The War That Ended Peace

The Road to 1914

By: Margaret MacMillan

Narrated by: Richard Burnip

Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

This is an outstanding book

This is an historical narrative that reads like a thriller and makes one feel we are living the events but at the same time allows us to understand them from a broader and deeper perspective. I wish all history books were like this! Great narration to boot!

An incredibly enlightening read!

Margaret MacMillan manages to provide a very detailed explanation of the complicated currents and events that lead to the Great War in a way that is engaging and hard to put down. Narrator Richard Burnip brings this sprawling history to life in a virtuosic performance that makes even the most necessarily complex sentence structures instantly understandable. As an audiobook narrator myself, I am in awe of his abilities and found listening to him a virtual masterclass in the art of storytelling.

Excellent audio book on PRE WW1 history

I read and listened to lots of books about WW1. This is the first book I have read that discusses the situation in Europe before the war. It describes previous wars in the Balkan and else where that cemented opinions among European leaders. The alliances they formed and the many opportunities that were missed that could've avoided one the greatest human tragedies of 20th century. The war that changed to world forever.

MacMillan is always worth a listen

Enjoyed it greatly. MacMillan has a way of organizing her material so you don't get lost in the story.

I just wish the reader had taken better care in learning to pronounce non-English names and phrases.

Excellent

The story of the lead up to a war one hundred years ago has some lessons that are relevant today.

Great detail and well told

Really appreciated the level of detail, particularly around the earlier Balkan wars. Narration kept dense material moving forward

Best Pre-Great War Book I Have Read

What did you love best about The War That Ended Peace?

I have read numerous pre-Great War books, beginning with Barbara Tuchman's "The Proud Tower" many, many years ago. This book gave me a completely new insight and lots of new details that I had never heard. The focus of the story is not war, per se, but how the great powers lost the peace. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in why the 1st World War was fought.

Good prelude to Paris 1919

Where does The War That Ended Peace rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best histories.

What other book might you compare The War That Ended Peace to and why?

The author's Paris 1919. In both books MacMillian does an excellent job both describing the overall state of Europe at the time and describing the personalities responsible for the course of events.

Have you listened to any of Richard Burnip’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

Some of the comments complain about the many pauses in the narration. After a while that did get annoying. So I increased the speed of the Audible app on my iPhone to 1.25x and it sounded "normal".

The only fault with the book is the author's unnecessary comments concerning present day politics and events. Some of the comments are more her opinion than fact. They distract from the historical narrative and make one wonder whether some of her historical reporting is also just her opinion.

Superb performance, superb history. HOWEVER...

… I could have done without, near the end of the book, some curious, unwelcome, and totally unnecessary swipes at Israel, at George W. Bush, and at what MacMillan (a Canadian now at Oxford) thinks is Americans’ attitude toward Mexicans. I get the impression that she leans fashionably left.

But this complaint is trivial. The book was continually fascinating, and what especially stood out for me was the magnificent reading by Richard Burnip. An audiobook’s narrator is almost as important as the author, and Burnip was so skillful — clear, compelling without being overdramatic — that I’ve sought out more books he’s narrated.

It occurs to me that if anyone wants to know practically all that one need know about World War I — the historical background, the myriad complicated causes, the exhausting diplomatic run-up to the war, and then the military aspects — they need only listen to this audiobook, followed by G. J.Meyer’s equally brilliant “A World Undone.” (MacMillan’s account of the Versailles Treaty, “Paris 1919,” would probably make a good capstone for these two, but I haven’t read it yet. Nor have I finished Max Hastings’ “Catastrophe,” which is likely to be excellent as well.)

Informative, thorough, and thought provoking

It's hard to come to terms with how the Great War started and this book helps explains the key players, powers and conditions that ultimately resulted in WW1. Reading this book offers perspective, yet its conclusion remains - the causes of the Great War are many - as numerous as the lessons that ought to have been learned - and sometimes were; and often not