Paris 1919

Six Months That Changed the World

By: Margaret MacMillan

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

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. Bringing to vivid life the individuals who participated in the great Peace Conference, including Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ho Chi Minh, Paris 1919 is a landmark work of narrative history.

©2002 Margaret MacMillan

Critic reviews

"This book is a treasure." (Booklist)
"MacMillan's lucid prose brings her participants to colorful and quotable life, and the grand sweep of her narrative encompasses all the continents the peacemakers vainly carved up." (Publishers Weekly)

Comprehensive account

Excellent account. Excellent performance. Only problem was I could not refer to maps while listening in my car.

Best WW1 book duo!

Make sure to read the war that ended peace first! Both books are fantastic and go so well together.

Very interestimg

This tells of the complexity of the Treaty of Versailles. It shows how many things were missed and misunderstood.

Great history lesson, super narrator!

Where does Paris 1919 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm fairly new to audiobooks, this is by far the most serious book I've ordered. I work alone much of the time, so that's a great time to listen to a detailed reading. I've actually only listened to about a third of the book, which is so far 8 hours' worth, but wanted to post a review to say how much I like it. I imagine that I'll listen to it in the future, too.

What's so interesting about the book is how the decisions made at the Paris conference laid the groundwork for future controversies and wars, from World War II to the Balkan conflicts. The book does require really paying attention, but it pays off -- this is a detailed and well laid out history book, but it helps if you have some knowledge about the events surrounding World War I.

What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?

I'm impressed by Suzanne Toren's narration, she's excellent, and I didn't get tired of her voice. I think this could be a difficult book to read aloud, it's a very complex story, and she handles it so well. She performs with just the right amount of acting to dramatize the voices of many key world leaders, and this aspect probably wouldn't come through so well if one were actually reading the book as opposed to listening to it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it's very long, but I am currently reading books about the same time period, so it fits in well. I'm very glad I've got time to listen to it.

For History Buffs Only

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depends on the friend. This is not a book for the average reader.

Any additional comments?

If you are not at least a little bit of a history nut this is not the book for you. It is an exhaustive history, (I mean that in both meanings of the word). I suspect that no matter how much history you know you will learn something new in reading this. That said this is not a book for the beginner, a reasonable knowledge of per WWI European geography is necessary to follow the discussions of what lands went to whom.

One final note it is important to understand the the word "liberal" did not have the same meaning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as it does today. At that point in time a liberal was one who believed in less government power and more individual rights and freedoms. The meaning is closer to what is considered libertarianism today.

Outstanding history

MacMillan is an outstanding historian with deep insights into a crucial historical moment. The Versailles Treaty has been an important event even today.

Amazing events that will never happen again

This book really was something special. At the end of the Great War the leaders of the world were in a position to actually remake the world. Going country by country, rather than chronologically, MacMillan discusses the players, the desires, the forces that conspired to literally change countries and divide up resources. Though many of their changes have no lasted to this day, their impact on world events can scarcely be exaggerated.

World War 1 has always seemed under-valued and under-read, and so the peace process right afterwards is not well understood. That in mind, I had very high hopes for the analysis, the depth, and the scope of this book. It still surpassed all expectations. Even the narration is great. Please, enjoy.

Paris 1919

This slice of history has enriched my understanding of the efforts of Wilson and others to achieve world peace culminating with the Treaty of Versailles. The narration is excellent. The work is long; I slept through parts, but I have every intention to listen to it entirely at least once more.

accessible window on today's world

MacMillian uses the Paris Peace Conference as a window on not only the outcomes of WWI but also on its causes and course. As the intro states the "flawed decisons with terrible consequences" of that gathering still shape our contemporary world. Want to understand the G20? Start here.

Some reviewers have disliked the book's detail - but it was exactly the picturesque (and sometimes humourous) detail of a politico's personality or the power behind his throne that kept me listening past the dryer explanation of the redrawing of borders.

I liked Toren's narration of this nonfiction better than her voice for historical fiction. Although MacMillian isn't academic in tone, neither is she chatty or breezy, so Toren helps by lightening up the tone.

If you're tempted to try a Margaret MacMillian work to see why she sells so much history to average readers, this would be a good place to start. It's a listenable blend of social and political history.

Review of the reader only.

Others have written detailed reviews of this book that are useful and interesting, so I'll keep mine short, and address only the reader. I found the reader quite annoying, and had to leave off listening to this book and listen to something else for a while from time to time to give myself a break.
First, the positives; the reader has a very pleasant voice, clear diction (with perhaps some sort of mild northeastern United States accent? I can't quite place it, though it's clearly not British), and an obvious knowledge of her material. She speaks French as well as English, and speaks it well (almost unheard of in an audible book containing many French locations and characters!) and seems, as far as I can tell, to do at least reasonably well with the many other languages that are involved in this epic work.
What is my problem with her? She sounds annoyed, irritated, and sarcastically judgmental almost all the time, throughout the entire 18+ hours. Goodness knows I can see why, practically everyone in the book is deeply annoying almost all the time, but it makes her very difficult to listen to. If you are listening to the book and some background noise blocks out the actual sense, so all you can hear is the tone of voice, you will notice that the reader sounds like she's chewing someone out in a coldly angry way. I found this hard to take, so be sure to listen to the audio sample, to see if it strikes you this way, and how bothersome it might be for you.
I would not listen to anything else read by her, in spite of her many good qualities.