Bibliothèque. The war that ended peace - The Road to 1914

Award-winning academic MacMillan (International History/Oxford Univ.; Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, 2009, etc.) takes on the origins of World War I. Rather than allocating blame for the war or asking why it came about, the author asks instead, “[W]hy did the long peace not continue?...One way of getting at an answer is to see how Europe's options had narrowed down in the decades before 1914." She begins with the confident Europe celebrated in the Paris Exposition of 1900 and shows how national rivalries gradually eroded the comity of nations to the point where a brilliant civilization chose to tear itself to pieces.

Inflexible military planning; “defensive” pacts that appeared offensive to rivals; national fears, honor and prestige; the characters and capabilities of national leaders; consideration of war as a means of suppressing internal divisions; and, finally, "mistakes, muddle or simply poor timing" all played a part in steering Europe from considering a general war unthinkable to considering it inevitable. Not everyone agreed; MacMillan turns periodically, if too briefly, to the peace movements led by Alfred Nobel, Bertha von Suttner and the Socialist International, but in the end, nationalism overwhelmed these altruistic impulses. There is much emphasis on the great men of the time, the bombastic and erratic kaiser and other leaders of the great powers, whose well-described personalities, prejudices and temperaments affected events in a way that is difficult to imagine today.

Exhaustive in its coverage of diplomatic maneuvering and the internal political considerations of the various nations, the book includes comprehensive discussions of such motivating issues as Germany's fear of being surrounded, Austria-Hungary's fear of falling apart and Russia's humiliation after losing a war with Japan. The author’s presentation is so thorough that it is often easy to lose sight of her theme. While MacMillan’s prose is mostly lively, it lacks a narrative flair that could help carry readers through this monumental work.

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• Pub Date : 29/10/2013
• ISBN : 978-1-4000-6855-5
• Publisher : Random House
• Review Posted Online : July 15th, 2013
• Kirkus Reviews Issue : Aug. 1st, 2013
• Author : Margaret MacMillan

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

The term "The Long Peace" usually refers to the phase of history after World War II, but as historian Margaret MacMillan (Paris 1919), it might refer even more accurately to the century between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the onset of World War I. How this peaceful, prosperous era finally came to its bloodbath conclusion is the subject of her new book. With laser-like clarity, she describes how European leaders, politicians, diplomats, generals, bankers, and admirals consciously or unconsciously aided the descent into a conflagration that killed more than fifteen million men and women. A history as gripping and suspenseful as any battlefield narrative.

The New York Times Book Review - Richard Aldous

One of the strengths of The War That Ended Peace is MacMillan's ability to evoke the world at the beginning of the 20th century…As she points out, "in 1900 Europeans had good reason to feel pleased with the recent past and confident about the future. The 30 years since 1870"—the Franco-Prussian War—"had brought an explosion in production and wealth and a transformation in society and the way people lived." Food was better and cheaper. There had been dramatic advances in hygiene and medicine. Faster communications…meant Europeans were more in touch with one another. "Given such power and such prosperity, given the evidence of so many advances in so many fields in the past century," MacMillan asks, "why would Europe want to throw it all away?" Her answer is that in the end the war came down to those individuals who made the key decisions…MacMillan's portraits of the men who took Europe to war are superb.

Publishers Weekly - 09/09/2013

Macmillan, professor of international history at Oxford, follows her Paris 1919 with another richly textured narrative about WWI, this time addressing the war’s build-up. She asks, “What made 1914 different?” and wonders why Europe “walk over the cliff” given the continent’s relatively longstanding peace. She begins by addressing Germany’s misfortune in having “a child for King”; Wilhelm II sought to secure Germany’s—and his own—world power status by inaugurating a naval race with Britain. Britain responded by making “unlikely friends” with France and Russia. Germany in turn cultivated relations with a near-moribund Austria-Hungary. Macmillan tells this familiar story with panache. A major contribution, however, is her presentation of its subtext, as Europe’s claims to be the world’s most advanced civilization “were being challenged from without and undermined from within.” Exertions for peace were overshadowed by acceptance of war as “a tool that could be used” against enemies made increasingly threatening by alliance systems. The nations’ war plans shared a “deeply rooted faith in the offensive” and a near-irrational belief in the possibility of a short war. Macmillan eloquently shows that “turning out the lights” was not inevitable, but a consequence of years of decisions and reactions: a slow-motion train wreck few wanted but none could avoid. Agent: Christy Fletcher, C. Fletcher & Company LLC. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

Advance praise for The War That Ended Peace

“[A] richly textured narrative about World War I . . . addressing the war’s build-up . . . [Margaret] MacMillan tells this familiar story with panache. A major contribution, however, is her presentation of its subtext, as Europe’s claims to be the world’s most advanced civilization ‘were being challenged from without and undermined from within.’ . . . MacMillan eloquently shows that ‘turning out the lights’ was not inevitable, but a consequence of years of decisions and reactions: a slow-motion train wreck few wanted but none could avoid.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The War That Ended Peace tells the story of how intelligent, well-meaning leaders guided their nations into catastrophe. These epic events, brilliantly described by one of our era’s most talented historians, warn of the dangers that arise when we fail to anticipate the consequences of our actions. This is one of the finest books I have ever read on the causes of World War I.”—Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state “With sure deftness, Margaret MacMillan manages to combine excellent history with elements of the cliff-hanger. You keep hoping that, at the last moment, one of those idiot leaders of 1914 might see the light and blink before it’s too late. No one is better equipped to recount this story than Margaret MacMillan.”—Sir Alistair Horne, author of The Price of Glory “In this epic tale of human folly, Margaret MacMillan brilliantly explores the minds of the flawed, fascinating men whose misguided decisions led to a conflagration that few wanted or believed would actually happen. The War That Ended Peace is a must-read book for our time.”—Lynne Olson, author of Those Angry Days

“Once again, Margaret MacMillan proves herself not just a masterly historian but a brilliant storyteller. She brings to life the personalities whose decisions, rivalries, ambitions, and fantasies led Europe to ‘lay waste to itself’ and triggered decades of global conflict. Hers is a cautionary tale of follies a century in the past that seem all too familiar today.”—Strobe Talbott, president, Brookings Institution

“The War That Ended Peace is a masterly explanation of the complex forces that brought the Edwardian world crashing down. Utterly riveting, deeply moving, and impeccably researched, Margaret MacMillan’s latest opus will become the definitive account of old Europe’s final years.”—Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire

Praise for Paris 1919

“The history of the 1919 Paris peace talks following World War I is a blueprint of the political and social upheavals bedeviling the planet now. . . . A wealth of colorful detail and a concentration on the strange characters many of these statesmen were keep [MacMillan’s] narrative lively.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Beautifully written, full of judgment and wisdom, Paris 1919 is a pleasure to read and vibrates with the passions of the early twentieth century and of ours.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“For anyone interested in knowing how historic mistakes can morph into later historic problems, this brilliant book is a must-read.”—Chicago Tribune

Library Journal - 11/01/2013

A prize-winning historian's exhaustive take on why the war happened when peace might have prevailed. (LJ 10/15/13)

Kirkus Reviews

Award-winning academic MacMillan (International History/Oxford Univ.; Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, 2009, etc.) takes on the origins of World War I. Rather than allocating blame for the war or asking why it came about, the author asks instead, "[W]hy did the long peace not continue?...One way of getting at an answer is to see how Europe's options had narrowed down in the decades before 1914." She begins with the confident Europe celebrated in the Paris Exposition of 1900 and shows how national rivalries gradually eroded the comity of nations to the point where a brilliant civilization chose to tear itself to pieces. Inflexible military planning; "defensive" pacts that appeared offensive to rivals; national fears, honor and prestige; the characters and capabilities of national leaders; consideration of war as a means of suppressing internal divisions; and, finally, "mistakes, muddle or simply poor timing" all played a part in steering Europe from considering a general war unthinkable to considering it inevitable.

Not everyone agreed; MacMillan turns periodically, if too briefly, to the peace movements led by Alfred Nobel, Bertha von Suttner and the Socialist International, but in the end, nationalism overwhelmed these altruistic impulses. There is much emphasis on the great men of the time, the bombastic and erratic kaiser and other leaders of the great powers, whose well-described personalities, prejudices and temperaments affected events in a way that is difficult to imagine today. Exhaustive in its coverage of diplomatic maneuvering and the internal political considerations of the various nations, the book includes comprehensive discussions of such motivating issues as Germany's fears of being surrounded, Austria-Hungary's fears of falling apart and Russia's humiliation after losing a war with Japan. The author's presentation is so thorough that it is often easy to lose sight of her theme. While MacMillan's prose is mostly lively, it lacks a narrative flair that could help carry readers through this monumental work.

Meet the Author

Margaret MacMillan received her PhD from Oxford University and is now a professor of international history at Oxford, where she is also the warden of St. Antony’s College. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; a senior fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto; and an honorary fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto, and of St Hilda’s College, Oxford University. She sits on the boards of the Mosaic Institute and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and on the editorial boards of The International History Review and First World War Studies.

She also sits on the advisory board of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation and is a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust. Her previous books include Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World, Women of the Raj: The Mothers, Wives, and Daughters of the British Empire in India, and Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize, and the Duff Cooper Prize and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice.