A Warrior Dynasty

The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower 1611-1721

By: Henrik O. Lunde

Narrated by: Mark Ashby

This audiobook examines the meteoric rise of Sweden as the pre-eminent military power in Europe during the Thirty Years War during the 1600s, and then follows its line of warrior kings into the next century until the Swedes finally meet their demise, in an overreach into the vastness of Russia. A small Scandinavian nation, with at most one and a half million people and scant internal resources of its own, there was small logic to how Sweden could become the dominant power on the Continent. That Sweden achieved this was due to its leadership - a case-study in history when pure military skill, and that alone, could override the demographic and economic factors which have in modern times been termed so pre-eminent. Once Protestantism emerged, via Martin Luther, the most devastating war in European history ensued, as the Holy Roman Empire sought to reassert its authority by force. Into this bloody maelstrom stepped Gustav Adolf of Sweden, a brilliant tactician and strategist, who with his finely honed Swedish legions proceeded to establish a new authority in northern Europe. Gustav, as brave as he was brilliant, was finally killed while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Ltzen. He had innovated, however, tactics and weaponry that put his successors in good stead, as Sweden remained a great power, rivaled only by France and Spain in terms of territory in Europe. And then one of his successors, Karl XII, turned out to be just as great a military genius as Gustav himself, and as the year 1700 arrived, Swedish armies once more burst out in all directions. Karl, like Gustav, assumed the throne while still a teenager, but immediately displayed so much acumen, daring and skill that chroniclers could only compare him, like Gustav, to Alexander the Great. This book examines thoroughly, yet in highly readable fashion, the century during which Swedish military power set an example for all Europe.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Henrik O. Lunde (P)2014 Audible Inc.

easy to follow. informative.

easy to follow. informative.
easy to follow. This is my first audiobook/book abt Sweeden history.

Purely military history

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this is a purely military history of Sweden in the 30 Years War. There is very little on the context for the war, what else was going on at the same time, etc. It is very dry; you can practically see the bullet points. And an audiobook is not the best way to follow all the marches, battles,etc— I might have done better with maps in front of me. I finally gave up with about 4 hours to go.

Sweden the superpower

This is a well written and researched book. It was easy to follow along with the author's arguments.

A surprising mirror image of modern Sweden

What made the experience of listening to A Warrior Dynasty the most enjoyable?

The fact that I am Swedish but I felt detached from Swedish military history in particular. This was a nice partial filler of that void.

What did you like best about this story?

All the conflicts and the actual success and reverance of Swedish Kings and Generals.

Which character – as performed by Mark Ashby – was your favorite?

Noone in particular.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When I realized the impact of the Carnage in Stockholm and the extent of the Danish-Swedish conflict.

Pretty dry military history

If you want the numbers, dates and a narrative for all the engagements in the wars Sweden waged for 100 years, starting with the 30 years war in 1630, this delivers. It does not give much sense of the reasons behind the war, or any of the personalities involved. In keeping with that, it is read like a very long list, very flat. Not what I wanted or expected, but I did listen to it all. Not completely sure why, but it had some strange attraction as background noise. I did learn more a lot about the battles and tactics.