1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War

By: Charles Emerson

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Today, 1913 is inevitably viewed through the lens of 1914: as the last year before a war that would shatter the global economic order and tear Europe apart, undermining its global pre-eminence. Our perspectives narrowed by hindsight, the world of that year is reduced to its most frivolous features last summers in grand aristocratic residences or its most destructive ones: the unresolved rivalries of the great European powers, the fear of revolution, violence in the Balkans.

In this illuminating history, Charles Emmerson liberates the world of 1913 from this prelude to war” narrative, and explores it as it was, in all its richness and complexity. Traveling from Europe’s capitals, then at the height of their global reach, to the emerging metropolises of Canada and the United States, the imperial cities of Asia and Africa, and the boomtowns of Australia and South America, he provides a panoramic view of a world crackling with possibilities, its future still undecided, its outlook still open.

The world in 1913 was more modern than we remember, more similar to our own times than we expect, more globalized than ever before. The Gold Standard underpinned global flows of goods and money, while mass migration reshaped the world’s human geography. Steamships and sub-sea cables encircled the earth, along with new technologies and new ideas. Ford’s first assembly line cranked to life in 1913 in Detroit. The Woolworth Building went up in New York. While Mexico was in the midst of bloody revolution, Winnipeg and Buenos Aires boomed. An era of petro-geopolitics opened in Iran. China appeared to be awaking from its imperial slumber. Paris celebrated itself as the city of light, Berlin as the city of electricity.

Full of fascinating characters, stories, and insights, 1913: In Search of the World before the Great War brings a lost world vividly back to life, with provocative implications for how we understand our past and how we think about our future.

©2013 Published in Great Britain by The Bodley Head. Published in the United States by PublicAffairs, a Member of the Perseus Books Group (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Good book - moronic narrator

I'm heartened to see that pretty much every reviewer has pointed out how badly the reader mangles the least obscure of words, e.g. 'quay', which he renders as 'kway' instead of 'key'. How does somebody reach adulthood without a rudimentary understanding of how to pronounce pretty common words? And how does that person manage to carve out a career as an audiobook narrator?

Ghastly reader

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book is beautifully written and fascinatingly conceived.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His inability to pronounce common names and phrases correctly, again and again, ultimately insulting at least five languages before I gave up in despair, combined with his utterly bland and colorless delivery.

Comprehensive and very Informative

This overview of the world on the edge of war is a wonderful narrative history. It doesn't keep playing the irony card with observations on how little people knew about what was coming. Instead, it takes a deep snapshot of a remarkably varied set of nations and gives us an honest account of what was going on with them that contributed--or not as the case may be--to the war that followed. I found the chapter on Japan in 1913 especially helpful.

Great idea, not well executed

The idea of a world survey of 1913 was great, but there is no strong theoretical thread, nor narrative thread in this work. It seems like a series of postcards, but the postcards aren't those funny or interesting ones we liked to get (back when people actually sent postcards), but are instead those common cards that show the 'important' buildings, or the local celebrities.

Stillwell has a great voice, but his mispronunciations become more and more distracting.

I would have liked skimming through this book in a paper or electronic version. It doesn't have enough continuity to sustain a lengthy listen.

a massacre of the french language

The reader misproounced almost every single French word and even managed to make mistakes in english

Narrator could have asked how to pronounce non-English words.

Most egregious example:: Vienna in German is pronounced “Veen” not “Wine.” Inexcusable in a book that includes a lot of German, Austrian history.

Thoroughly engaging

What did you love best about 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War?

The fact that it uses a lot of material from the period and that there is little foreboding makes you feel engaged and almost hopeful for the world that's coming in 1913. When it was over, I could not escape that melancholic sense of what could have been.

What did you like best about this story?

Loved how the book is organized by gradually giving you the perspective of the world that year through the eyes of the many different cities, cultures and their people.

What does Kevin Stillwell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration is excellent and conveys the emotions in the historical texts and citations very well.

Good book marred by poor reading.

What did you like best about 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War? What did you like least?

Interesting survey of the world on the eve of the First World War. Rich in detail about the political, economic, and cultural life of the great cities of the world in 1913.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War?

The account of Woodrow Wilson's shameful refusal to do anything about institutional racism in the United States federal government.

What didn’t you like about Kevin Stillwell’s performance?

His narration includes dozens of egregious errors in the pronunciation of French, German, Italian, and Russian words. This really should have been better edited.

Listener's experience hurt by subpar reader

While I'm certain Mr. Stillwell is a perfectly acceptable reader for many books--specifically, ones requiring an American accent--he was a poor choice as narrator of this volume. "1913" describes the mood, highlights, lowlights, popular longings, political and intellectual atmosphere, and foreign and defense policy outlooks of Big Power and Lesser Power capital cities immediately before World War I. It is reasonably interesting, though a bit shallow as intellectual history.

The fact that the book surveys so many national capitals--Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Rome, St. Petersburg, among others--means that it would be a real advantage if the reader knew how to pronounce words and names in the languages of those cities. It is unreasonable to expect perfect pronunciation, but a game attempt based on some coaching from a trained linguist certainly would help. Instead, Mr. Stillwell thought plowing ahead with an unaided American accent would work just fine. It doesn't. People with a smattering of French or German will cringe every time the narrator attempts to render straightforward words in those languages. The author of the book is trying to strike a sophisticated pose with his wide learning and cultured asides. The effect is completely ruined when the narrator mispronounces the name of a well-known writer, politician, intellectual, or the best-known street in a world-famous city.

Practice, Please!

Any additional comments?

The narration was very distracting...Foreign terms and names were mangled badly. Unfortunately, the scope of the book covered several nations and different tongues. It would be a good idea to practice or get some coaching prior to recording!