A World Undone

G. J. Meyer

May 2006 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Drawing on exhaustive research, this intimate account details how World War I reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of our modern world

“Thundering, magnificent . . . [A World Undone] is a book of true greatness that prompts moments of sheer joy and pleasure. . . . It will earn generations of admirers.”—The Washington Times

On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War: four long years of slaughter, physical and moral exhaustion, and the near collapse of a civilization that until 1914 had dominated the globe.

Praise for A World Undone

“Meyer’s sketches of the British Cabinet, the Russian Empire, the aging Austro-Hungarian Empire . . . are lifelike and plausible. His account of the tragic folly of Gallipoli is masterful. . . . [A World Undone] has an instructive value that can scarcely be measured”—Los Angeles Times

“An original and very readable account of one of the most significant and often misunderstood events of the last century.”—Steve Gillon, resident historian, The History Channel

Ratings and reviews

very good! the author begins the story with spellbinding captivating intrigues and detailed day by day accounts leading to the apocalypse. the author successfully integrates a ongoing background into the beligerent nations. I felt heartbroken at the author's bias towards the kaiser and the ottomans as he did so well in keeping the story neutral except these very colorful/oppressive examples of poetic license. I feel the end of the story was crippling rushed in relation to the beginning which was a great let down because of how hard the author worked to account 1914-1916. if this is your first dive into the "great war" it's my opinion this is a masterpiece of good storytelling with respect to the magnitude of the subject. well done with a tough subject.

I've read dozens of history books. This is among the best because it makes sense of a nonsensical war that claimed the lives of millions and set in motion the demise of many millions more from the second world war and communism. Especially enlightening were the side bars which explain background of the Hohenzollern family and other interesting facts.

Reading the narrative helps one clearly understand that our current world and its geopolitical problems all find root in the tumult and tragedy of the Great War

About the author

G. J. Meyer is the author of three popular histories: A World Undone: The Story of the Great War; The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty; and The Borgias: The Hidden History. Meyer received a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University. He earned an M.A. from the University of Minnesota, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and has taught writing and literature at colleges in Des Moines, St. Louis, and New York. He now lives in Wiltshire, England.