The War That Ended Peace

The Road to 1914

By: Margaret MacMillan

Narrated by: Richard Burnip

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 House

Critic reviews

“[A] richly textured narrative about World War I . . . addressing the war’s build-up . . . MacMillan tells this familiar story with panache. A major contribution, however, is her presentation of its subtext, as Europe’s claims to be the world’s most advanced civilization ‘were being challenged from without and undermined from within.’ . . . MacMillan eloquently shows that ‘turning out the lights’ was not inevitable, but a consequence of years of decisions and reactions: a slow-motion train wreck few wanted but none could avoid.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“ The War That Ended Peace tells the story of how intelligent, well-meaning leaders guided their nations into catastrophe. These epic events, brilliantly described by one of our era’s most talented historians, warn of the dangers that arise when we fail to anticipate the consequences of our actions. This is one of the finest books I have ever read on the causes of World War I." (Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state)

Phenomenal WW1 Overview

I loved seeing the parallels to today's world. I'll definitely be rereading. I particularly appreciated the parts about Lord Salisbury. Super fascinating and has helped me have a better understanding of WW1

Excellent review of background and causes of WWI

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?

No

overwhelming information

incredible detail, but so much and so many people and places it becomes hard to follow. but you can get the idea and still learn a lot especially about overarching themes

Extremely comprehensive

My interest ran out before the book did. I did manage to finish, but it took self discipline.

One of the finest, most well-written history books

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/A

Did 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.

Adds dimension to the major players

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.

We Are Right

The acronym for WAR is of course We Are Right. What kind of hegemony one lives in determines their ultimate fate.

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.

A different viewpoint

Margaret Macmillan is Canadian historian who is teaching at Oxford University. She is the great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister. I recently read Max Hastings “Catastrophe 1914”. He and Macmillan are coving the same nine months leading up to the war. Hasting covered the role of general staff of rival governments showing a step by step documentation leading up to war. 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. Even though Macmillan’s book is scholarly it is very readable. She has the ability to evoke the world at the beginning of the 20th Century, when Europe had gone 85 years without a general war between great powers. In these years there was an explosion of production, wealth and a transformation in society and the way people lived. Food was better and cheaper, dramatic advances in hygiene and medicine, faster communications including cheap public telegraphs. Macmillan asks “why would Europe want to throw it all away?” In the middle of the book Macmillan considers the larger context within which the final approach to war occurred. She is good at painting the intellectual background of “social Darwinism.” The author does a good job dealing with the July crisis and distributes the responsibility widely. It was created by Serbia irresponsibility, Austrian vengefulness, and the “Blank check” the Kaiser issued to Vienna. She recognizes how Britain’s, French and especially Russian actions exacerbated the crisis and rejects the view that this was a German pre-emptive strike, a “flight forward” from domestic strife into war, while arguing that German politics recklessly and knowingly risked war. I think she is right on both counts. Macmillan makes it clear wars are not inevitable there are always choices. Richard Burnip did an excellent job narrating this 32 hour book. This book is a must for anyone interested in WWI history.

Outstanding!! 15 star review.

This is the most well-constructed history book I've listened to. The pacing, and use of examples for education are very well thought out, and it keeps the book interesting, rather than a sequential narrative.

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.

All too human

I’ll start with the only thing I wasn’t thrilled about which was the speed of the narration. Obviously, this is easily fixed by increasing the speed manually, so it’s barely worth mentioning. I loved everything else about the work. Tone of the narrator the pronunciation of multiple languages never seemed inaccurate. The way the author jumped from one place and time in a way that never left me confused. There were times I forgot what position a certain person had, what their title was but I’m sure that was more about me not paying closer attention.

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.