A World Undone, G. J. Meyer
A World Undone, G. J. Meyer
List: $32.00 | Sale: $22.40
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A World Undone
The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

Author: G. J. Meyer

Narrator: Robin Sachs

Unabridged: 27 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/27/2022


Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Drawing on exhaustive research, this intimate account details how World War I reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of our modern world

“Thundering, magnificent . . . [A World Undone] is a book of true greatness that prompts moments of sheer joy and pleasure. . . . It will earn generations of admirers.”—The Washington Times

On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War: four long years of slaughter, physical and moral exhaustion, and the near collapse of a civilization that until 1914 had dominated the globe.

Praise for A World Undone

“Meyer’s sketches of the British Cabinet, the Russian Empire, the aging Austro-Hungarian Empire . . . are lifelike and plausible. His account of the tragic folly of Gallipoli is masterful. . . . [A World Undone] has an instructive value that can scarcely be measured”—Los Angeles Times

“An original and very readable account of one of the most significant and often misunderstood events of the last century.”—Steve Gillon, resident historian, The History Channel

About G. J. Meyer

G. J. Meyer is a professional writer whose bylines have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Harper’s, and many other newspapers and magazines. While working for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was awarded a Nieman Fellowship by Harvard University. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tudors, the Edgar Award–winning The Memphis Murders, and other works. He lives in Wiltshire, England, and is currently at work on his next book, The Borgias.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jay on December 22, 2022

The author of this book stated that it was a "labor of love" inspired by his reading of Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front." That novel is the quintessential depiction of World War I from the standpoint of the men who fought it. Meyer's book, in my opinion, is the quintessential h......more

Goodreads review by Sweetwilliam on March 14, 2022

I typically prefer books that are written about a single battle or campaign and I tend to gravitate towards the ones written from the soldier’s point of view. For a World Undone, I’ll make an exception. This is probably the finest comprehensive book that I have ever read about any war. Maybe it was......more

Goodreads review by Clif on August 27, 2023

The one hundred year anniversary of the end of World War I recently occurred, and I decided if I didn’t tackle this book at this time I never would. I’ve had my eyes on it for some time while dreading the investment of time required to get through it. It’s worth the time and is well written with a n......more

Goodreads review by Roy on December 28, 2017

G. J. Meyer set out to write this book to fill a gap in the available literature on the First World War: a popular, holistic account that covered every phase and every front, without presupposing much knowledge from the reader. In this, he was undeniably successful. A World Undone begins at the begi......more

Goodreads review by CoachJim on June 29, 2021

Anyone inclined to believe that some dark force beyond human comprehension intervened again and again to make the Great War long and ruinous would have no difficulty in finding evidence to support such a thesis. There is no better example than the Battle of Verdun, which in its length and cost and b......more


Quotes

"A World Undone is an original and very readable account of one of the most significant and often misunderstood events of the last century. With an historians eye for clear headed analysis and a storytellers talent for detail and narrative, G.J Meyer presents a compelling account of the blunders that produced the world's first "great war" and set the stage for many of the tragic events that followed." —Steve Gillon, Resident Historian, The History Channel

"This is one of those books where you read every page.... Meyer organizes his book chronologically, and accompanies each chapter with a short background essay.... [A World Undone] has the very best qualities for this kind of comprehensive approach: a gift for compression and an eye for the telling detail." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A comprehensive history aimed at the general reader....You finish this book feeling you’ve learned everything anyone reasonably needs to know about The Great War.” —Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Meyer breathes life into the human story within the Great War. He provides in-depth profiles of many of the political and military leaders of that era, and explains why they were so important....This is a literary vision of WWI that few of us have ever encountered. Simply put, this is historical reporting at its best.” —Smoky Mountain Sentinel

“Thundering, magnificent...this is a book of true greatness that prompts moments of sheer joy and pleasure. Researched to last possible dot...It will earn generations of admirers.” —Washington Times

"Especially suited for the interested American reader…. Meyer's sketches of the British Cabinet, the Russian Empire, the aging Austro-Hungarian Empire, the leaders of Prussia with their newly minted swagger, are lifelike and plausible. His account of the tragic folly of Gallipoli is masterful…. It should go without saying that in 2006 … [A World Undone] has an instructive value that can scarely be measured."—Los Angeles Times

"Accomplished with brio... [Meyer] blends 'foreground, background, and sidelights' to highlight the complex interactions of apparently unconnected events behind the four-year catastrophic war that destroyed a world and defined a century."—Publishers Weekly, starred review