Customer Reviews

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

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I read history as background for writing my novels, and have slogged through many a tome that might put me to sleep before finding a cogent point that I can use for what might be called 'intimate background material' for my own books. I'm not a historian, so cannot rate this wonderful book by an historian's point of reference.

I have read no better history of the Great War than this. The publisher's description does it fair justice. Yet it omits one further point that I make. G.J. Meyer writes in a fluid, exciting style that reads easily, and literally drags you along. His background historical material, inserted in added chapters between the flow of the times, puts the reader firmly in the picture and clarifies the often baffling decisions of the leaders of the times.

This is a history for the non-historian who simply wants to know. A wonderful surprise in the list of often dreary, dusty recapitulations of an oft-told tale.

I've started to read a lot about WWI piqued out of family history and reading "Mud, Blood and Poppycock". This book seemed to be highly recommended, and boy: I agree!

The author creates an easy to read, compelling narrative from the roots of the Great War to the final, bitter end for Germany. His focus on people and their personalities turn them into characters as compelling as any well-written novel. You're left rooting for Gen. Arthur Curie (Canadian), Gen. Monash (Australia) and Gen. Petain (France). You're left gobsmacked at Ludendorf's mental breakdown in the final year of the war when he just totally loses it.

And it has a nuanced view of Gen. Haig. Haig neither comes off as an incompetent, backward-looking villain, nor a brilliant strategist & politician (as Mud, Blood and Poppycock tries to portray). He simply comes off as "unimaginative", which is indictment enough in my books.

He explains the thinking and background to just about every corner of the war, but he glosses over the details of the battles--giving only an overview of the details, but that's OK. He makes up for it with by giving lots of details on the grand strategy and objectives of every offensive.

A couple rather curious omissions though: Almost nothing about the Middle-East and Arabia. He does mention it, including mentioning Lawrence of Arabia, but other than the Dardanelles, nothing. Also almost nothing about the development of aerial combat, even though he mentions how important the air force became in the last two years of the war. Just sort of odd omissions in an otherwise pretty complete crash course in WWI.