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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
A fascinating and thorough account of the Great War. Doesn't hesitate to present things as they were and there is a wealth of background info as well.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
If you're looking for something insanely detailed on world war I this is your book. I however was looking for a general overview of the war. This book was a painful slog to get through.
This is a very good book about the entirety of the first world war. It holds your attention and is not a dry history read. It also does a great job of covering all facets of the war. Even at around 700 pages of text it can feel like there are parts that you want more detail on, showing the scope of what is covered here. Overall a very good first read if your looking to learn more about the first world war.
Wow. I knew almost nothing about WWI and how just a few people can make decisions that totally screw up the entire world for centuries to come. What a mess. What a sad tragic mess. Meyer does a great job in breaking down the war, its causes, and the personalities involved. It is very readable.
My only regret is that I started this as a reading book, taking my time to read a chapter a night and enjoying every one. Reading this book was like sitting in a warm bath every night. The writing style was so comfortable to read. But then, I had to take a break for several months as I had other reading duties. When I went back to it, it was less clear as to who was who. Most of them were mustachioed older fellows that all looked alike. And, when I did go back, I finished in audio book format referring to the book for pictures and maps. I did not enjoy this experience as much as I did while reading it, but this may have been in part due to the break.
Anyway, I strongly recommend with a warning to Americans. The Americans don't appear in here until almost the end. This is probably why WWI only gets talked about for like a day in American history classes, and then it's mostly about Wilson trying to push his 14 points. I also think that it is important to read to give the basis for why the world is in such conflict today and how conflict can inflate to a system where countries spend beyond their means to create greater and greater systems to kill off so many other human beings. It's a sad story, and one that leaves me with a little less faith in humanity. :_(
My only regret is that I started this as a reading book, taking my time to read a chapter a night and enjoying every one. Reading this book was like sitting in a warm bath every night. The writing style was so comfortable to read. But then, I had to take a break for several months as I had other reading duties. When I went back to it, it was less clear as to who was who. Most of them were mustachioed older fellows that all looked alike. And, when I did go back, I finished in audio book format referring to the book for pictures and maps. I did not enjoy this experience as much as I did while reading it, but this may have been in part due to the break.
Anyway, I strongly recommend with a warning to Americans. The Americans don't appear in here until almost the end. This is probably why WWI only gets talked about for like a day in American history classes, and then it's mostly about Wilson trying to push his 14 points. I also think that it is important to read to give the basis for why the world is in such conflict today and how conflict can inflate to a system where countries spend beyond their means to create greater and greater systems to kill off so many other human beings. It's a sad story, and one that leaves me with a little less faith in humanity. :_(
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This is so depressing with all the useless killing. I now have a better perspective of the lead-in to WWII but it still seems that all could have been avoided with a bit more diplomacy between countries and a bit less greed for land and power.
This book is part of the pile I’m wading through to research a new story idea. I know I want to set it in England sometime between the end of the first world war and just after the second, but I don’t know exactly when. So, I figured I’d start with the first world war and work my way forward. This book is an excellent overview of the whole thing. The war is such a massive topic that it is almost impossible to cover everything, but this succeeds for the most part. Meyer covers everything in chronological order, so you get a feel for what was happening everywhere at any given time. He also includes small sections of historical background between each chapter the provides valuable insight into things like the history of the Balkans, the Junckers, and the Hohenzollerns. The only area that I thought was a little lacking were details on the war in Italy, but that is a minor quibble. It’s quite long, and really gives you the sense of the kind of meatgrinder the war was. I highly recommend it for anyone new to the topic.