Reviews
The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West by Niall Ferguson
pemuth59's review against another edition
2.0
This is a book about killing. That's about it. Mostly it's about the mass extermination of humans. And the economics of killing lots and lots and lots of people. If you're interested in why people hate and kill millions of people, this might be a book for you. But there isn't even much "why" in the book. There are a lot of numbers. Pages and pages of numbers...of people...killed by the tens of thousands. There's not much else in its 646 pages.
Niall Ferguson is a well-respected historian. He looks great on TV and does some excellent documentaries. He seems like a pleasant, even brilliant man. But history, even the history of war, is not only about killing. It's about people and how they think and why they decide things. It's mostly about telling stories -- presenting dramatic narrative of events involving humans in difficult and challenging times. This book has none of those elements. You don't know anything about the people being killed. You don't learn anything about the handful of monsters doing the killing. You're just numb..and fairly bored.
Niall Ferguson is a well-respected historian. He looks great on TV and does some excellent documentaries. He seems like a pleasant, even brilliant man. But history, even the history of war, is not only about killing. It's about people and how they think and why they decide things. It's mostly about telling stories -- presenting dramatic narrative of events involving humans in difficult and challenging times. This book has none of those elements. You don't know anything about the people being killed. You don't learn anything about the handful of monsters doing the killing. You're just numb..and fairly bored.
nerdofdoom's review against another edition
4.0
Half way but too busy to go on, gonna have to catch up later. Way good though.
takfur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
brakian's review against another edition
2.0
The only good thing about the book is the style: Ferguson does have a way with words. Other than that, waste of time - Germans and Japanese are bad bad bad evil baaaad, Americans and English are okay-ish, Jews are victims because entire galaxy is antisemitic. Third time I tried a book by NF, and it was not charm.
reggiewoods's review against another edition
5.0
"The War of the World" by Niall Ferguson. This is the most comprehensive history of war in the 20th century I have ever read. Ferguson delves into the motivating factors behind the worst atrocities in human history. This book is an incredibly dense read that brings a lot of new light to events we only thought we understood. The history buff and anyone curious to further understand our current geopolitical system will love this book. If you want to learn about war in the 20th century this will tell you all you need to know. Undoubt, you'll take something from it. #niallferguson #bookreview #simplebookreview
librarianonparade's review against another edition
4.0
This book looks at why the 20th century was the most violent in man's history, arguing that the various conflicts that took place between 1914 and 1953, from the start of WW1 to the end of the Korean War, were all part of one larger war, born out of an age of globalisation and the result of economic crisis and ethnic conflict. And, Ferguson argues, it's happening again, despite all our lofty talk of 'never again' and our theories that advanced weaponry now means total war is an impossibility. It's a very very good book, albeit sobering and disturbing.
skitch41's review against another edition
5.0
I have now read four of Mr. Ferguson's works, the others being Empire, Colossus, and The Ascent of Money, and this one is by far his best work (although, Empire was great too). No other book on WWII has done what this one has done: explained WHY WWII happened and WHY it was so violent. All other books explain HOW WWII transpired, but this one cuts right to the meat of the matter. The results and conclusions are devastating to anyone with a firm belief in humanity's central goodness. Mr. Ferguson shows how every nation involved in the war was also involved in some sort of crime that goes against the idealistic rules of war. Not even America is spared from being tagged with war crimes, as the carpet and fire bombings of civilian culminating in the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki show. This book gives further proof that war, even a necessary war like WWII, is still a blight upon mankind. Any person opposed to war purely on moral and idealistic grounds would do well to read this book and use its analysis and conclusions as a part of their argument. In short, this is a necessary book to be read by anyone interested not just in WWII, but in 20th century history and conflict and in discovering the true depths of human depravity, which are, to judge from Mr. Ferguson's work, staggering. Not only that, but certain parallels to today's world should make everyone concerned about the potentials of a "Second War of the World."
stargazerb09f7's review
5.0
Excellent history of the first half of the 20th century and the reasons why it was so incredibly brutal. Ferguson goes into the economic, racial, political and societal reasons for WWII. Excellent read.
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