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Summary: I ADORE THIS BOOK!
Review: I loved this! It's like spending the years before World War I riding around Europe in King Edward VII's pocket! You meet everyone, and you're in on all the events worth knowing about. At first I didn't see why some events were included, but then an event on page 600-odd made sense because of something on page 200 or so, and after that I just leaned back and enjoyed a wonderful ride.
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Summary: A Good Book for anyone Interested in History
Review: Well, this is quite a large book, it terms of pages. 908 actual text, and another 100 or so bibliography/afterwords. However, this fact does not detract from the book or the readers enjoyment. But, once you get into it, the book reveals the world of the early 1900's, the European royal families and varied situations leading up to WWI.Don't get me wrong, it's not an easy read, nor is it a quick one. In fact, I found myself re-reading whole chapters to absorb more information than I had the first time. Truly a fascinating book, and a good addition to any history buffs' library.
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Summary: Almost, not quite
Review: One could be daunted by the size of "Dreadnaught" but having finished it, I must say that overall it is an excellent book that doesn't quite measure up to its intentions or the hype. Massie is superb in his biographical sketches and he gets the general thrust and parry of Great Power politics. Where he comes up short is that the reader is lured into the notion that the Naval Arms race was what really lit the fuse to WWI. The truth is, of course, more complex. He doesn't bring out the inter-relationships among the Russo-Japanese War, the annexation of Bosnia/Herzegovina, and the amoral oneupsmanship of the Great Power leaders and diplomats. He doesn't provide the perspective between the importance of the arms competition on land and that at sea. All that aside, I would recommend this book because it covers a large subject and a large time frame and still tells the story well.
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Summary: Big book, big subject, big success!
Review: Dreadnought is a very big book about a very big subject, the origins of World War I. The consequences of which were, needless to say, complicated and diverse for the road to the great war can never really be exactly determined. For example, a plausible argument may be made that the seeds of WWI were laid when the Roman Empire ended some 1,500 years ago. (The origins of World War II, in contrast, are somewhat less complicated- the Treaty of Versailles being the predominate cause of the greatest war mankind has ever fought.) Author Robert Massie tries, and generally succeeds, in telling us about the events and personalities that precipitated the conflict. The isolationism of Great Britain, the rise of Imperial Germany, the ins and outs of pre-war British politics, etc. The heart of the book is Massie's description of the Dreadnought program- the brainchild of Admiral Jack Fisher -which was an attempt to build a battleship that would revolutionize naval combat and keep England safe from invasion. Instead, the Dreadnought kicked off an arms race between England and Germany that contributed mightily to WWI. Massie is, to say the least, a through historian. Everything is in here that could have played even the slightest role in bringing about the conflict. One senses that there is indeed too much information here. How important really was the political dispute over Imperial Preference, a proposal which would have given tariff preferences to British colonies over other imports, to the causing of the First World War? It is a fascinating tale, perhaps worthy of its own book, but hardly of great consequence here. However, one cannot fault Massies thoroughness or prose, for Dreadnought is a readable book that is probably the definitive work on the cause of the First World War. Outstanding. A book that any student of history can be very enthusiastic about.
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Summary: For Barbara Tuchman Fans... You Will Be Thrilled
Review: What greater praise can I give than that this book lives up to, or surpasses, Ms. Tuchman's best work? Reading this book is a wonderous experience... you'll be sorry to see it end.
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Summary: FROM AUSTRIA-HUNGARY TO THE MODERN EUROPE
Review: This book will fool you. At first glance, it appears the book is to be about dreadnoughts and maybe even some of the battles they fought in. But no, it's about, on one hand, the royalty of Europe and how they didn't get along, and, on the other hand, the British parliamentarians, and how they too didn't get along. The closest the reader gets to getting aboard a ship is when the Kaiser or some other member of a royal family climbs into his royal yacht. Except, every now and then someone would talk about Germany not needing so many dreadnoughts, and Britain complaining about the cost of meeting ship-for-ship such expensive competition. The book is excellent for several reasons: (1) it is very well written, (2) it holds your interest in an almost spellbinding manner , and (3) it provides a very clear understanding of what Europe was like from about 1890 to about 1910. It was nothing like it is now, neither politically nor boundary-wise. To us now, it was almost like life on a different planet. To the reader interested in World War I or II, this is essential reading, almost a prerequisite, since the author creates a very clear picture with personalities and events and especially the way of thinking back then, of an antiquated Europe that had as its future, an inevitable bloody path into the modern world. The World Wars don't make sense unless you understand the root causes that this book narrates.
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Summary: Outstanding book.History of years before WW I
Review: It gives a very good description of the years of the Victorian age and those preceeding WW I.The lives of the principal men and women which played an important role in those years are also very well described.I only noticed small errors concerning the descriptions of two ships:HMS Warrior and HMS Captain.HMS Warrior had not an oak hull covered with armour plates like La Gloire. She was the first iron hulled (frame and shell) ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy.Besides beeing the first iron hulled battleship she represented a quantum jump in warship construction. In the previous 300 years,due to the limitations imposed by the wooden constructio the length of ships had increased only about 100 feet,4 inches/year.HMS Warrior,beeing made of iron could be made much bigger;she was in fact 120 feet longer than any other warship afloat.Also, due to her length and finer lines, she was also a fast sailer and steamer (13 and 14 knots) but lacked in manoeuverability.As aditional protection her hull had in many places an inner backing of 18 inches of teak;she was also the first warship divided in watertight compartments.As to the HMS Captain ,the disaster happened not becaude her sail area was very big but because she had a very low freeboard and poor stability.She was built against the will and the rules of the Admiralty .Another ship built at the same time acording to the Admiralty plans carried as much sail and guns, had much higher freeboard and was about three times more stable , HMS Monarch.The construction material,iron,had nothing to do with the tipe of propulsion .It just happened that iron construction and steam engines appeared at the same time.
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Summary: This is the best history book i have ever read
Review: This is a monument of a book.It will tell you more about the beginning of the 20th century than any other book i know. And it is fun too, with a lot of nice gossip about the royals.
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Summary: A Very Good Read
Review: Although I sometimes had to step back and put all the key players together, I really enjoyed this book. I was sorry to see it end.
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Summary: Excellent work of naval & political history
Review: I had trouble putting the book down. Mr. Massie covers one of the most critical points in world history in an informative, yet easy to understand format. I eagerly await his forthcoming work on the naval history of World War I.
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