1913

The Eve of War

By: Paul Ham

Narrated by: Christopher Oxford

Christmas 1913: In Britain, people are debating a new dance called ‘the tango’. In Germany, they are fascinated by the wedding of the Kaiser’s daughter to the Duke of Brunswick. Little did they know that their world was on ‘The Eve of War’, a catastrophe that was to engulf the continent, cost millions of lives, and change the course of the century. And yet behind the scenes, the Great Powers were marching towards what they thought was an inevitable conflict.

In this controversial and concise essay, the military historian Paul Ham argues that the First World War was not an historical mistake, a conflict into which the Great Powers stumbled by accident. Nor was it a justified war, in which uncontained German aggression had to be defeated. Instead the politicians and generals of the day willed the war, and prepared for it - but eventually found themselves caught up in an inferno they could no longer control.

Paul Ham is the author of the forthcoming 1914: The Year the World Ended, to be published by Random House in Britain in 2014. He has previously written the acclaimed Sandakanz, Kokoda, Vietnam: The Australian War and Hiroshima Nagasaki. A former Australia Correspondent of the Sunday Times, he was born in Sydney and educated in Australia and Britain. He now lives in Sydney and Paris.

©2013 Paul Ham (P)2014 Audible Studios

Critic reviews

"[A] vivid, comprehensive and quietly furious account...Paul Ham brings new tools to the job, unearthing fresh evidence of a deeply disturbing sort. He has a magpie eye for the telling detail" (Ben Macintyre, The Times)
"Provocative and challenging… A voice that is both vigorous and passionate" (Christopher Sylvester, Daily Express)
"Controversial...Well documented and stringently argued" (Peter Lewis, Daily Mail)"

What caused the First World War?

Quite a different take on origins of WW1. Should to the point and highly compelling.

1913 The Eve of War

My husband taught me, guided me, into an appreciation of history. For that I'll always be Thankful. Happy New Year! My hope is that more people learn history, good, bad as it was, as it is. Thank-you

The calm before

Useful and engrossing prequel and context to the Great War. The mindsets, policies, and decisions of the European powers made war not only desirable in their distorted view, but virtually inevitable. Much of this is touched upon in Barbara Tuchman's wonderfully readable book, The Guns of August.

a clever alternative history

This arrangement of facts illustrates the influence of militarism and yet the possibility of peace in Europe prior to the Great War. I disagree with this conclusion that denies the possibility of "invisible forces" driving toward war. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus warned us with their lives of the predisposition that republics have towards victimization by invisible forces. that said this book serves as a clever what if thought experiment as to what the world would look like if there was no war.

Great precursor to understanding why

Very good at explaining the mood of each of the countries in Europe right before the lights went out in 1914!