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Bismarck's War
- The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe
- Narrated by: Sarah Borges
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
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Bismarck's War
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Less than a month after it marched into France in summer 1870, the Prussian army had devastated its opponents, captured Napoleon III and wrecked all assumptions about Europe's pecking order. Other countries looked on in helpless amazement. Pushing aside further French resistance, a new German Empire was proclaimed (as a deliberate humiliation) in the Palace of Versailles, leaving the French to face civil war in Paris, reparations and the loss of Alsace and Lorraine.
Bismarck's War tells the story of one of the most shocking reversals of fortune in modern European history. The culmination of a globally violent decade, the Franco-Prussian War was deliberately engineered by Bismarck, both to destroy French power and to unite Germany. It could not have worked better, but it also had lurking inside it the poisonous seeds of all the disasters that would ravage the twentieth century.
Drawing on a remarkable variety of sources, Chrastil's book explores the military, technological, political and social events of the war, its human cost and the way that the sheer ferocity of war, however successful, has profound consequences for both victors and victims.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Bismarck's War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 23-09-23
Excellent
Superb history of a conflict often forgotten by many. Well written and researched. Great narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JONATHAN B BAILEY
- 22-11-23
A new perspective after Michael Howard’s landmark work.
A worthwhile book, spoiled rather by an amazingly exaggerated style of reading, as if an exciting ‘bedtime story’. Emphasis is applied even where none is required, devaluing that emphasis. The reader must have been exhausted by it all. In reality, the words speak for themselves.
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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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 03-12-23
Good on the military and social aspects of the war
The book held my attention and provided me with a good overview of this important conflict. The main focus is on the battles themselves, and the effect of the war on civilian populations. Readers who want detailed information about the diplomatic and political history of the war may be disappointed. It would be good if a political history of the war could also be provided on audible.
After finishing the book, I had more sympathy with the German position than I had previously. But any assessment would require a detailed analysis of the short and long term causes of the war, which is not available here. Like others, I noticed the reader was unsuited to the material but I persevered and then got used to it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AZ
- 03-09-23
Poor narration
The book received good reviews and I was looking forward to a modern account of the Franco-Prussian war. Unfortunately the reading style is suitable to a romantic novel rather than to serious history. It became so irritating that I gave up and didn't finish the book.
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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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- michaelpfinucane
- 04-03-24
Fine book but poor narration
Good to have an up to date popular history to hand. Narration seems more suited to fiction, with inappropriate emphasis and tone for a history book. Given that most sentences in the book contain at least one German or French word (eg place or character name), it would have been helpful had the narrator been able to pronounce words in those languages.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-07-23
Narration is intrusive and annoying for non-fiction
The narration ruin this for me. Continual changes in tone, dramatic pauses and emphasis are not appropriate for non-fiction.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- cynthia
- 04-07-23
Disliked narrator .Interesting book though obviously lots about battles.
Disliked narrator…particularly method of giving dates..so irritating. Interesting book…lots about battles…would have preferred more about why war came about and it’s important consequences
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2 people 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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. J. Miles
- 08-08-23
Français exécrable!
An excellent history of an under-recorded period (at least in the UK). BUT: if you’re looking for a reader for a book involving lots of French words, try to find someone with a basic knowledge of French pronunciation. Her attempts were comically awful. By the end I felt sorry for her struggle.
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2 people found this helpful