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Title: The War that Ended Peace

Author: Margaret MacMillan

Narrator: Richard Burnip

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with confidence of prosperity, progress and hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict which killed millions of its men, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe's dominance of the world. It was a war which could have been avoided up to the last moment - so why did it happen?

Beginning in the early nineteenth century, and ending with the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, award-winning historian Margaret MacMillan uncovers the huge political and technological changes, national decisions and - just as important - the small moments of human muddle and weakness that led Europe from peace to disaster. This masterful exploration of how Europe chose its path towards war will change and enrich how we see this defining moment in our history.

Margaret Macmillan is an acclaimed historian and has won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Duff Cooper Prize and the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for Peacemakers: The Paris Conference of 1919. She is the author of numerous books, and she is the warden of St Anthony's College, Oxford.

Members Reviews:

exceptional history

A well researched and thought provoking history, if only they had the benefit of hindsight.

Magisterial Book Read Brilliantly

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

Absolutely. First of all, it's a great book. I took a deep breath earlier this year and plunged headlong into the great coursing centenary stream. Have read five or six books Hastings', Hochschild's, Paxman's, etc. all of them good. But this is the best. It's unfailingly intelligent. It's wonderfully clear. It's brimming with marvelous, telling details. (The best sort of details - illustrative nuggets.) And, yes, it's gripping. And part and parcel of the whole package, so to speak (so to speak indeed), it's beautifully read, performed, not quite sure what the word is. Richard Burnip is a joy to listen to. His voice is clear. He's got great range. He's got authority. And best of all, perhaps, there was nothing show offy about the read. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be: thoughtful, intelligent, clear, nuanced, assured. I thought it was perfectly judged. He does Margaret Macmillan's words justice. What more could you ask? For the record, I didn't find his reading slow. I thought it was timed to perfection. It peered into the book's depths, it brought out nuance. Writing of this calibre has its own cadence.That needs to be respected. Honoured even. This did. This isn't a canter-through book. Everything about it - from subject matter to phrasing - commands one's deepest admiration. And needs to be savoured. The "performance" was absolutely right for the book.

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

Any of the one's I've already mentioned. All of them were, well, worthwhile. But this one takes the laurel. Why? Because it was more thoughtful, more measured, more perceptive - ultimately more intelligent. World War I is a huge subject and the book opened up more of it than the others.