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The War of the World
- History's Age of Hatred
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 34 hrs and 27 mins
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The War of the World
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Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged edition of The War of the World by Niall Ferguson, read by Saul Reichlin.
The world at the beginning of the 20th century seemed for most of its inhabitants stable and relatively benign. Globalising, booming economies married to technological breakthroughs seemed to promise a better world for most people.
Instead the 20th century proved to be overwhelmingly the most violent, frightening and brutalised in history, with fanatical, often genocidal warfare engulfing most societies between the outbreak of the First World War and the end of the Cold War.
What went wrong? How did we do this to ourselves? The War of the World comes up with compelling, fascinating answers. It is Niall Ferguson's masterpiece.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-03-23
Exceptional
Great listen. It presents the 'War of the world' in an engaging and informative way. Incredibly rich in details and is a must listen for anyone who wishes to learn a bit more about the great atrocities of the 20th century.
It can be a bit disorienting when a lot of data is presented, but do not let this dissuade you from enjoying this book. It is delightful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Caomhinb
- 04-07-24
For all the history you didn’t know about the 20th century.
Like so many people, I thought I knew what happened in the two world wars.
But this book goes into such granular detail and creates a compelling narrative that helped me realise I had only a superficial understanding of it all.
Niall’s clear writing style and depth of knowledge helped me make sense of the current conflicts in Ukraine and The Middle East.
A must read for anyone trying to make sense of the current conflict’s in the 21st century.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- N. Bowdren
- 05-07-18
outstanding
what an amazing detailed insight into the last century of warfare. very informative. an eye-opener.
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- Tony H.
- 17-10-23
A very interesting read or listen in this case
A very informative and interesting look back at history. Definitely recommend this to anyone interested in learning about history and human nature
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Gavin Foely
- 04-04-18
Excellent book. Well read.
A refreshing look at familiar areas of history.
Ferguson has an uncanny ability to gore sacred cows without seeming disrespectful. Reichlin's reading lends an emphasis and drama to the text arguably necessary for such weighty material in an audiobook.
Thoroughly enjoyable for those already familar with twentieth century history.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 26-05-24
The Horror of War
A reminder of the scale and horror of war not "so long ago". Masterful, insightful and spell binding.
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- "haddockboy"
- 22-06-21
Well that explains it !
Pretty much the modern history of the world and what a bunch of thoroughly awful humans we all are or have the potential to be …..
Watched the tv series about 15 years ago and bought the book at the time . Thanks to audible I’ve now “read” it in a week .
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Steve Seaman
- 16-03-18
Not able finish
Although a fan of both non fiction and Niall Ferguson I simply could finish this work. With a book so fact and statistic heavy, the presenter has their work cut out to keep the listener engaged, but in this case they, at least for me, failed as it was simply too monotone and boring.
I also could not go along with a premise that all conflict is racially motivated when so many of the examples used seemed, at least to me, to be more about culture and religion rather than race.
A pity, it is the first book by the author that I simply have not been impressed by and incidentally the first audio book I have given up on.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Paul
- 31-05-23
Outstanding
Completely enthralled by this book. It’s detail and it’s concepts about the 20th Century wars and how they might be viewed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J NEILL
- 04-02-18
Genius
Dr Ferguson never lets you down. This should be required reading for every modern history student. Its logical, challenging and sets aside much of what you consider as fact. Get it, and free your attitudes to conflict in this century.
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5 people found this helpful