The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914 (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Like some of the other reviewers, I'm a lot more familiar with WWII and the Cold War than this time period, and I was looking forward to a meaty history that would elaborate on my "Kaiser is crazy, Franz Ferdinand got assassinated, trench warfare happened" history classes. The War That Ended Piece doesn't disappoint by offering a very thorough recounting and analysis of events, sprinkled with character sketches and anecdotes about the often painfully ignorant and haughty aristocrats involved.I didn't feel, however, that this was a real page-turner of a history book in the way I enjoyed Anne Applebaum's books, for example - it can read as more of a textbook at times. The first sections of the book, particularly where MacMillan sets the table country-by-country, are the strongest. As events reach their conclusion, I found the book progressively less engaging, with a lot more of a "Envoy A went here and reported B and then cabled London while Envoy C went to Country D..." format. Majestic book about the origins of World War 1. Margaret MacMillan does an amazing job of distilling the complex reasons that a war seemed inevitable. As most history students know, the proximate cause of the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir of the Austrian - Hungary empire, by the anarchist Princip in Sarajevo. Austria - Hungary threatened the Serbs, who were defended by the Russians who had a treaty with the French and the British. Austria - Hungary and Germany also had treaty obligations. Once the ball started rolling, the movement to war proved to be unstoppable. What is amazing about this is that the Kaiser of Germany, the Tsar of Russian, and the King of England were all cousins and offspring of Queen Victoria. They knew each other very well, and still they could not stop the slaughter. This is a book for serious history buffs, but you will not be disappointed in learning what caused this insanity which led directly to the Nazis and World War II. The book makes you appreciate John Kennedy, Khrushchev and the Cuban Missile Crisis. They knew when it was time to stop the clock.
What do You think about The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914 (2013)?
I am reading this in reconition of the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of The Great War.
—venisle
I certainly learned the myriad causes of the Great War and what a terrible mistake it was.
—cdeluz
A long but interesting read about the years leading up to the start of WWI. Recommended.
—yeedah
Some people run marathons, I read gigantic history books.
—sarabear
