the best books of the centennial crop.”—The Economist “Superb.”—The New York Times Book Review “Masterly . It includes aspects such as public opinion and the personalities of the political players. One might imagine that such a tome would be top heavy with data- overload and difficult to read. 1 likes. While she's already examined the fallout of World War I, now she looks to decipher what brought it about and how peace dissolved. A book that focuses on mostly the toll experienced in Europe by Europeans, and a toll of misery and anguish it was. I approached this mammoth volume, by an admirable Canadian historian (with ties to my old college,) full of enthusiastic anticipation. Do you think that Clarke's Sleepwalkers is a fairer book than MacMillan's? WWI is just fascinating. It reads like a dissertation, and I constantly zoned out listening to this. She is former provost of Trinity College and professor of history at the University of Toronto. . Here, she examines events leading to the outbreak of that same war. At times, I felt like I was sucked into a black hole of minutia about every facet and every aspect of the political landscape of the entire continent of Europe several years prior to the outbreak of WWI. The author has written a book exploring the aftermath of World War 1, "1919." Or it may at least have been delayed. The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with confidence of prosperity, progress, and hope. You can't spend 600-odd pages with the powers of pre-World War I Europe without feeling that you've fallen down a rabbit hole of stupidity, populated by armies of Tweedle Dums and Tweedle Dees. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! I read quite extensively and only rarely bother to write a review because we are each so different that my opinion probably is about as useful to you as yours is likely to be to me. Using a plethora of documents, back stories, and her flair for the historical narrative, MacMillan tells a tale that entertains as well as educates the curious reader. Refresh and try again. Buy The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan online at Alibris. Praise for The War That Ended Peace “Magnificent . In this long but easy-to-read volume, Professor MacMillan describes the events leading to the world’s greatest ever traffic accident. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict that killed millions, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe’s dominance of the world. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. While she's already examined the fallout of World War I, now she looks to decipher what brought it about and how peace dissolved. Buy The War that Ended Peace: How Europe abandoned peace for the First World War Main by MacMillan, Professor Margaret (ISBN: 9781846682728) from Amazon's Book Store. I was certain that I had written a review of this book when I read it. We have new and used copies available, in 4 editions - starting at $3.24. It was a war that could have been. However, as concluded by the author, poor decisions were made at the wrong times as the Great Powers slid into the mire of world war 1. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2016. . At times, I felt like I was sucked into a black hole of minutia about every facet and every aspect of the political landscape of the entire continent of Europe several years prior to the outbreak of WWI. This book by MacMillan is also very good, politics notwithstanding. Like “The contempt for what the Viennese satirist Karl Kraus called Bürokretinismus served further to undermine public confidence in their government.” “History doesn’t repeat itself, but human nature remains the same.”, The War That Ended Peace, written by Margaret MacMillan and published in 2013, is one of several recent history books exploring the causes of World War I. 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