[5VA]⇒ Libro George Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter Books

George Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter Books

Download As PDF : George Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter Books

George Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter Books

I don't profess to be a book reviewer so keep expectations low. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a student of the two World Wars and this book gave some great insights into the events that became the First World War. It was more than simply the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. There was a good amount of intrigue, misunderstandings, jealousy, and arrogance. Three cousins. Two who looked uncannily alike. And yet they were unable -- or unwilling -- to avoid a war. The book delves into their lifestyles, their routines, their loves, their losses using writings from the people who were privy to their lives. It paints an interesting and telling picture of how the monarchs of Europe lived their lives and gives good reason as to why their monarchies crumbles. Their fascination with ceremony, uniforms, wealth, and power coupled with their complete insensitivity to the people in their realms led to their downfall as much as anything else happening around them. Rather than make an effort to understand the political and humanitarian movements of the day they chose to insulate themselves in their many homes allowing the leaders of the various causes freedom to organize. There is insight into why King George V refused asylum to Tsar Nicholas II and his family leading to their massacre. With the fall of the Romanovs a domino effect started that led to the end of long existing dynasties. It is all written in a very readable style. A page turner. Recommend to those interested in the causes of WWI and those interested in the fall of the monarchy in Europe.


Tags : Amazon.com: George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I (9781400043637): Miranda Carter: Books,Miranda Carter,George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I,Knopf,1400043638,BIO014000,Edward,Europe - Politics and government - 1871-1918,Germany - History - William II, 1888-1918,Germany;History;William II, 1888-1918.,Great Britain - History - Edward VII, 1901-1910,Great Britain;History;George V, 1910-1936.,Nicholas,Russia - History - Nicholas II, 1894-1917,William,World War, 1914-1918 - Causes,World War, 1914-1918;Causes.,1859-1941,1865-1936,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Royalty,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Biography: royalty,Causes,EUROPE - HISTORY,Edward,Europe - General,Europe - Politics and government - 1871-1918,GENERAL,General Adult,George,German Emperor,,Germany - History - William II, 1888-1918,Germany;History;William II, 1888-1918.,Great Britain - History - Edward VII, 1901-1910,Great Britain;History;George V, 1910-1936.,HISTORY Europe Western,HISTORY Military World War I,HistoryEurope - General,HistoryMilitary - World War I,II,,King of Great Britain,,MONARCHY AND ARISTOCRACY,Military - World War I,Nicholas,Non-Fiction,Royalty,Russia - History - Nicholas II, 1894-1917,United States,V,,WORLD WAR I,Western Europe,William,World War, 1914-1918,World War, 1914-1918 - Causes,World War, 1914-1918;Causes.,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Royalty,Europe - General,HISTORY Europe Western,HISTORY Military World War I,HistoryEurope - General,HistoryMilitary - World War I,Military - World War I,Royalty,Biography Autobiography,1859-1941,1865-1936,Causes,George,German Emperor,,II,,King of Great Britain,,V,,World War, 1914-1918,Europe - History,Monarchy And Aristocracy,Biography & Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Biography: royalty

George Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter Books Reviews

I rather expected this heavy tome to be heavy going. I was pleasantly surprised to find it moved at a brisk pace, was skillfully written, and told a ripping good tale. The period covered - the events of the last decades of the 19th century and leading up to the first World War - has not been the focus of much literary attention in recent years. Miranda Carter, using a plethora of primary and secondary sources, brings this period to vivid life. The three royal personages of the title, George V, Tsar Nicholas, and Kaiser Wilhelm, prove remarkably interesting considering they were either ordinary or worse than ordinary. They ruled during the last years of European royalty, and only the English king managed to survive the Great War. I look forward to finding some of the historical sources listed in the comprehensive bibliography for further reading. This book is an excellent starting point on the origins of World War I and the characters of its royal protagonists.
.
I have been wishing for some time to read a book that would help me understand how Queen Victoria's "one big happy family" ended up the leaders of a ghastly, world-convulsing mess that left 8 1/2 million soldiers and a least a million civilians dead.

This is the book.

Carter has provided a carefully braided history of three remarkably similar cousins. King George, Tsar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm lived in a transitional period of world history. Each led a country out of the Victorian age and into a modern world that none of them was equipped to handle. Each, in his own way, was fond of the others, yet they were also highly-influenced by the press, the adulation of the crowds on feast days, and the politicians that surrounded them.

The cousins were Victorian men of average intelligence. They were neither villains nor saints. They lived sheltered lives and did not, and could not, fully comprehend the cataclysmic social changes taking place in an evolving industrial world. National and economic stresses, manipulative political leaders, and an inbred disability to distinguish truly important issues from trivia, seemed to impact each cousin in much the same way.

George, Nicholas and Wilhelm presumed they were the spokesmen for their individual countries. Because their advisors and staff often deliberately left them out of the political loop, the cousins' naive judgment calls and unanticipated royal pronouncements sometimes caused both hurt feelings and international crisis.

The horrors of war took all three by surprise. They dutifully supported their troops during World War One, pinning medals on soldiers while obliviously living well. George as the figurehead of a Constitutional Monarchy made it through the war all right. The monarchies of Nicholas and Wilhelm, both whom actually had some political power, were destroyed.

About 2/3 of the way through the book I began to get bored with these all too-human cousins and their very real family feelings--of love, quibbling, and one-upmanship. Whenever I got restless I would leave the book and come back to it later. The ending and the epilogue were the story we are all familiar with--Nicky and his family are brutally murdered, Wilhelm is exiled to Holland, George is a minor player.

"George, Nicholas and Wilhelm" is definitely worth reading. The book is well-written, has excellent footnotes, abundant period photographs, and a good bibliography.

Kim Burdick
Stanton, Delaware
It's only as I'm older that I've come to political history/biography. Not an expert, just a fan. I've been watching Victoria on PBS while reading this, which is kind of fun since she is in some ways a focal point of this book's beginning, but because of her longevity she appears regularly through most of it. The three men of the title are her grandsons in some fashion (the pedigree charts provided in the preface are VERY much appreciated). All 3 spent time with her on vacation (if royalty is ever NOT on vacation) and at family events. All wrote loving notes back and forth and it's fascinating to read the excerpts that crop up in the book. That they ended up sending their citizens to fight and die across completely avoidable battle lines (with scary resemblance to current events) is a more potent tragedy because it really comes off as a family affair as well as a political one. The threads all pull together right at the end, and all I wanted to do was immediately read it over.
I don't profess to be a book reviewer so keep expectations low. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a student of the two World Wars and this book gave some great insights into the events that became the First World War. It was more than simply the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. There was a good amount of intrigue, misunderstandings, jealousy, and arrogance. Three cousins. Two who looked uncannily alike. And yet they were unable -- or unwilling -- to avoid a war. The book delves into their lifestyles, their routines, their loves, their losses using writings from the people who were privy to their lives. It paints an interesting and telling picture of how the monarchs of Europe lived their lives and gives good reason as to why their monarchies crumbles. Their fascination with ceremony, uniforms, wealth, and power coupled with their complete insensitivity to the people in their realms led to their downfall as much as anything else happening around them. Rather than make an effort to understand the political and humanitarian movements of the day they chose to insulate themselves in their many homes allowing the leaders of the various causes freedom to organize. There is insight into why King George V refused asylum to Tsar Nicholas II and his family leading to their massacre. With the fall of the Romanovs a domino effect started that led to the end of long existing dynasties. It is all written in a very readable style. A page turner. Recommend to those interested in the causes of WWI and those interested in the fall of the monarchy in Europe.