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242 of 249 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you read one book about WWI, this is the one..., July 1, 2006
The causes of World War I were so diverse and complex, and the military strategies so intricate, that the war becomes a historian's ultimate dilemma: Write about it comprehensively and lose all but the most earnest readers, or skim the surface and don't do it justice? Mr. Meyer has found the perfect balance and tone to describe a war that was complicated, not at all glorious, and a proximate or ancillary cause of every major trouble the world has seen since. His journalistic skills serve the reader with startling immediacy, never forgetting to include the human effects of the war, so that rather than becoming an endless parade of statistics, the book is a riveting parable about a four-year train wreck of human miscalculation and arrogance in leadership, balanced by unbelievable heroism in the ranks. As I write this, the American nation is still embroiled in a seven year war in Iraq and Afghanistan that has killed 5,000 American soldiers so far. That was a typical DAY in World War I. Our modern 24 hour cable news cycle will (thankfully) just not permit the kind of carnage that the generals in World War I so casually created. Also of great interest are Mr. Meyer's short background articles, on subjects like Kaiser Wilhelm, the Junkers, the Cossacks, etc, which give the reader a real grounding in the flavor of the times, and are fascinating in their own right.
Our leaders today are, like Tom Brokaw, agog over World War II, and the generation that won it. A shame. The war they really need to take lessons from is World War I, and Meyer's book is what they should read. This book is a triumph of history with the narrative pace of a novel. Don't miss it.
I suggest readers who want to go deeper into World War I book-end this volume with The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, and Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, by Margaret Macmillan.
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81 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent One Volume Overview of the Great War, September 11, 2006
Thousands of books have been written about the Great War; volumes both large and small covering every aspect of the war exist. For new readers, however, there are very few books that provide a detailed overview of the Great War with sufficient explanation to understand the historical, social, cultural, and ethnic threads that made this war so destructive. Keenan and Strachan have both provided excellent works that appeal to the more learned student of history, and now G.J. Meyer offers A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914-1918, that offers an excellent overview of the War to anyone with an interest in the subject.
At just over 650 pages, the book reads smoothly and quickly. Meyer writes with a simple elegance, his words crisp with detail and easy to grasp. This is due in large part to his background as a journalist rather than a professional historian. The book's chapters structure lends well to his overall theme of understanding the war through gaining knowledge on its background. Each of the 36 chapters of detail are supported by a corresponding chapter of background information. For example, the book opens with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip and the subsequent events between Austrio-Hungary and Serbia. To accompany this chapter, Meyer offers background on the Serbs. The combination works very well throughout the book, and sheds light on some topics other authors move quickly over.
Meyer states in his introduction that he wanted to show "how the many elements that made up the Great War affected one another and deepened the disaster...I {sic} hope it captures at least some of the multidimensional richness of one of the most epic tragedies in the history of the world." Mr. Meyer, you have succeeded in your goal. This is an excellent book that will interest many, and can serve as a wonderful starting point for the discovery of specific interests within the Great War's vast history. Highly Recommended.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FANTASTIC!!!, February 19, 2007
If only every history book was written by G.J. Meyer! 'A World Undone' is a fantastic read; I could not have imagined a single book could paint such a thorough picture of the Great War. I could not put this book down.
I have read other volumes, including 'The First World War', 'The Guns of August', even 'World War One For Dummies'! But this is the absolute best of the lot, providing background history on the major players and combatants, and numerous glimpses into the personal lives of the leaders and soldiers of the day. It is these 'background essays' that make this history so much more enjoyable, so much more readable, that I was very disappointed when I came to the end. Most history books leave you needing a break, but 'A World Undone' left me wishing for a second volume.
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