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Catastrophe

Europe Goes to War 1914

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Catastrophe

By: Max Hastings
Narrated by: Nigel Carrington
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Summary

The Amazon History Book of the Year 2013 is a magisterial chronicle of the calamity that befell Europe in 1914 as the continent shifted from the glamour of the Edwardian era to the tragedy of total war.

1914: a year of unparalleled change. The year that diplomacy failed, Imperial Europe was thrown into its first modernised warfare and white-gloved soldiers rode in their masses across pastoral landscapes into the blaze of machine–guns. What followed were the costliest days of the entire War. But how had it happened?

In Catastrophe: 1914 Max Hastings, best-selling author of the acclaimed All Hell Let Loose, answers at last how World War I could ever have begun. Ranging across Europe, from Paris to St. Petersberg, from Kings to corporals, Catastrophe 1914 traces how tensions across the continent kindled into a blaze of battles; not the stalemates of later trench-warfare but battles of movement and dash where Napoleonic tactics met with weapons from a newly industrialised age. A searing analysis of the power-brokering, vanity and bluff in the diplomatic maelstrom reveals who was responsible for the birth of this catastrophic world in arms. Mingling the experiences of humbler folk with the statesmen on whom their lives depended, Hastings asks: whose actions were justified?

From the out-break of war through to its terrible making, and the bloody gambles in Sarajevo and Mons, Le Cateau, Marne and Tannenberg, this is the international story of World War I in its most severe and influential period. Published to coincide with its 100th Anniversary, Catastrophe: 1914 explains how and why this war, which shattered and changed the Western world for ever, was fought.

 20th Century Europe Great Britain Military Military & War Modern World War I War Solider Royalty Imperialism Middle Ages Thought-Provoking Inspiring Winston Churchill Russia Interwar Period
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Critic reviews

‘Magnificent … Hastings writes with an enviable grasp of pace and balance, as well as an acute eye for human detail. Even for readers who care nothing for the difference between a battalion and a division, his book is at once moving, provocative and utterly engrossing’ Sunday Times

‘Masterly … Hastings is a brilliant guide to that strange, febrile twilight before Europe plunged into darkness. Writing in pungent prose suffused with irony and underpinned by a strong sense of moral outrage, ‘Catastrophe’ is a frontal assault on what Hastings calls the “poets’ view” … This is history-writing at its best, scholarly and fluent … for anyone wanting to understand how that ghastly, much-misunderstood conflict came about, there could be no better place to start than this fine book’ The Times

‘One could scarcely ask for a better guide to these horrors than Max Hastings … he is a superb writer with a rare gift for evoking the rhythm, mood and raw physical terror of battle … If you are looking for a humane and compelling interpretive chronicle of the formative months of this horrific conflict, you will find none better’ Mail on Sunday

‘Very readable. Character, pace, sense of landscape, battlefield detail – all are superbly done … it's a splendid read’ Observer

‘‘No part of the Great War compares in interest with its opening’, wrote Churchill, and Hastings does full justice to its appalling drama … Catastrophe is rich in unexplored sources from every side of the conflict and every theatre of the war’ David Crane, Spectator

‘Vigorous and readable, making good use of the worm’s eye-view … Engaging, well paced and, despite the grim subject matter, often entertaining’ New Statesman

‘Vivid and compelling … superbly detailed and nuanced … Hastings is a master of the pen portrait and the quirky fact … yet his greatness as a historian – never shown to better effect than in this excellent book – lies in his willingness to challenge entrenched opinion’ Saul David, Evening Standard
All stars
Most relevant
An excellent history of the outbreak and progress up to the end of 1914 of World War I by the eminent Max Hastings.

Although much of the subject matter is grim, it's a relatively easy listen - a tribute to the craftsmanship of both author and narrator.

Highly recommended.

Highly recommended

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I’ve read or listened to several of Max Hastings’ books over the last few years and now consider him the “go to” author for enlightenment over the two world wars and their principal actors. I don’t think anybody could accuse Mr Hastings of being a “dangerous leftie”, but he doesn’t stray over to a rightist or revisionist camp either. Instead what you get are “warts and all” portrayals of facts and personalities crafted from meticulous research and analysis. He resists the temptation to lionise characters on whom posterity usually bestows mythical status, while also refusing to pillory completely those characters whom history commonly holds up as bogeymen. There is no nationalism or fawning populism or hero worship in these refreshingly honest books!
Turning to “Catastrophe” specifically, this is the first book I’ve come across on WW1 that has left me with a good grasp of how the pre-war Alliances functioned (or malfunctioned) and whose “fault” the outbreak of a global conflict was. Other books or documentaries on the subject, it seems to me, dole out arguments along the lines of “on the one hand this” but “on the other hand such-and-such”, always sidestepping the issue of actual blame. No Empire is spared Max Hastings’ scorn and criticism, but he does, in the end, point the finger at Germany for taking matters that one irrevocable step further than was needed, turning a frightening possibility into a catastrophic inevitability. But not without, previously, having doled out some very harsh criticism of the Russians and Austro-Hungarians for their hysterics and posturing while lacking the military might and expertise, or logistical back-up, to bring any kind of military conflict to a quick conclusion.
The author is also very adept at showing the internal hierarchies within these vast European “Empires”, where in most cases a rather stupid figurehead propped up by an equally sclerotic and hidebound coterie of aristocrats and generals, would make decisions affecting millions of people in the way small boys would play at soldiers. Mr Hastings’ portraits of these people are done deftly and sparingly, so you don’t get mired in a mud bath of unpronounceable names and titles; rather, a spotlight is shone on the lamentable and ego-stroking decision-making that can happen when there’s no democracy or checks and balances in supposedly modern nations.
The book ends just a few months into WW1 - but far enough along the line to show the obsolescence of 19th century war making and strategising. We finish this book seeing the inevitability of mechanised 20th century warfare and the horrors to come. The new weapons have almost taken on a life of their own and the top brass of all the belligerents are left clueless as to how to catch up, cerebrally or logistically.
This book is highly recommended to anyone who continues to scratch their head over the causes of WW1 (as I had since O Level history some 55 years ago!) for its clarity, succinctness and fairness, all wrapped up in some superbly paced writing. I shall definitely be listening to this one again, probably before the year’s out!

Brilliant!

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This is a very well written account of the events running up to the war. It’s factually presented and shows the brutal and fatal choices made up in the run up and during the first year of the 1914-1918 conflict.

Evidence from soldiers and participants is presented factually with balanced commentary, showing how the events unfolded and demonstrating the choice (or lack thereof), that the various parties had in this period. It dispels many of the myths around the start to WW1 and tries to demonstrate some of the human stories involved. Another great read from Hastings. Thoroughly recommended.

Brutally factual run down of 1914

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just a magnificent work on the basis of ww1 from all side do not not consider researching ww1 until you have listened to this

superbly researched major work on ww1 1914

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Illuminating listen - though a bit hard going at times with the exceptional detail of individual stories. Learnt a great deal. Lot of parallels as ever with the modern world.

Incredible detail

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