{"product_id":"book-axbw","title":"The War That Ended Peace","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review • The Economist • The Christian Science Monitor • Bloomberg Businessweek • The Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the bestselling and award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eParis 1919\u003c\/i\u003e comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe War That Ended Peace \u003c\/i\u003ebrings vividly to life the military leaders, politicians, diplomats, bankers, and the extended, interrelated family of crowned heads\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eacross Europe who failed to stop the descent into war: in Germany, the mercurial Kaiser Wilhelm II and the chief of the German general staff, Von Moltke the Younger; in Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph, a man who tried, through sheer hard work, to stave off the coming chaos in his empire; in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife; in Britain, King Edward VII, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and British admiral Jacky Fisher, the fierce advocate of naval reform who entered into the arms race with Germany that pushed the continent toward confrontation on land and sea.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e There are the would-be peacemakers as well, among them prophets of the horrors of future wars whose warnings went unheeded: Alfred Nobel, who donated his fortune to the cause of international understanding, and Bertha von Suttner, a writer and activist who was the first woman awarded Nobel’s new Peace Prize. Here too we meet the urbane and cosmopolitan Count Harry Kessler, who noticed many of the early signs that something was stirring in Europe; the young Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty and a rising figure in British politics; Madame Caillaux, who shot a man who might have been a force for peace; and more. With indelible portraits, MacMillan shows how the fateful decisions of a few powerful people changed the course of history. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Taut, suspenseful, and impossible to put down, \u003ci\u003eThe War That Ended Peace\u003c\/i\u003e is also a wise cautionary reminder of how wars happen in spite of the near-universal desire to keep the peace. Destined to become a classic in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman’s \u003ci\u003eThe Guns of August\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe War That Ended Peace\u003c\/i\u003e enriches our understanding of one of the defining periods and events of the twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe War That Ended Peace\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e“Magnificent . . . \u003ci\u003eThe War That Ended Peace\u003c\/i\u003e will certainly rank among the best books of the centennial crop.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Superb.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Masterly . . . marvelous . . . Those looking to understand why World War I happened will have a hard time finding a better place to start.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The debate over the war’s origins has raged for years. Ms. MacMillan’s explanation goes straight to the heart of political fallibility. . . . Elegantly written, with wonderful character sketches of the key players, this is a book to be treasured.”\u003cb\u003e—The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A magisterial 600-page panorama.”\u003cb\u003e—Christopher Clark, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49335830315312,"sku":"BDaxbw","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/295603-axbw-Square.jpg?v=1733937929","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-axbw","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}