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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
This was not the book I wanted to read. I figured that out fairly early in the book. Logically, I should have put it down and moved on to something else.
I did not, because I am stubborn.
I recuse myself from giving a star rating. I will say that the author needed to remember "Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do." I wound up with a vocabulary list of a couple dozen words that I don't *ever* remember hearing before, or alternate definitions of words I was familiar with, and I don't think it's immodest to say my vocabulary is reasonably large.
I did not, because I am stubborn.
I recuse myself from giving a star rating. I will say that the author needed to remember "Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do." I wound up with a vocabulary list of a couple dozen words that I don't *ever* remember hearing before, or alternate definitions of words I was familiar with, and I don't think it's immodest to say my vocabulary is reasonably large.
Simply fantastic book about the run-up to World War I.
Things I learned include:
1. The Triple Entente, especially from the British angle, was not exclusively an anti-German grouping, and was "unstable" at times up close to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
2. Even more than I knew before, the governmental organization of the Dual Monarchy was rickety. (I knew that many ministries were dual, but until reading this book, did not realize it had dual prime ministers, which was part of the delay of formulating its response to Serbia.)
3. The idea of sole war guilt for Germany is ridiculous, given that Russia had given as much a blank check to Serbia as Germany did to Austria.
4. The Serb history of thuggery makes me want to believe in "cultural DNA."
5. British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey made a number of quasi-guarantees to France that he never told the Cabinet about, let alone Liberals as a body.
That's just a sampling of a great book.
Things I learned include:
1. The Triple Entente, especially from the British angle, was not exclusively an anti-German grouping, and was "unstable" at times up close to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
2. Even more than I knew before, the governmental organization of the Dual Monarchy was rickety. (I knew that many ministries were dual, but until reading this book, did not realize it had dual prime ministers, which was part of the delay of formulating its response to Serbia.)
3. The idea of sole war guilt for Germany is ridiculous, given that Russia had given as much a blank check to Serbia as Germany did to Austria.
4. The Serb history of thuggery makes me want to believe in "cultural DNA."
5. British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey made a number of quasi-guarantees to France that he never told the Cabinet about, let alone Liberals as a body.
That's just a sampling of a great book.
Issanda aasta on 1914, Austria on just Serbiale sõja kuulutanud.
Sigmund Freud: "Kogu mu libiido on suunatud Austria-Ungarile."
(Päriselt ka)
Sigmund Freud: "Kogu mu libiido on suunatud Austria-Ungarile."
(Päriselt ka)
Earlier this year, I finished reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer which was pretty straightforward in how Germany dragged Europe into war. The popular phrase "Hitler invaded Poland!" while not completely encapsulating of everything preceding it, is a pithy smoking gun.
One thing was clear pretty early on, that the second World War was a direct consequence of the first, but it wasn't as cut and dry as to what exactly triggered it, even though everyone agreed the Sarajevo murders played an important role. The other history book I read early this year was A Brief History of the World by HG Wells which ignored the reasons that engendered the Great War, saying those were out of the scope for his book which only added to my frustration. The common sentiment suggested it would take an entire book to explain how Europe went to war in 1914, and I agree now that I've read The Sleepwalkers. This book is narrative history at its best, and Christopher Clark sprinkles the narration with a healthy dose of humour. I can't go into detail about how Europe went to war in 1914 in this review, because it would take an entire book to do so!
One thing was clear pretty early on, that the second World War was a direct consequence of the first, but it wasn't as cut and dry as to what exactly triggered it, even though everyone agreed the Sarajevo murders played an important role. The other history book I read early this year was A Brief History of the World by HG Wells which ignored the reasons that engendered the Great War, saying those were out of the scope for his book which only added to my frustration. The common sentiment suggested it would take an entire book to explain how Europe went to war in 1914, and I agree now that I've read The Sleepwalkers. This book is narrative history at its best, and Christopher Clark sprinkles the narration with a healthy dose of humour. I can't go into detail about how Europe went to war in 1914 in this review, because it would take an entire book to do so!
Crikey - that was long!
Brilliant - but long!
“Great book, Mister Clark. Now could you please provide more detail?” Said nobody, ever.
One of those books that I feel I should have made detailed notes over from the outset. I’ve already forgotten more than I learned, but it’s a real accomplishment.
(If only for me to finish it!)
Brilliant - but long!
“Great book, Mister Clark. Now could you please provide more detail?” Said nobody, ever.
One of those books that I feel I should have made detailed notes over from the outset. I’ve already forgotten more than I learned, but it’s a real accomplishment.
(If only for me to finish it!)
Christopher Clark verändert mit seinem Buch The Sleepwalkers für die Sichtweise auf den Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkriegs. Unbedingt lesen, am Besten bevor 2014 das Geschrei um das hundertjährige Jubiläum beginnt.
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/the-sleepwalkers-christopher-clark/
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/the-sleepwalkers-christopher-clark/
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This was very long, and described in some detail every political entanglement Serbia, Austria-Hungary, France, the UK, Germany and Russia had been involved in starting in the late 1900, including internal politics, imperial concerns, local wars, and an exceedingly large number of political personalities. It definetely got across that the lead up to the First World War was immensely complicated, but at the end of it all I'm not sure how much of all this I retained. It was all very readable and explained in an approachable manner, often with dry humour, but oh my god, so much information!
Two and a half stars. This started strong but it quickly went downhill. It lacks a coherent narrative, and the author just kept piling on name after name after name, often without giving a good sense of who these people were or why they were important. Clark seemed to expect that the reader should remember the name of someone he brought up once several hundred pages prior with no further context, which got rather frustrating.
In the end, the author got lost in exploring the details without remembering to connect them to a bigger picture.
In the end, the author got lost in exploring the details without remembering to connect them to a bigger picture.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
"De hoofdrolspelers van 1914 waren slaapwandelaars, alert maar blind, opgejaagd door dromen maar onwetend van de realiteit van de gruwelen die ze over de wereld zouden brengen."
Sterke analyse van de complexe oorzaken van WO I met een grote nadruk op de persoonlijke verhalen van de topdiplomaten en -politici in het begin van de 20ste eeuw. Soms wat moeilijk om te volgen wegens het kluwen aan belangen, maar dit strookt met de complexe werkelijkheid waar de beleidsmakers in 1914 mee geconfronteerd werden.
Sterke analyse van de complexe oorzaken van WO I met een grote nadruk op de persoonlijke verhalen van de topdiplomaten en -politici in het begin van de 20ste eeuw. Soms wat moeilijk om te volgen wegens het kluwen aan belangen, maar dit strookt met de complexe werkelijkheid waar de beleidsmakers in 1914 mee geconfronteerd werden.