Every so often a book comes along that simply must be read. 1913 is such a work. Luminous and majestic, rich in detail and stunning in its depth of research, 1913 is a sweeping and haunting portrait of the world on the edge of the precipice Read this book, but be prepared to stifle at the end of every page an urge to scream out a warning to those long since dead that they must take another road -- Wade Davis Charles Emmerson explores an endlessly interesting question: How did the great glossy world of the European Empires come to grief in 1914? This is a most elegantly written book and should stand comparison with the much older classic, Barbara Tuchmans The Proud Tower -- PROFESSOR NORMAN STONE, author of World War One: A Short History A masterful, comprehensive portrait of the world at that last moment in its history -- David Crane * Spectator * If Downton Abbey still colours your impression of what Britain was like on the cusp of the First World War, 1913 could be a useful corrective -- David Robinson * Scotsman * One of the great merits of Charles Emmersons global panorama is to show events in the months leading up to the summer of 1914 as something other than a precursor to mass slaughter -- Mark Damazer * New Statesman * Majestic and cliché-defying -- Sheena McDonald * Herald * Presents the true nature of the time, poised in hope * Discover Britain * Marvellous -- John Lichfield * Independent on Sunday * For anybody wanting to understand this time period, including individuals with a keen interest in the events of the Great War, this is a must read book which helps portray a rather different picture to what many might suspect * The History Blog * Emmerson has done his homework. His book girdles the earth in an impressive fashion and conjures up a world we have lost -- Piers Brendon * Independent *
