A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion - 1914-1918 - To End All Wars

Hochschild is one of my favorite authors. His King Leopold's Ghost, about Belgian imperialism in the Congo, and Bury the Chains, about the fight to end slavery in the British Empire, are incomparable. In To End All Wars he touches on a theme that has been explored by many authors - how the nations of Europe entered the First World War without apparently having the slightest notion of how bloody, costly and disillusioning it would be. While he is certainly not the first author to portray this, his facts and anecdotes are among the best on this theme.

I found this book VERY informative and enlightening, and unlike most books about wars, it was an easy and entertaining read. I've read numerous books about WWI (and WWII) and this book gave me a unique insight into the culture in Europe and Russia that led to "the war to end all wars". It also explains how the end of WWI and the resulting armistice led the world into the second great war.

A well written account of the peace movement during the time of world war one. An alternative history we did not learn in school. Well worth reading for history and war buffs. A history worth remembering since we seem to fall for the same propaganda over and over again.

I gave this four stars rather than five because I am not a fan of the over all message. Be aware when buying this book, that the author makes no attempt to mask his socialist sympathizing, pacifist views. That is perfectly fine, he is entitled to his opinion, and he did a great job telling the stories of the pacifists and socialist side of WWI. His slant on the war was definitely well thought out and well researched, but I believe that he over simplified the war and the strategy.

The author appears to believe that either side or country could have prevented the war by refusing to fight. I am surprised by that given that his view was generally from the British side. I find it difficult to believe that allowing Serbia or even France to be destroyed by Austria or Germany would be preferable to fighting the war. I absolutely agree that the war was a huge tragedy and should have never been fought, but European rivalries, greed, and xenophobia made it inevitable. Personally, I wonder whether he would have a similar opinion about WWII in spite of what we know about the Holocaust.

Excellent history. Focuses on WW I and especially Britain, the battles in France and the home front. Has much less - little more than a mention - of the fighting in Iraq, Africa, Italy, etc. Of special value was the treatment of the Pankhurst family, Sylvia being of particular interest to me because of her later involvement with Haile Selassie and Ethiopia (my main field of interest).

A well written saga outlining the monumental stupidity that led to and extended the tragic manslaughter of World War I. The book includes interesting background about efforts by socialist and labor movements to avoid going to war as well as the collapse of Russia leading to the formation of the USSR.

Adam Hochschild offers an anglo-centric account of The Great War. Its narrow focus makes it less a book on the War and more about the UK home front. As usual with Adam Hochschild, it's very well written and informative. He presents characters and relationships you might not immediately think of and does so in a fluid informed style. What a sad story and it's evident the UK is on the cusp of imperial power and inevitable decline.

Excellent book that gave me more insight to WW1 than expected. We really need a greater understanding of history than we are served up in school. The author writes well and drew me into the pre-war climate in Britain. I wish the current crop of politicians were more educated about the past.

Adam Hochschild offers an anglo-centric account of The Great War. Its narrow focus makes it less a book on the War and more about the UK home front. As usual with Adam Hochschild, it's very well written and informative. He presents characters and relationships you might not immediately think of and does so in a fluid informed style. What a sad story and it's evident the UK is on the cusp of imperial power and inevitable decline.

Excellent book that gave me more insight to WW1 than expected. We really need a greater understanding of history than we are served up in school. The author writes well and drew me into the pre-war climate in Britain. I wish the current crop of politicians were more educated about the past.

The European powers were at a virtual stalemate in World War I. Then the United
States entered the war and turned the tide
against Germany. The victorious allies then exacted very harsh reparations against Germany. German resentment against these reparations were a direct cause of the rise of Hitler and the plunge
toward World War II. It is worth cogitating on how events would have transpired had the United States not entered the war. One possible result: a
negotiated settlement that would have been
more equitable.

Hochschild reveals some important issues overlooked in many accounts of the Great War. He looks at the links between previous conflicts and the war, and how the pride and imperial ambitions of a number of nations culminated in the senseless carnage in Europe. The influences of a number of social movements and people and how they opposed the war are also revealed, the actions of which to some extent helped end the catastrophe. This book reminds us of the painful lessons of war, which in this day and age unfortunately seem to have been forgotten.

..Any student of military history would glean a lot from this book. It has been said that what was at first known as The Great War, or The War to End All Wars, and which, after September, 1939, of necessity had to be known as World War I, was one war that should have never been fought. Of course, after the end of this war came a 20-year hiatus, and the Second World War ensued. A book well worth reading.......as one of my undergraduate professors said so many decades ago, man is basically wicked and basically stupid......How sad...... how true......

This is a brilliant and lucid account of the First World War of those who fought it and those brave pacifists who opposed it. I will never forget Hochschield's vivid description of trench war fare.The arrogance and stupidity of those generals who waged this disasterous war is mind boggling.

This is a must read book. It illustrates the misuse of power by monarch families in planning a war which can only be described as obscene. The autors views are backed up by extracts from official sources and link the anti war movements in the UK and France; and demonstrate the callous diregard of casualties by silly upper class senior officers of both sides of the conflict. I was so impressed by the unbiased details presented that I ordered three copies and have sent them to friends.

This is a history of the European experience of the war not a military history. It also chronicles those who opposed the war as well as the ways in which Europe did not understand the kind of war they were starting. It is a great contribution to the study of a seminal event in European history.

I've read numerous accounts of the First World War, and this is one of my top five. From the trenches, to the folks back home this account covers many bases. This was the first history I've read about the COs who refused to serve in combat roles in the British Army during that time, and the protests against the war. Great Book!

The chapters on the history were good. The chapters about protesters got preachy. At the end the author even suggested the world would have been better off if France surrendered and Great Britten never entered the war. While there were a lot of lives lost due to stupidity and arrogance ignoring aggression only leads to more suffering. Socialism sounds good in the classroom but in practice leads to misery. the book suggests otherwise. I guess this is why the New York Times liked it so much.

This is an important book for all students of social and political movements. If war is ever to be relegated to the dust bins of history,
the brave and moral stance of war resisters must be admired instead of denigrated. Courage under fire? That's what this book is all about. The peacemakers story at last.

Superb history of World War I and British opposition to it, with background to the Boer War and carrying WWI's effects forward to WWII and on to today, with the sentencing of blood diamond figure Robert Taylor. Seeing the horrors of an unecessary war through the eyes of British people living the experience lends an air of historical fiction to a non-fiction book that is anything but dry, as many think history is. A great read for the history buff and military history buff and casual readers of history.

Excellent book. Reads easily and gives a great outline to this war. I will now read other books about this war and WWII. Manchester's biography of Churchill from 1940 to 1965 got me on this nonfiction path and greatly broadened my knowledge of history. I also want to read King Leopold's Ghost by this author.

This book is terribly depressing, but that's because the events described are so horrific. Hochschild follows the tragedies of 1914-18 through the lives and losses of a few individuals which makes history real to the reader. And the book has real lessons for today.

Although the book focuses on the British history of WW1, it is placed in the context of the British Empire pre WW1 as well as what was happening with the rest of Europe. This is the best book I have read on WW1, very enjoyable, and a page turner.

To End All Wars does an excellent job of documenting the loyal and conscientious objectors. But the book runs out of steam in the 1917 and 1918 chapters almost glossing over the impact of the entry of American into the war and surprisingly for Mr. Hochschild, only a brief discussion of the connection and impact in the colonial world. I understood from the liner notes that he worked on the book for several years. Perhaps he tired of the subject.

This review is of the Kindle version, not the content. I read the Kindle sample, it grabbed my attention and I purchased it. Other Kindle reviewers mentioned problems with the Kindle edition, but I ignored their warnings because the content was so good.

The Kindle version is missing:
All maps
All pictures

The Kindle version has other defects:
The index is a photocopy of an index
Footnotes are not annotated in the text
Fonts and position of chapter headers kept changing when I turned pages

I enjoy the convenience of my Kindle. However, I don't enjoy publishers cutting corners, the Kindle content being edited and different from the hard copy, and the store not holding publisher's feet to the fire to make it the same as the hard copy. In fact, it's deceptive of the store not to point out the content that has been edited from the Kindle. In the short and long run, the store will lose customers by continuing this practice.

I've heard Jeff Bezos say numerous times "we do everything for the customer's benefit". Perhaps he can explain how we Kindle customers benefit from deceptiveness and edited content.

Well written and very detailed on the facts of WWI while adding a human touch of a novel with factual characters in history. It was assigned reading for my sons high school history class but I read it for fun and we both enjoyed it

This book is a very interesting book about WW one. I was surprised at how really stupid the English & French were about warfare at the beginning of the war through a good portion of it, too. Thankfully, the US got involved and saved the day!

This book was beautifully written, focusing on poignant reminders of how horrible war is, and how easy it is for two people to look at any war in two very different ways. Nevertheless, I wish that the author had limited his own views to the stupidity of this war, rather than the stupidity of all wars. It is there that his liberal bias shows through to the detriment of a balanced analysis. Yes, all wars are horrible. Yes, all wars result in suffering and death. Yes, it would be wonderful if there were no more wars. Doesn't everyone agree with those sentiments? And, yes, WWI was stupid. Yes, WWI led to the unequaled horrors of WWII. Everyone agrees with those sentiments, also, don't they? But, no--not every war is stupid. Some wars, even though they are certainly horrible and wasteful and sad, are not stupid. Rather, they simply are necessary, inevitable, and unavoidable, at least while humans have differing yet unshakably strong beliefs. That's the way it is whether we like it or not.

The publisher has done terrible job preparing this volume. The pages lack numbering, footnotes are absent, references are unlinked to the text and the table of content excludes photos and illustrations. Don't buy this very badly prepared kindle edition.

This is a review of the Kindle edition specifically. The publisher did a terrible job of putting this together as an ebook. (1) There are no footnotes in the text even though there are footnotes at the end. (2) There are lots of photo credits listed a the end but you can't find the photos in the text. Perhaps they are there, buried somewhere, but I can't find them. (3) The index isn't text, it's a series of photos of the index from the printed book! I have asked the store for a refund. Kindle owners need to let publishers know that we will not tolerate this nonsense.

UPDATE: Please see the comment that "college_student" makes