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  • The First World War

  • A Complete History
  • By: Martin Gilbert
  • Narrated by: Roger Clark
  • Length: 33 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (64 ratings)

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The First World War

By: Martin Gilbert
Narrated by: Roger Clark
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$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

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Publisher's Summary

It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War.

The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare. It introduced U-boat packs and strategic bombing, unrestricted war on civilians and mistreatment of prisoners. But the war changed our world in far more fundamental ways than these.

In its wake, empires toppled, monarchies fell, and whole populations lost their national identities. As political systems and geographic boundaries were realigned, the social order shifted seismically. Manners and cultural norms; literature and the arts; education and class distinctions; all underwent a vast sea change.

©1994 Martin Gilbert (P)2020 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The First World War

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Review below states that the narrator is no good

The narrators pitch/tone can be easily changed slightly by adjusting playback speeds. This is one of the greatest books written in detail about the Great War.
Don't miss out on this because of something so minor.
Brilliant book and thank you.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Dreadful narrator

Narrator somehow made the story of ww1 boring. Dry, lack of tone, pacing and excitement in the topic. Couldn't complete the book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book but poor narration

Narration is flat and monotone. The story is gripping and of immense importance, shame it isn't given a better telling.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Woeful narration. Good account but a tad “British forces-centric”

I was disappointed that the role of Australia’s General Sir John Monash in defeating the Germans in the field in mid-1918 was not even mentioned.

General Monash devised and executed the first-ever integrated air, tank, artillery and infantry attack in history at the Battle of Le Hamel. If successful, it would thwart German plans to capture French transportation hub Amiens and enable unimpeded ferrying of German troops and supplies to the Western Front.

The battle took place on 4 July 1918. It was over in 93 minutes during which the troops under General Monash’s command advanced two miles for 300 men killed. If traditional trench warfare methods had been applied, it is estimated that the Battle of Le Hamel would have taken 8 months and the troops advanced two miles for 35,000 killed.

King George V himself insisted on travelling to Australian Corps headquarters in France to knight General Monash.

So it is surprising that the book doesn’t even mention General Monash or his pivotal contributions. I recommend listening to Peter FitzSimons’ “Monash’s Masterpiece” for a detailed account of the Battle of Le Hamel of July 1918 and other victories under Monash’s command that drove the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line and undoubtedly contributed to the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book but poor narration

Great book but poor narration. Would suggest to speed up to 1.2 for a better listen .

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great depth whether covering the politics, military strategy, tactics or individuals. Balanced focus across the many theatres.

Recommended for a reader interested in the Great War due its range,depth & detail. The narrator bring gravitas to the story and is better slightly sped up.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

That was brilliant! As the great grandson of 4 Australian veterans of the Great War who also went on to served during the Second World War, this was a thrilling read. Very well read and the detail brought the events to life. Thank you, Audible and Lest We Forget.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very well written

Education and in-depth
A very complicated history we all share!
So brave was that era!
Hope war like this never happens again

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Annoying narration

I found the narrator's idiosyncratic pronunciation of familiar names to be jarring and distracting: Vosges becomes Voz-ges, Field Marshal Earl Haig becomes High-g.......

The history is very detailed and explores individual experiences in some detail but the exploration of logic behind decisions is relatively underdone. Not my preferred style of history. Churchill's World Crisis and Tuchman's Guns of August provided vastly superior coverage of the that part of the war up to the point I abandoned this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Well written

Well written and well told but required an adjustment of the speed to appeal to my ears.

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