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How Wars Begin and End
A FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF WAR BY ONE OF THE UK’S MOST INFLUENTIAL — AND READABLE — HISTORIANS.
‘The most readable, sceptical and original of modern historians.’ Michael Foot
‘Anything Mr Taylor writes is worth reading . . . he is our greatest popular historian since Macaulay.’ The Spectator
‘His informal, pithy style makes the book compelling — even exciting — reading.’ The Irish Times
IN THIS TWO-BOOK
HOW WARS BEGIN
War has been one of the most destructive and decisive forces in history. But how do wars begin? The origins of war are complex. All are driven by a combination of public opinion, secret diplomacy, jingoism, armament manufacturers and even historians.
A.J.P. Taylor examines eight major conflicts, from the Napoleonic era to the Cold War, discussing the motives and personalities of those behind the decisions that lead to war.
HOW WARS END
What, besides martial glory and the loss of countless lives, brings a war to an end? In this brilliant polemical essay, Taylor shows that even as conflicts end and normality and peace are restored, unexpected triggers, freak judgments and personal ambitions can prepare the ground for future conflict. He provides an engaging overview of the resolution of the great conflicts of the past.
HOW WARS BEGIN was originally delivered as a series of impromptu lectures on BBC television in July 1977. HOW WARS END was his final lecture series on Channel 4 in 1985, five years before Taylor’s death. Both books are a fascinating and highly readable collection of the transcripts. Perfect for anyone interested in war, military studies or diplomacy.
Alan John Percivale Taylor (1906–1990) was perhaps the best-known British historian of the twentieth century, celebrated for his accessible and frequently humorous style almost as much as for his academic prowess and insight. He popularised history through television and was a brilliant storyteller who could make the most complex historical narratives understandable to a wide audience.
PRAISE FOR A.J.P.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This is no dust-dry tome, but an engaging and educational read.’ Rugby3
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Taylor is the best writer on diplomatic history. Always engaging.’ J. I. Bradley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Taylor was one of the finest historians of the twentieth century, blessed with a unique ability to tell it as it is.’ Dennis F.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Informative and thoroughly readable.’ Kindle customer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘There's something about A.J.P. Taylor's writing that pulls you in.’ Soham C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A.J.P. Taylor was the master of historical narrative.’ Kevin B.
‘The most readable, sceptical and original of modern historians.’ Michael Foot
‘Anything Mr Taylor writes is worth reading . . . he is our greatest popular historian since Macaulay.’ The Spectator
‘His informal, pithy style makes the book compelling — even exciting — reading.’ The Irish Times
IN THIS TWO-BOOK
HOW WARS BEGIN
War has been one of the most destructive and decisive forces in history. But how do wars begin? The origins of war are complex. All are driven by a combination of public opinion, secret diplomacy, jingoism, armament manufacturers and even historians.
A.J.P. Taylor examines eight major conflicts, from the Napoleonic era to the Cold War, discussing the motives and personalities of those behind the decisions that lead to war.
HOW WARS END
What, besides martial glory and the loss of countless lives, brings a war to an end? In this brilliant polemical essay, Taylor shows that even as conflicts end and normality and peace are restored, unexpected triggers, freak judgments and personal ambitions can prepare the ground for future conflict. He provides an engaging overview of the resolution of the great conflicts of the past.
HOW WARS BEGIN was originally delivered as a series of impromptu lectures on BBC television in July 1977. HOW WARS END was his final lecture series on Channel 4 in 1985, five years before Taylor’s death. Both books are a fascinating and highly readable collection of the transcripts. Perfect for anyone interested in war, military studies or diplomacy.
Alan John Percivale Taylor (1906–1990) was perhaps the best-known British historian of the twentieth century, celebrated for his accessible and frequently humorous style almost as much as for his academic prowess and insight. He popularised history through television and was a brilliant storyteller who could make the most complex historical narratives understandable to a wide audience.
PRAISE FOR A.J.P.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This is no dust-dry tome, but an engaging and educational read.’ Rugby3
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Taylor is the best writer on diplomatic history. Always engaging.’ J. I. Bradley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Taylor was one of the finest historians of the twentieth century, blessed with a unique ability to tell it as it is.’ Dennis F.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Informative and thoroughly readable.’ Kindle customer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘There's something about A.J.P. Taylor's writing that pulls you in.’ Soham C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A.J.P. Taylor was the master of historical narrative.’ Kevin B.
- GenresHistory
151 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2024
266 people are currently reading
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About the author
A.J.P. Taylor
115 books194 followersAlan John Percivale Taylor was an English historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 21, 2025
My latest choice in taking advantage of the Kindle Unlimited feature, for which I have a temporary trial.
This book consists of the text of a number of talks that AJP Taylor made for the BBC in 1977. I remember watching the ones about WW1 and WW2. Taylor stood in front of a camera and gave a lecture, with a plain black background behind him. There were no visual aids and no other contributors. It’s hard to imagine a history documentary like this being made for today’s TV.
The book has only about 130 pages of text. Taylor has a lively style of delivery and the book is very easy to read. That said, he makes lots of assertions about why things happened, and I imagine pretty much everyone will disagree with at least some of his arguments. Fwiw I disagreed with lots of them. It was still an interesting read. Getting your own views challenged at least forces you into thinking about why you don’t accept an alternative interpretation. When you are reading this book, it’s as well to imagine the author delivering the text as lectures, as indeed they were originally.
The book looks at a variety of European conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, “Bismarck’s three wars”, the two world wars and, perhaps oddly, the Cold War. One of the above is not like the others.
Taylor argues that most wars come about through misjudgements, and more often from apprehension about what a rival intends, rather than a lust for conquest. Wars start even though no-one actually wants war. He thinks that the First World War falls squarely into that category. He sets out in here his famous “war by timetable” theory about the start of WW1, that the railway timetables drawn up for the mobilisation of the German Army, once set in motion, made war inevitable (because German mobilisation was specifically designed to allow the country to avoid a war on two fronts). Personally I find this one of his more persuasive arguments.
There are exceptions to the above of course. For example, Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 was a clear case of a planned, premeditated attempt at conquest. Generally he is more sympathetic to Russia/the USSR than many western historians. He argues that the western European powers invaded Russia 5 times between 1812 and 1941, but that this never happened in reverse. The only times Russian or Soviet troops appeared in western Europe, in 1813-14 and 1944-45, it was to roll back the armies of their would-be conquerors.
Aside from considering “how wars begin”, Taylor also discusses how they end, with the peace conferences and treaties that follow, and what the long-term effects were.
A provocative book, in some ways, but also an entertaining one for history readers.
This book consists of the text of a number of talks that AJP Taylor made for the BBC in 1977. I remember watching the ones about WW1 and WW2. Taylor stood in front of a camera and gave a lecture, with a plain black background behind him. There were no visual aids and no other contributors. It’s hard to imagine a history documentary like this being made for today’s TV.
The book has only about 130 pages of text. Taylor has a lively style of delivery and the book is very easy to read. That said, he makes lots of assertions about why things happened, and I imagine pretty much everyone will disagree with at least some of his arguments. Fwiw I disagreed with lots of them. It was still an interesting read. Getting your own views challenged at least forces you into thinking about why you don’t accept an alternative interpretation. When you are reading this book, it’s as well to imagine the author delivering the text as lectures, as indeed they were originally.
The book looks at a variety of European conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, “Bismarck’s three wars”, the two world wars and, perhaps oddly, the Cold War. One of the above is not like the others.
Taylor argues that most wars come about through misjudgements, and more often from apprehension about what a rival intends, rather than a lust for conquest. Wars start even though no-one actually wants war. He thinks that the First World War falls squarely into that category. He sets out in here his famous “war by timetable” theory about the start of WW1, that the railway timetables drawn up for the mobilisation of the German Army, once set in motion, made war inevitable (because German mobilisation was specifically designed to allow the country to avoid a war on two fronts). Personally I find this one of his more persuasive arguments.
There are exceptions to the above of course. For example, Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 was a clear case of a planned, premeditated attempt at conquest. Generally he is more sympathetic to Russia/the USSR than many western historians. He argues that the western European powers invaded Russia 5 times between 1812 and 1941, but that this never happened in reverse. The only times Russian or Soviet troops appeared in western Europe, in 1813-14 and 1944-45, it was to roll back the armies of their would-be conquerors.
Aside from considering “how wars begin”, Taylor also discusses how they end, with the peace conferences and treaties that follow, and what the long-term effects were.
A provocative book, in some ways, but also an entertaining one for history readers.
February 15, 2025
I don't think this is a book I would recommend for the simple reason that I don't trust the author. In numerous places as I read the book something seemed off. I couldn't argue the facts, but sometimes a conclusion was stated that felt wrong.
However, when I read this paragraph his worldview became clear and from that point on I found myself with little confidence in the author:
"...I sometimes think that what people in the West dislike about the Soviet Russia, or what many people dislike about Soviet Russia, is not the bad things in Soviet Russia but the good ones. It is not so much that people dislike the labour camps, the suppression of freedom of thought, the constant thought control, the secret police. What many people really dislike is that Russia has no capitalists and no private landlords. Marxism – which is, after all, a perfectly legitimate and coherent system of economic thought – is now used as a term of abuse and it is supposed that anyone who is a Marxist can hardly be British at all, even though Marxism was after all invented in the British Museum. No system of thought is more fully integrally British than Marxism, but this is not how people think of it nowadays."
Obviously, we have to read any book with discretion. However, with Taylor there is a worldview I believe to be fundamentally flawed. He was not a communist and was critical of elements of Russia. However, he was left-leaning and faced a lot of controversy during his life time due to some of his views.
It was a good book in some ways, but personally I think other historians and books do a better job.
However, when I read this paragraph his worldview became clear and from that point on I found myself with little confidence in the author:
"...I sometimes think that what people in the West dislike about the Soviet Russia, or what many people dislike about Soviet Russia, is not the bad things in Soviet Russia but the good ones. It is not so much that people dislike the labour camps, the suppression of freedom of thought, the constant thought control, the secret police. What many people really dislike is that Russia has no capitalists and no private landlords. Marxism – which is, after all, a perfectly legitimate and coherent system of economic thought – is now used as a term of abuse and it is supposed that anyone who is a Marxist can hardly be British at all, even though Marxism was after all invented in the British Museum. No system of thought is more fully integrally British than Marxism, but this is not how people think of it nowadays."
Obviously, we have to read any book with discretion. However, with Taylor there is a worldview I believe to be fundamentally flawed. He was not a communist and was critical of elements of Russia. However, he was left-leaning and faced a lot of controversy during his life time due to some of his views.
It was a good book in some ways, but personally I think other historians and books do a better job.
July 20, 2024
I doubt many of his assertions
A famous historian presents many contrarian views on the wars of the last centuries - but there is no documentation for any of them. Reliance on these assertions can lead to a lot of errors, I think. Contains some fascinating anecdotes, but at least a couple are of dubious origin.
A famous historian presents many contrarian views on the wars of the last centuries - but there is no documentation for any of them. Reliance on these assertions can lead to a lot of errors, I think. Contains some fascinating anecdotes, but at least a couple are of dubious origin.
August 26, 2024
An author that I have enjoyed before. Since the book was written before the fall of the Soviet Union, it is interesting to see what he gets right and what he does not. The most interesting thing that I picked up was that the British were not obligated by treaty to go to war when the Germans invaded Belgium at the beginning of WW I . A quick read.
June 8, 2025
As expected from Taylor, a well written and well argued book about modern warfare. He demonstrates the complexities of a beginning and end, noting plurality, complexity, ambiguity and confusion. While this is descriptive history, what is important is the foundational theorization here of post-cold war terrorism.
January 6, 2025
W
Only 150 pages long but what an excellent erudite book on how was start and finish. The authors assertion that World War truly started because of railway timetables is so out of the realms of Dr Strangelove but scarily true.
Only 150 pages long but what an excellent erudite book on how was start and finish. The authors assertion that World War truly started because of railway timetables is so out of the realms of Dr Strangelove but scarily true.
July 15, 2024
The modern great wars and their endings displayed as human muddle.
March 14, 2025
An excellent revue in simplistic term
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews