World War One: History in an Hour

History In An Hour

by Rupert Colley

Know your stuff: Read a concise history of World War One in just one hour.

World War One brought with it the world’s first experience of Total War, involving all of the world’s great powers, polarized between the Triple Entente, lead by Britain, France and Russia, and the Central Powers, dominated by Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Around 9 million men lost their lives in a conflict that introduced the horrors of trench warfare, machine guns and toxic gas attacks.

WORLD WAR ONE: HISTORY IN AN HOUR gives you a clear overview of the road to war, the major turning points and battles, and the key leaders involved, as well as the lasting impact the Great War had on almost every country in the world. WORLD WAR ONE: HISTORY IN AN HOUR is essential reading for all history lovers.

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Historical, World War I, Ebooks, Audiobook

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Founder, writer and Series Editor of History In An Hour (http://historyinanhour.com), owned by HarperCollins UK, and now author of two novels.

The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.

My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie (Duchess of Hohenberg), was the event that triggered the onset of the First World War. This led to the war between Austria and Serbia. Later, the World was divided into the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, and the First World War happened. This book not only mentions the events during the War but also discusses the social trauma it produced due to the massive number of casualties it caused.

[Nika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[~:The N:~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is meant to be read in an hour or so, but I took longer than that because of DISTRACTIONS 😫😫😫

I knew a bit about World War II, but I'm not very familiar with World War I (ignorance is bliss, I guess) so this short and concise history is interesting and informative to me. I liked the chapters about the Ottoman Empire, Trenches, and Russia and Revolution. In addition, I loved the Appendix 1: Key People section of the book. And I couldn't help but wonder if the trench system idea came from the Battle of Khandaq (trenches).
I was also curious about what happened to the Southeast Asian countries during those times. Felt like they're not part of the world.

I will be looking at other titles in this series.

[Steven Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book tell all the major events and people involved in the Great war. Very interesting read.

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

ספרון קצר ומרתק המסכם בצורה בהירה וברורה את ההיסטוריה של מלחמת העולם הראשונה. הורדתי כוכב אחד כי היו חסרים לי 2 דברים: מפה של אירופה עם המקומות המרכזיים המצוינים בספר, וכן סיכום של מסמך 14 הנקודות של ווילסון (שמוזכר רבות אבל לא כתוב מהן 14 הנקודות! ומה למדתי עליו בתיכון אני ממש לא זוכרת). בכל מקרה, מומלץ ביותר.

[Paul Titley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tempted by the combination of this being a summary of a period of history of which I know very little and the fact it was free on Amazon, I was keen to give it a whirl.

It does what it says on the tin - and presents a summary of the main campaigns of the First World War. As other reviewers have noted, the timeline jumps around somewhat - though this issue is difficult to overcome, as the war was fought in many parts of the world over long periods of time.

The writing style is very factual - as it needs to be to cover such a large subject in an hour. The reading time was about 90 mins for me, but there is an appendix which is probably another third of the book, providing short biographies of the main individuals.

As a reader with very little knowledge of this period, I have taken two things away from the book.

Firstly, it is a good foundation/overview, from which I will now look to read in more detail (the end of the Ottoman Empire, for example).

Secondly, is to look into the rest of the series for a similar background to other periods of history.

[Zoe Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like the other History in a Hour book I read, this is a quick and comprehensive book. An interesting but digestible guide to World War One.

[Mayar Mahdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been over a hundred years. That's kind of staggering.


This really wrapped up the complicated parts while still being interesting.

[Nicky Uerling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great summary of each of the offenses of WWI

[Victoria Frow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Informative in nice short chapters even though it is very much keeping to the facts so that to get a fuller picture you do need to research further but it's a nice starting point.

[Mohammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book cause it is real story and about the history.
The world war 1 was the biggest war the was happens at 1914 and it was end at 1919.There was a lot of killing over and over there a lot of blood on the streets there were a lot of bodies.That what made the book boring ,killing over killing destruction over destruction,so died there were in the streets. It was so depressed story cause there was no food for the women and children.that was not fair for them, however there were fight for every day, so there is more than 37 million people who dead.The Germany who was the lost because they lost a lot of people and the pay money.This was good that is Germany because the war start from them country and lot of people dead just for the war.It is little bit scare but it was nice book to read it has an easy words and character it was nice to read for understand.The people who like a history they would like it.

[Herman · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK well that was a quick little trip into history. About a hour and a half total might not be the most stupid war ever fought there actually is quite a few that qualify for that honor but it might be the bloodiest WWII was worse but that had the element of pure Evil in there while WWI was more incompetence with arrogance and ignorance anyway I feel I know a little bit more about the conflict now and it was nice that it wasn't super long in the telling.

[Danny Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for exactly what it sets out to be: an excellent overview of World War One, particularly someone coming to the war's history for the first time. You won't find a great deal of details about things like battles or the revolutionary movements that overthrew the Tsar and nearly upended Germany...but then if it did, it would be a standard much-longer-than-an-hour-to-read history. If you want something quick (I really did read it in about an hour) and basic that will sketch out nearly all of World War One's most important events and backgrounds for you, I can't think of a better place to start. (And I used it to jump back into reading about the war for an upcoming trip to the Western Front in Flanders.)

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, but interesting read, charting the causes, progress and aftermath of WWI.
I was amazed at how much the author packed into such a small book, the information flowed, and gave lots of ideas for further research.
The short biographies of some of the war's main protagonists, given in the second part of the book, were an excellent addition to this engaging sprint through four years of history.

[Mahmoud Al-Wadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book despite how summarized it is, it highlighted the most important and distinguished events of the world war and gave me an insight into how europe's democracy and governmental system evolved throughout the last century.
I am excited to read rupert's world war two history in an hour as well as Hitler's.

[Elle]

If you don't know much about World War One I am sure this book will be very interesting. I know a lot more about the second World War so I found this book to have a lot of new information but not overly detailed enough to be become boring. Quick read that I took my time dipping into every so often.

[Christopher Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out I am quite a slow reader.

Good read which will leave you checking out other sources as various facts pique your interest on a topic.

[Igor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meu segundo livro do autor e dessa série

Este é meu segundo livro desse autor e dessa série que se propõe a resumir fatos e personalidades importantes em 1 hora de leitura (aprox).

Meu outro livro foi 'The Russian Revolution' e dei nota 4 neste também porque achei que resumiu razoavelmente bem aquela revolução. Claro que não dá pra entender minimamente o que ocorreu em uma leitura de 1 hora, mas dá um 'pontapé inicial', digamos assim. Tanto achei inspirador, que estou lendo o livro do autor brasileiro, Luiz Alberto Moniz Bandeira, "Lenin: Vida e obra", edição revisada de 2017, e o livro "Dez dias que abalaram o mundo" de John Reed.

Sobre o livro em questão, achei excessivamente resumido. Não é ruim. O autor faz um esforço para passar o máximo de informações em '1 hora'. Mas vamos combinar que é impossível. O entendimento mínimo daquele conflito requer muito mais tempo de leitura. A série é clara na sua introdução que pretende mais aguçar a curiosidade do que servir de referência. Assim, dei nota 4.

Se servir de 'pontapé inicial' para outros livros, recomendo a famosa obra: "The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914" (ou "Sonâmbulos - Como Eclodiu a Primeira Guerra Mundial" em português), de Christopher Clark.

[Dunkthebiscuit Kendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

On 28 June 1914 a young Serbian named Gavrilo Princip shot the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire and started a political avalanche that would eventually see over 13 million people dead, four Empires destroyed and a redrawing of many European country borders. Princip himself was too young to face execution for his crime, and lived in prison until 1918 before succumbing to tuberculosis.

I was all set to take notes while reading this book, but I didn't have to. As you can expect from the In An Hour books, it has already been pared down to the absolute basics - what happened, when and who it happened to. Appendices give short biographies of the more important people named in the book, as well as a timeline.

As a basic introduction to the First World War, for those with minimum prior knowledge, I happily recommend this book.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a historian but had a fair knowledge of WW1. This gives a good overview but skips some of the potentially important controversies (Was the Lusitania civilian? Was the Mexico memo planted? etc.) that I had heard elsewhere, however, parts like the Paris taxis I had never heard of.

I do get a bit annoyed that the general recounting moves chronologically but in fact the specifics are done nationally or geographically. It can be strange to go from the story of Paris 1914-1917 to America 1915 (not accurate figures). Not sure how else it could be done though...

Overall for the cost and the quality of the narrating voice I would say this is worth a listen. If you find bits interesting and want more depth then pursue them in other books.

[Willow Rankin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an hourly history book; this was actually really well written. Obviously its a short book that touches on several key events and key players from around the world associated with the war. Its mostly associated with the warfare in Western Europe and being only an hour it can't describe every event. But for someone who knew bits - this did actually teach me (and reminded me) of what I didn't know.
I really enjoyed the appendix at the back of key people and found this to be a lite biography of key players and where they ended up after (and in some cases - during) the 1st World War.
Overall, a great little read - that makes me want to read more of this period of history.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This summary is short, sweet, and to the point - similar to a Cliff's Notes version of the major actions and key players involved in World War I. This was well-researched and concise. While very high-level, it gives you enough to whet your appetite and want to learn more details, and the addition of pictures of the key players, etc., enhance the value. I also liked the end notes which gave you autobiographical information on the key players, including what happened to them after the war and how they died.

Yes, it took about an hour to read this while on a plane!

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction into a now, little-thought about war.

For the history buff, it is a good, basic beginning, and the timeline at the end of the book provides a wealth of information for further research, reading and understanding.

And for every other reader, it lays out, in stark detail, how political alliances, treaties, and political relationships that were in effect at the start of the 20th century, converged, and with the assassination of an Archduke and his wife, resulted in world war.

[Geoffrey Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read more schollarly works on World War I but I picked this one up as a Kindle book to refresh my memory before touring the Western Front. The book served my purpose. Colley provided an orderly look at the battles and places or the war in chronological order. There is some context and references to political and military leaders. The appendixes offer two sources of information: biosketches on several leaders and a timeline.
If you want a short overview of the war, this works as advertised.

[Tara T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise overview of major events and issues at a little over the titles hour - at over 80 mins.
Clearly narrated. Well paced.

It is not chronologically recounted though. It jumps from different theatres at different times which can be a little confusing. It is sectioned into themes such as ‘Air and Sea’, ‘Ireland and Easter Sunday’ and ‘The Spring Offensive’, which is effective and makes a complex topic with interconnected elements a bit easier to grasp.

Overall, a good ‘highlights’ account of a very complicated but important, century defining event.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przesłuchałem już jakiś czas temu odcinek z tej serii dotyczący roku 1914. Teraz postanowiłem zgłębić temat i przesłuchać odcinek dotyczący Pierwszej Wojny Światowej.
Wojna pozycyjna oparta na walce okopach, miliony ofiar, wykorzystywanie broni chemicznej, zastosowanie nowych technologii broni takich jak karabiny maszynowe, samoloty, czołgi oraz wreszcie upadek wielkich europejskich imperiów to właśnie moje skojarzenia odnośnie pierwszej wojny światowej które pozostają w pamięci po przesłuchaniu tej pozycji.

[David Rubenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terribly incomplete, but you can read it in an hour. On the other hand, I have heard about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand about a thousand times and this is the first time I actually understood what caused WWI. And the whole book can be read in less than an hour. I think I am in favor of learning the highlights of many history topics and reading further for the ones that seem most pressing. Thumbs up!

[Lynn Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative & Entertaining Narrative Though A Bit Deficient In US Coverage

There's not much I can say beyond my title. Overall, author provided an excellent summary of the political and military conditions that led to war - though account was a bit deficient in its coverage of the U.S. Also, the book effectively ended at 88% of book's volume, with remainder being devoted to ads for other books

[David Germain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très intéressant pour avoir un survol de ce qui s'est passé lors de la Première grande guerre. Ne connaissant pas beaucoup l'histoire de cette guerre, c'est fascinant de constater tous les changements géopolitiques qui ont été amenés.
Par contre, ça fait beaucoup de matériel en un si court document et ça devient étourdissant. Tout de même, ça donne le goût d'en savoir plus.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might read all of these. Great way to get a quick intro to major events in world history. I think the author's bias might sneak in a little as can be expected. But give the man credit for condensing the history and keeping it entertaining. A great service to those of us who can't afford time for all of the details. Bravo!