The Sleepwalkers

How Europe Went to War in 1914

By: Christopher Clark

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

“A monumental new volume. . . . Revelatory, even revolutionary. . . . Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable.” — The Boston Globe

One of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History)

Historian Christopher Clark’s riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I.

Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself, but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.

Clark traces the paths to war in a minute-by-minute, action-packed narrative that cuts between the key decision centers in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, and Belgrade, and examines the decades of history that informed the events of 1914 and details the mutual misunderstandings and unintended signals that drove the crisis forward in a few short weeks.

Meticulously researched and masterfully written, The Sleepwalkers is a dramatic and authoritative chronicle of Europe’s descent into a war that tore the world apart.

Very good. At times dense and dry.

This is a a very good book looking at the factors leading to WWI. The chapter on the murder of Franz Ferdinand was tremendous. In other areas, the book dragged. I strongly recommend reviewing a hard copy of the book to look at maps and sometimes even to review text itself. That helped immensely.

Phenomenal read!

This was the most eye opening and revealing book covering the events and political maneuvering of all the involved players at the start of WWI.
The narrator did a fantastic job as well.
Definitely recommend reading!

perfect title!

Well written and narrated. So much intrigue and imperial pettiness, jockeying. It's no small wonder something like Sarajevo lit the match.

not ww1

I thought it was half lead up to and half war. Good book and narration although a tease.

History - how interlinked yet random all is

History of the making of the WWI. All acted, all desired but nobody acted and nobody desired the mayhem that followed.