The Modern Scholar

World War l: The Great War and the World It Made

By: Professor John Ramsden

Narrated by: John Ramsden

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

"The Great War", as it was known at the time, was also said to be the "war to end all wars". It seized all of Europe and much of the rest of the world in its grip of death and destruction.

The first truly modern war, it changed how war and peace would be conducted throughout the remainder of the 20th century and even to the present. The Great War was a time of "firsts" and opened the door to the modern era. Almost all the major developed countries had a role to play in this war, as they never had before. This was the first time for fighting on land, at sea, and in the air. Modern weapons and munitions were developed in previously unimaginable quantities.

By the end of the war, international politics, the relationships between the individual and the state, gender relations, and the role of artists and the media were all drastically changed.

World War I laid the foundation for the modern world. This course examines the major events of the war to further understand how they led to the shaping of this new world.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2004 John Ramsden (P)2004 Recorded Books

Great Overview of WWI for the 2014 Centennial

This is an eight-hour lecture series on World War I, a topic so huge that the time limit constrains Professor Ramsden to useful summary and clear ideas that may surprise and delight even veteran WWI readers, as it did me. The Modern Scholar series is a very good university-quality lecture series with riveting lecturers, in my experience, and this is a fine example of the line.
Prof. Ramsden hits all the stories we need to know because they represent WWI in our culture. So it's a good starting place or a good review. But importantly, he states clearly and simply summaries of situations and ideas behind battle plans, something that almost no source does because the detail of WWI, the millions dead, the endless trenches, the hopelessness of the carnage for years, overwhelms us all. For instance, Prof. Ramsden says the point of Gallipoli was first to sail the great British fleet right into the Dardanelles past Constantinople, thus overawing the Turks, keeping them out of the war, and securing passage of the Straits to resupply Russia. But that didn't work, because the Turks sank a lot of the ships at the entrance to the Straits. So the planners said, no problem, we'll just land soldiers on the Gallipoli peninsula and they can run over to the forts guarding the Straits, silence the guns, and then the ships can sail majestically through. As we know, what happened instead was total catastrophe on land, also. It is very helpful to stay out of the details of a given disaster long enough to understand what people were trying to do, what was going on overall, and that is a strong point by Professor Ramsden.
He does the same with the end of the war, reminding us that there has been a controversy from 1918 till now about whether the western powers should have fully defeated Germany, including invasion, to persuade Germany it was defeated and thus perhaps avoid World War II. He agrees that Germany never believing it had been defeated (and "machinations" stealing their victory) was a cause of WWII. But he crisply concludes that it simply could not have been done, for a number of reasons that could not possibly have been gotten past -- that they stopped the war as best they could at the time and nothing better was possible. I found that deeply satisfying, because I agree with it. Should have been done better, couldn't be, so much for that.

An enlightening summary of this tragic event

Military history is not normally my thing, but I liked John Ramsden's overview of the Great War. His succinct account of the fighting on the Western Front explained how both sides got bogged down, and why the Allies eventually broke through. He also explained how disparate events, such as the submarine war, other theatres and the Russian Revolution, affected the outcome of the main conflict between France and Germany. He also covers other topics, like the home front and the war poets. John Ramsden is a skilled speaker, who doesn't shout or leave long pauses in his speach, as some others do. He's prompted me to read up more on the subject.

Very suprising and enjoyable

Would you consider the audio edition of The Modern Scholar to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book, and would not have purchased it but for listening I thought I would try it, being a history buff.

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

No real comparison. It's unique in itself.

What does the narrator bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It wasn't just a book being read, it was similar to a series of lectures where the instructor was passionate about his subject

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

not applicable

Any additional comments?

I was pleasantly surprised by this this book, expecting dry lectures, the material was interesting and well laid out,

Excellent & Interesting Course

Reading and studying history has always been on of my hobbies and I would say that the Frist World War is one of my favorite subjects of study. I usually read and listen to any books or courses on the subject that I can find and generally while I learn one or two new items of interest from each book or course, I generally have never found anything that gave me a new persepctive. This course changed that. I found it to be excellent. Although he made a couple of minor factual errors in a few of his lectures, I found both Professor Ramsden's course to be very well organized and presented as the course focused not just on the war and its causes (which is the traditional material) but also its legacy to this day. Most interesting to me were the lectures on the war's impact on art and literature (first time I ever took a course that focused on this area) and the impact of the war on the post Second World War world (all the way down to 1987). I would strongly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in the subject matter as well as to anyone who has never read or studied the First World War and has had an interest to learn something about it. This course is a great addition to the Audible library

World War I - Revisited

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

WW I defined our current world politically, economically, socially and geographically - few aspects of our 21st century lives are not affected by this war. Definitely a read for any historian.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Though no specific character was identified, I would select the average British soldier as someone I sympathized with.

What about the narrator’s performance did you like?

The narrator made me feel as if I was at dinner with him and he was relating his personal experiences - which made the listen quire enjoyable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions

Any additional comments?

WW I changed our world and gives us insights into some of the same problems we face almost 100 years later.

Excellent

Excellent discussion of the war. I listened to an audiocourse by another provider immediately before this lecture, and still managed to learn quite a bit from this course. Prof Ramsden presents the material in a very logical order, and is an excellent lecture. Highly recommended.

Back to School, in the very best way!

I love "The Modern Scholar" series, and this is one of the best I've experienced so far. The lectures are riveting - wish I'd had this guy as a Prof! Even though I have read a number of good histories of WWI, I found this full of new and interesting information. I highly recommend this!

Fantastic.

This was an amazing series of lectures. Manages to perfectly balance going into the small details and giving a broad view of the entire war. My understanding of WWI has completely changed. Entertaining and interesting the entire way through. I highly recommend this.

Gives the grey cells a gentle stretch

While delivering these lectures Prof Ramsden shared the information in an engaging and easy to follow manner. ( I am still listening to The Guns of August, as recommended.) I had previously downloaded' ' Six Months That Changed The World' and found those lectures so Interesting I had followed up with 'World War1'
I do buy a poppy to wear on the 11th November. The Red Poppy of Flanders Fields on Armistice Day is one export/import I am pleased was spread to Australia from the US. I did not know that till I heard these lectures. Nor did I know that it was the cessation of copyright, that allowed the movie
"Oh What a Lovely War" to be made.
And I have to think about the Spanish Civil War having it's roots in WW1.
No doubt I will listen to these lectures a few times, and follow up with more reading.
At least now I understand a little better why an assassination in Croatia paved the way to The Great War...and that paved the way to...

Excellent

Any additional comments?

Very interesting facts and a thorough job of explaining WW1. I learned a ton. This along with the Modern Scholar "The Modern Scholar: Six Months That Changed the World" explain a lot about the state of our world today.