The Pursuit of Power

Europe: 1815-1914

De: Richard J. Evans

Narrado por: Napoleon Ryan

Richard J. Evans's gripping narrative ranges across a century of social and national conflicts, from the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy, from the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end. Among the great themes it discusses are the decline of religious belief and the rise of secular science and medicine, the journey of art, music, and literature from Romanticism to Modernism, the replacement of old-regime punishments by the modern prison, and the dramatic struggle of feminists for women's equality and emancipation. Uniting the era's broad-ranging transformations was the pursuit of power in all segments of life, from the banker striving for economic power to the serf seeking to escape the power of his landlord, from the engineer asserting society's power over the environment to the psychiatrist attempting to exert science's power over human nature itself.

The first single-volume history of the century, this comprehensive and sweeping account gives the listener a magnificently human picture of Europe in the age when it dominated the rest of the globe.

©2016 Richard J. Evans (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Terrific comprehensive history

Evans's history of 19th century Europe should be required reading for anyone interested in how we came to the situation facing us in the 21st. The beginning of the book,with its focus on geopolitics, is slow going but worth the effort. Evans seems to cover everything: A rich social history that spans the continent from the end of the Napoleonic wars to the onset of WW1. Highly recommended.

A great book

This is a very good and comprehensive history of the 19th century. It is very well written and also very well performed; I do Recommend it highly.

An Excellent History of Pre Great War Europe

Delivered by the steady dulcet tones of Napoleon Ryan, The Pusuit of Power goes in depth with the history of 19th Century Europe and it's inevitable march to WWI.

terrible reader, excellent book

What made the experience of listening to The Pursuit of Power the most enjoyable?

A great history of Europe after Napoleon, by a historian of Germany. Unfortunately the reader pauses after every fifth or sixth word for no discernable reason, making this a very rocky choppy ride. Evans' history is best when most detailed, in the period leading up to the revolutions of 1830 and then 1848, followed by more cursory potted treatments of social, artistic, scientific, literary, musical, i.e. "cultural" milestones, and then we're suddenly at the turn of the century, rush through the Balkan wars, and its time for world war I. Nice exposition of some modern historiography - imperial atrocities in the colonies got imported into Europe, women's suffrage, etc.

What didn’t you like about Napoleon Ryan’s performance?

Pauses after every fifth or sixth word; it's like listening to hiccups.

Skipping stones across history.

I think the time period covered is way too long for a one volume history. It's supposed to be a "peoples history" but by necessity it is mainly political and military. There is an attempt to describe cultural changes but most of the social and demographic groups involved are mentioned by you do not get the sense that the story of the view of the individuals in those groups is anything but cursory.

Excellent

This was a thoroughly researched and in depth description of the turmoil in Europe which led to WW 1.

Very in depth

In 1815 there were several nations/kingdoms/empires around the world that equaled Europe in terms of size, wealth, power, standard of living and in 1914 there were no rivals. The author then goes on to say that there is no real reason for this. No superiority of resources, culture, polity, philosophy, rather, it just happened. I found this very unsatisfying especially as it was never developed or supported though the book. Of course proving "It just happened" would be a difficult task. This was my main point of contention with the book. Other than that I greatly enjoyed.

At times this book is almost encyclopedic and it is easy to get lost in the wash of details, names, places, books, peoples, movements. Having a prior grounding in European history is almost a necessity. However it is still very readable. It does focus very closely on what happens in Europe. The Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania are only mentioned in passing when necessary and only in view of their direct impact on events in Europe.

From the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of The Great War has often been portrayed as Europe's Century of Peace but this book makes clear that conflict was an ongoing affair whether armed or in other forms. It merely seemed to be peace because of the cataclysmic events that book-ended the century and gave it such a nostalgic glow.

In terms of political, economic, sociological, religious and philosophical change this was probably the most tumultuous 100 years of Europe's history. Only in technological change can the post WWII era said to be greater. This is part of what requires the wide spread and in-depth exploration found in the book.

European expansion and power

Evans details the growth and shifts in power in Europe during the 19 C leading up to the first World War in amazing detail and with wonderful direction. He covers items such as industry, agriculture, politics, economics and military.

I am a military history fan and chose this book for that aspect, but was really impressed and throughly enjoyed the additional information.

This book was informative, interesting and enjoyable.

Evans fails to get at the true driving forces.

I have been studying history my entire life. For the first 35 years I was on the wrong path sent there by professors who presented history as spin, which I believed for too long. This book, "The Pursuit of Power" is large enough and detailed enough that despite the political overlay I was able to get some value. It falls down when it gets to the culture of the elites, or I should say, it never really analyzes what is driving the true elite of Europe. This is disappointing because given the breadth of this survey, honing in on elite culture and politics would have been relatively easy. Notably absent in the survey were things like; the rise of Zionism, the rise of the Rothschild's, the rise of Theosophy, the rise of the Freemasons and other Jacobin style groups. Because of these oversights, which I think were deliberate, I have to mark it at only 3 stars.

POWERFUL History

I have read some of the reviews and please understand that this is not a novelization and 100 years covers a great deal of material as we have so many more preserved records and other data as opposed to the reign of Charlemagne just to cite one comparison but if you want to try to develop deep insights into the immediate events prior to the modern era this is an excellent source. It ends with WW1 which decisively annihilates the Ancien Règime. Getting an understanding of the situation 1815 through the 1840s just with respect to plague and famine makes this book more than worthwhile.
I actually purchased this title because Napoleon Ryan is the reader!
I really enjoy trying to get into the narrator's style and over a number of books I have become an NR fan. He is working with the material and trying to do it in a more artistic fashion than many other readers. Not that you must or should but this is recorded buy also a cooperative human venture involving us all on the writing (Thank You Richard J.Evans) and the production crew especially the narrator.
In the introduction Mr. Evans makes it clear that he has made personal decisions as how to organize and present the material and this is worth listening to and contemplating. Of course every historian must do this but his explication helps with the clarity. The same applies to the narrator as to how all this can be made lively for the many many hours (41.5) so, please, you too are part of this as well. To make it all work listeners must adjust too and, perhaps, not be overly stiff.
On a closing note I certainly will purchase the other works in this series.