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The Emperors: How Europe's Greatest Rulers Were Destroyed by World War I
On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated on a visit to Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist called Gavrilo Princip. The assassination set in motion the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history and a trauma that would bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ending nearly eight centuries of Hapsburg rule and unleashing unrest across the European continent. By the end of that conflict, not only had the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled but the other two imperial rulers of Europe, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, had lost their grip on power. The three great monarchies of Europe had fallen. Over in Britain, the first cousin of both the Kaiser and the Tsar, George V, successfully retained the crown.In this new book, Gareth Russell tells the story of the Austrian, German and Russian imperial families during the four years of the First World War and the political and personal struggles that brought about their ruin.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 19, 2014
9 people are currently reading
529 people want to read
About the author
Gareth Russell
16 books367 followersGareth Russell is an historian and broadcaster. He is the author of "The Six Loves of James I," (a BBC History Book of the Year, a Waterstones Best Book 2025; published as "Queen James" in the UK, Ireland and Australia), "The Palace" (Amazon Editor's Pick for Best New History, A Waterstones Best Book of 2023, BBC History Book of the Year, Town and Country Must-Read, an Aspects of History Best Book of 2023), "Do Let's Have Another Drink" (A Times Book of the Year, 2022), "The Ship of Dreams" (A Daily Telegraph Best History Book, 2019), and "Young and Damned and Fair."
He is the host of the podcast Single Malt History and divides his time between Belfast and London.
He is the host of the podcast Single Malt History and divides his time between Belfast and London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 16, 2025
I cannot understand how such a dreadful book was ever published - clearly as a tie in for the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War must have been the over-riding justification in marketing terms because there is nothing in terms of research or thought that justifies the waste of trees that have been used to produce this silly, mediocre book. A better subtitle would have been how Europe was destroyed by a collection if inbred mental midgets.
The main problem with this book is that it could have been written any time in the previous fifty years in terms of the insights and understanding it displays - the bibliography is almost entirely of English language works and there is very little sign that any significant use has been made of the incredible research opportunities made available by the fall of the Soviet Union. The author seems to think that the monarchies of Germany, Russia and Austria were somehow a loss to mankind - honestly a group of such idiots would be hard to gather in one place. The lack of understanding of either Wilhelm of Germany, Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary or Nicholas of Russia of how their own armies worked in reality - armaments, railways, logistics, etc. - rather then in fripperies like gold braid, buttons and stripes on trousers is staggering (George of the UK was equally dense but it didn't matter because he was of no importance in any sphere of government). The close family connections between so many of them was more a hindrance then a help and the Kaiser's ignorance of how the UK's government worked was so vast that he thought a few sympathetic words of King George to Wilhelm's brother when he left London in 1914 could be taken as a sign of government policy. They were all idiots who were responsible for the bloodshed of millions because.
The main failure of this book is its lack of new thoughts or reason for existing. Do not waste time reading and even more important don't waste money on it.
The main problem with this book is that it could have been written any time in the previous fifty years in terms of the insights and understanding it displays - the bibliography is almost entirely of English language works and there is very little sign that any significant use has been made of the incredible research opportunities made available by the fall of the Soviet Union. The author seems to think that the monarchies of Germany, Russia and Austria were somehow a loss to mankind - honestly a group of such idiots would be hard to gather in one place. The lack of understanding of either Wilhelm of Germany, Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary or Nicholas of Russia of how their own armies worked in reality - armaments, railways, logistics, etc. - rather then in fripperies like gold braid, buttons and stripes on trousers is staggering (George of the UK was equally dense but it didn't matter because he was of no importance in any sphere of government). The close family connections between so many of them was more a hindrance then a help and the Kaiser's ignorance of how the UK's government worked was so vast that he thought a few sympathetic words of King George to Wilhelm's brother when he left London in 1914 could be taken as a sign of government policy. They were all idiots who were responsible for the bloodshed of millions because.
The main failure of this book is its lack of new thoughts or reason for existing. Do not waste time reading and even more important don't waste money on it.
September 16, 2019
This was entertaining and light.
Unfortunately it was not historically accurate.
A significantly better book that covers this same period in more depth try: George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Miranda Carter
The authors theory is that monarchy is a benefit, yikes, and that abdication by Emperors Karl of Austria, Wilhelm II of Germany & Nicholas II were ultimately unnecessary.
I don't really care that he feels that way but he bends history to support this view and that I care about.
People in Russia were absolutely starving and what's more the soldiers didn't have bullets, shoes or food.
The revolution was absolutely necessary and NOTHING of value was lost by these abdications🤷🏽♀️
I also don't care about the death of the Romanov's. Monarchy murders folks all the time and so sometimes some of them get murdered back, lol!
Post the French Revolution all monarchs had been warned.
Unfortunately it was not historically accurate.
A significantly better book that covers this same period in more depth try: George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Miranda Carter
The authors theory is that monarchy is a benefit, yikes, and that abdication by Emperors Karl of Austria, Wilhelm II of Germany & Nicholas II were ultimately unnecessary.
I don't really care that he feels that way but he bends history to support this view and that I care about.
People in Russia were absolutely starving and what's more the soldiers didn't have bullets, shoes or food.
The revolution was absolutely necessary and NOTHING of value was lost by these abdications🤷🏽♀️
I also don't care about the death of the Romanov's. Monarchy murders folks all the time and so sometimes some of them get murdered back, lol!
Post the French Revolution all monarchs had been warned.
December 28, 2015
Most of the time when we study the Great War, The War to End All Wars, World War I, we look at series of events, and the the people involved are moved around as pawns. All the war's a stage, and the people merely players. This is the first book I've read that told me more about the rulers of the time as actual people, and I was blown away by how little I'd known them. It was both shocking and heartbreaking to read about the humanity and heroism of some of the so-called despots, as they struggled to bring about better lives for their people. Some tried to end the war early, to prevent the outbreak of war at all. Although the main rulers the author focused on were in the Central Powers, I could not set them as the villains of the set piece, even though that's how contemporary history has taught us to view them.
The author ends with an epilogue that is surprisingly (or perhaps, only surprising in the democracy-is-the-only-way world we now live in) pro-monarchy. The author argues that whatever the sins of the reigning monarchies, certainly Austria, Germany and Russia were done no favors by the governments that arouse after the rulers abdicated. While I don't know that I agree with his conclusions, it's a refreshingly different viewpoint, and I'll support anyone who refers to President Wilson's behavior as "criminally imbecilic."
The author ends with an epilogue that is surprisingly (or perhaps, only surprising in the democracy-is-the-only-way world we now live in) pro-monarchy. The author argues that whatever the sins of the reigning monarchies, certainly Austria, Germany and Russia were done no favors by the governments that arouse after the rulers abdicated. While I don't know that I agree with his conclusions, it's a refreshingly different viewpoint, and I'll support anyone who refers to President Wilson's behavior as "criminally imbecilic."
May 8, 2016
The front cover of British historian Gareth Russell's new book, "The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War" shows four men, rulers of countries involved in the Great War. All but one - Britain's King George V - were turned out of power at the war's end. One - Russia's Tsar Nicholas II - was murdered, along with his family, in the basement of a remote Russian house by revolutionary forces. The other two - Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm and Austria's Emperor Karl (who had succeeded Emperor Franz Joseph in 1916) - escaped with their lives and died in exile. Russell has written an extremely readable - though short - book about these three men and their influences in both their own countries and in the greater world.
The Great War began 100 years ago. It was sparked by the assassination of Franz Joseph's heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, in June, 1914. Europe had not seen large, full-scale warfare since the defeat of Napoleon, almost 100 years previous. Although there had been some short, local wars - France and Germany in 1870, for instance - the idea of a continent-wide warfare was thought a thing of the past. The economies of the countries were relatively booming; even in Russia which had come under some "gentle" reforms for the serf-class. Most of the major countries were in alliances - some had been made 50 years before - and there was a vague awareness that wide-spread warfare, as a result of these alliances, was a possibility. For six weeks, diplomats of France, Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, worked behind the scenes to try to keep the peace. Those attempts failed and war began in August, 1914. Four long, bloody years later, the war ended, with millions dead or injured, and northeastern France and Flanders left in tatters. It also ended the "empires" of Germany, Austria, and Russia.
Gareth Russell does an excellent job of looking behind the scenes at the reigns of Wilhelm, Nicholas, and Franz Joseph and Karl. He uses original sources - listed in the end of the book - and he gives the reader the sense of who these men were and how they ruled. The "personalization" is an important component in figuring out their places in history, and includes examining the influence their wives and families on these men.
Russell's book is just one of the many excellent histories that have been released in the past few years about the Great War. He examines not only the pre-war worlds of these rulers, but the post-war lives, too. If you're a WW1 buff, you'll enjoy this book.
The Great War began 100 years ago. It was sparked by the assassination of Franz Joseph's heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, in June, 1914. Europe had not seen large, full-scale warfare since the defeat of Napoleon, almost 100 years previous. Although there had been some short, local wars - France and Germany in 1870, for instance - the idea of a continent-wide warfare was thought a thing of the past. The economies of the countries were relatively booming; even in Russia which had come under some "gentle" reforms for the serf-class. Most of the major countries were in alliances - some had been made 50 years before - and there was a vague awareness that wide-spread warfare, as a result of these alliances, was a possibility. For six weeks, diplomats of France, Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, worked behind the scenes to try to keep the peace. Those attempts failed and war began in August, 1914. Four long, bloody years later, the war ended, with millions dead or injured, and northeastern France and Flanders left in tatters. It also ended the "empires" of Germany, Austria, and Russia.
Gareth Russell does an excellent job of looking behind the scenes at the reigns of Wilhelm, Nicholas, and Franz Joseph and Karl. He uses original sources - listed in the end of the book - and he gives the reader the sense of who these men were and how they ruled. The "personalization" is an important component in figuring out their places in history, and includes examining the influence their wives and families on these men.
Russell's book is just one of the many excellent histories that have been released in the past few years about the Great War. He examines not only the pre-war worlds of these rulers, but the post-war lives, too. If you're a WW1 buff, you'll enjoy this book.
March 1, 2017
A very good short book that shows how the loss of life and destruction of WW1 commenced due to little more than a matter of pride and ego. It shows the human side of the often inept royal players. Nothing new on the last of the Romanovs, it has been covered in detail from every useful angle by earlier authors.
The coverage of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was well covered and not brushed over as is common.
The laborious details of the war were not heaped on the reader, but mentioned only in expression of the personal effect it had on the various leaders.
The layout and detail of the book is very good, with each page maintaining the reader’s interest. The absence of padding made it necessary to take in every word.
The final line of the book repeats an emotional note written all those years ago by a distraught teenager, today we recognize it as the maxim for the lover of history.
The coverage of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was well covered and not brushed over as is common.
The laborious details of the war were not heaped on the reader, but mentioned only in expression of the personal effect it had on the various leaders.
The layout and detail of the book is very good, with each page maintaining the reader’s interest. The absence of padding made it necessary to take in every word.
The final line of the book repeats an emotional note written all those years ago by a distraught teenager, today we recognize it as the maxim for the lover of history.
January 14, 2025
The Book provides a detailed account from the perspective of the ruling kingdoms, how each side got sucked into the turmoil or was critical to the initiation of the 1st World War which had far reaching repercussions in the later decades as well.
What I really liked about this account was the research done about each Monarchy, the dilemmas which the key players had to go through before willingly or grudgingly becoming part of this chaos as well as the distinction given to each side while writing the book.
All in all a good read for history buffs.
What I really liked about this account was the research done about each Monarchy, the dilemmas which the key players had to go through before willingly or grudgingly becoming part of this chaos as well as the distinction given to each side while writing the book.
All in all a good read for history buffs.
May 20, 2023
E zhgënjyer që s'kishte diçka thelbësore për Perandorinë Osmane! 😢 Nuk di të them në më pëlqeu gjithpka për Wilhelmin! Ka disa gjëra që i prek rreth komunizmit, asgjë e re për mua. Sa për të tjerët, i dont really care!
June 4, 2019
I’ve read many books on this time period but still learned new things, especially more about Wilhelm and Franz Joseph.
May 27, 2023
Excellent
April 14, 2016
The only reason it took me this long to finish this book was because of a major project at work, otherwise I would have finished reading it much faster. What a great read! This is am excellent book for anyone with an interest in the years and events leading up to WWI and the powers that toppled during the War. I highly recommend this to IB students taking 20th Century World Topics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2015
Intricate biography of the three royal dynasties destroyed by the First World War: the Habsburg, the Hohenzollern, and Romanov ... lovingly crafted by an obvious monarchist ... interesting facet of the European conflict ...
August 3, 2016
My knowledge of this brink-of-war period is quite sketchy, so I especially appreciated Russell's clear prose and his thorough yet concise story of the destruction of European monarchies.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews