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  • World War One

  • A Short History
  • Written by: Norman Stone
  • Narrated by: Simon Prebble
  • Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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World War One

Written by: Norman Stone
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Free with 30-day trial

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Publisher's Summary

In 1914, a new kind of war came about, bringing with it a new kind of world. World War One began on horseback, with generals employing bayonet charges to gain ground, and ended with attacks resembling the Nazi blitzkriegs. The scale of devastation was unlike anything the world had seen before: 14 million combatants died, a further 20 million were wounded, and four empires were destroyed. Even the victors' empires were fatally damaged.

An overwhelming disaster from which the world is still recovering, World War One can seem baffling in its complexity. But now Norman Stone, one of world's greatest military historians, has composed a dazzlingly lucid and succinct history of the conflict. Stone has distilled a lifetime of teaching, arguing, and thinking into this brisk and opinionated account of the fundamental tragedy of the 20th century.

©2009 Norman Stone (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic Reviews

"Stone is as unconventional as he is brilliant, and this provocative interpretation of the Great War combines impressive command of the literature with a telling eye for relevant facts and a sensitive ear for telling epigrams." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[Stone] examines the broad canvas of the war, taking us from 1914 to 1918. He describes, often quite vividly, the armies of the Central Powers and the Allies as they slog across the fields of Flanders and northern France, through the morass of the Balkans, across rivers and over mountains in Central Europe, chewing up farms and villages, not to mention millions of lives, in the process....There are lovely images, adroit turns of phrase, flashes of wry British wit, amusing details." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"Stone is able to pack an enormity of information into the smallest space, and with a remarkable eye for detail....The wonder is that Stone is able to create a narrative of this sweep and brevity while also providing such evocative descriptions." ( The American Spectator)
"Stone's book is a special pleasure - a concise, pithy mix of fact and judgment." ( Dallas Morning News)

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Too succinct!

While the book captures the essence of what happened during WWI and was wonderfully read by Simon Prebble (already on my list of the best readers on Audible), it seemed to be a bit too compressed.

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