A World Undone
The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
by G. J. Meyer · first published 2006
64% recommend36% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A narrative history of the First World War offering a single-volume account that traces how prewar strategy and diplomacy shaped the war's outcome. A good starting point for readers new to the subject.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The First World War is one of history’s greatest tragedies. In this remarkable and intimate account, author G. J. Meyer draws on exhaustive research to bring to life the story of how the Great War reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of the world we live in today. The First World War is one of history’s greatest tragedies. In this remarkable and intimate account, author G. J. Meyer draws on exhaustive research to bring to life the story of how the Great War reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million
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…you're already very familiar with the details from elsewhere. You walk away with the idea that fighting that war must have been pretty horrible, but not much else. I've read a lot of WWI books, and _A World Undone_ by G.J. Meyer was easily the best. Would recommend that to start with for anyone who is interested in a history of WWI as a whole. (There are arguably better options for those just interested in the…
on “Why 1866 Set the Stage for Two World Wars” ↗I recently read a fabulous history of WWI (G.J. Meyer's _The World Undone_). What struck me is that if you modeled Europe in 1914 as a distributed system, you'd see incredible latencies between decisions being made and decisions being carried out. Kaiser Wilhelm and King George…
on “Uncomfortable parallels with the era that led to the first world war” ↗you can tell he rushed the ending. one of his source books was a fantastic read though - A World Undone by GJ Meyer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553382403/ref=oh_aui_sear...
on “Why 1866 Set the Stage for Two World Wars” ↗great timing, i was actually reading a wonderful book about wwi called “a world undone” by g j meyer, probably one of the best books about the war out there.
on “Sights and sounds of the final hours of World War I” ↗No Nordic Noir? e.g. Henning Mankell. Lots of history, but only Barbara Tuchman on WW 1. I recommend G. J. Meyer "A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914-1918" and "The World Remade: America in World War I".
on “Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)” ↗You'll want "Inventing the Schlieffen Plan" and especially GJ Meyer's "The World Undone". The second deals with prewar military strategy, showing that European militaries expected trench warfare and ineffective offensive, until the Ruso-Japanese war, which made them switch gears, believing…
on “Historical maps probably helped cause World War I” ↗I really appreciated G. J. Meyer’s “A World Undone”. My [lack of] understanding of the conflict before reading that did not prepare me for how farcical and devastating the war was. https://www.alibris.com/A-World-Undone-The-Story-of-the-Grea... It’s…
on “World War I dangers in France's red zones” ↗…about highly specific ideas. Sure I can go to r/history to find people who are generally interested in history, but where can I go to find people who would be interested in book-clubbing G.J. Meyer's 'A World Undone'? If I want to talk about physics in general, I could go to /r/physics. But how do I find physicists who want to discuss matter-antimatter asymmetry? You can glom on to conversations in current social…
on “A College Degree Is No Guarantee of a Good Life” ↗I'm just rereading A World Undone https://www.amazon.com/World-Undone-G-J-Meyer-ebook/dp/B000P... and I'm struck by the similarities between ITER and World War I at the end of 1914. Back then, the losses had been so mind-boggling that…
on “World’s Largest Fusion Project Is in Big Trouble” ↗I've not read A World Undone (although after seeing the suggestions, I'm adding it to my to-read list). I did like Peter Hart's The Great War immensely, though, and recommend that as the best book on the actual campaigns of the war…
on “Why 1866 Set the Stage for Two World Wars” ↗Thank you. I heard about The Guns of August when I was looking for related books after reading A World Undone. Then I forgot about it. I never heard of March of Folly but I'll read them both.