Listen free for 30 days
-
The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II
- And the First World War
- Narrated by: Jack Wynters
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Politics & Activism
People who bought this also bought...
-
Queen Mary
- By: James Pope-Hennessy
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 27
When Queen Mary died in 1953, James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write an official biography of her - unusual for a Queen Consort. Queen Mary's life, contrary to popular belief, was essentially dramatic, and she played a far more important and influential role in the affairs of the British monarchy than her public image might have otherwise suggested. Using material from the Royal Archives, private papers and Queen Mary's personal diaries and letters, Pope-Hennessy's biography was a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman and received rave reviews across the press.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Top Notch - Fascinating and Entertaining
- By Debi J on 18-02-21
-
The First World War
- A Complete History
- By: Martin Gilbert
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 33 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 40
It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Awful narrator
- By Pimco PC on 19-05-20
-
The Little Princesses
- The Story of the Queen's Childhood by Her Nanny Crawfie
- By: Marion Crawford
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
In little more than 50 years the regard with which the Royal Family are held has changed out of all recognition. Their private lives are now the stuff of soap opera and it seems any one who comes into contact with them sells their story to the magazines or to the newspapers. The Little Princesses was published in 1950 to a furore we cannot imagine today. Crawfie was demonised by the press, and the Queen Mother, who had been a great friend and who had, Crawfie maintained, given her permission to write the account, never spoke to her again.
-
17 Carnations
- The Windsors, The Nazis and The Cover-Up
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 92
The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History narrated at its most professional.
- By Ginger on 10-04-16
-
Princes at War
- The British Royal Family's Private Battle in the Second World War
- By: Deborah Cadbury
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 195
King George V predicted that his son, Edward VIII, would destroy himself within a year of succeeding to the throne. In December 1936 he was proved right, and the world’s press revealed the king was abandoning his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. A life spent in the shadow of his charismatic elder brother left the new king, George VI, magnificently unprepared for the demands of ruling the kingdom and empire. Drawing on personal accounts from the royal archives, Deborah Cadbury uncovers the very private conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Real people with public lives
- By Kl Love on 12-01-16
-
Bertie: A Life of Edward VII
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 22 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
Entertaining and different, this is an enjoyable study of a flawed yet characterful Prince of Wales seen through the eyes of the women in his life. Edward Vll, who gave his name to the Edwardian Age and died in 1911, was King of England for the final 10 years of his life. He was 59 when at last he came to the throne. Known as Bertie, the eldest son of Victoria and Albert, he was bullied by both his parents.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bertie - the untold story
- By Katherien Watt on 24-12-12
-
Queen Mary
- By: James Pope-Hennessy
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 27
When Queen Mary died in 1953, James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write an official biography of her - unusual for a Queen Consort. Queen Mary's life, contrary to popular belief, was essentially dramatic, and she played a far more important and influential role in the affairs of the British monarchy than her public image might have otherwise suggested. Using material from the Royal Archives, private papers and Queen Mary's personal diaries and letters, Pope-Hennessy's biography was a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman and received rave reviews across the press.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Top Notch - Fascinating and Entertaining
- By Debi J on 18-02-21
-
The First World War
- A Complete History
- By: Martin Gilbert
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 33 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 40
It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Awful narrator
- By Pimco PC on 19-05-20
-
The Little Princesses
- The Story of the Queen's Childhood by Her Nanny Crawfie
- By: Marion Crawford
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
In little more than 50 years the regard with which the Royal Family are held has changed out of all recognition. Their private lives are now the stuff of soap opera and it seems any one who comes into contact with them sells their story to the magazines or to the newspapers. The Little Princesses was published in 1950 to a furore we cannot imagine today. Crawfie was demonised by the press, and the Queen Mother, who had been a great friend and who had, Crawfie maintained, given her permission to write the account, never spoke to her again.
-
17 Carnations
- The Windsors, The Nazis and The Cover-Up
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 92
The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History narrated at its most professional.
- By Ginger on 10-04-16
-
Princes at War
- The British Royal Family's Private Battle in the Second World War
- By: Deborah Cadbury
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 195
King George V predicted that his son, Edward VIII, would destroy himself within a year of succeeding to the throne. In December 1936 he was proved right, and the world’s press revealed the king was abandoning his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. A life spent in the shadow of his charismatic elder brother left the new king, George VI, magnificently unprepared for the demands of ruling the kingdom and empire. Drawing on personal accounts from the royal archives, Deborah Cadbury uncovers the very private conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Real people with public lives
- By Kl Love on 12-01-16
-
Bertie: A Life of Edward VII
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 22 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
Entertaining and different, this is an enjoyable study of a flawed yet characterful Prince of Wales seen through the eyes of the women in his life. Edward Vll, who gave his name to the Edwardian Age and died in 1911, was King of England for the final 10 years of his life. He was 59 when at last he came to the throne. Known as Bertie, the eldest son of Victoria and Albert, he was bullied by both his parents.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bertie - the untold story
- By Katherien Watt on 24-12-12
-
Prince Philip Revealed
- A Man of His Century
- By: Ingrid Seward
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
Born into the Greek and Danish royal families in 1921, a descendant of Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's aristocratic credentials were second to none. But, only 18 months after his birth, the family had to be rescued by a British warship from the island of Corfu after his father was exiled. His nomadic childhood was spent in Germany, Paris and eventually England where he was sent to boarding school.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not a hagiography
- By Angelcritique on 01-11-20
-
Towards the Flame
- Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia
- By: Dominic Lieven
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
The Russian decision to mobilize in July 1914 may have been the single most catastrophic choice of the modern era. Some articulate, thoughtful figures around the tsar understood Russia's fragility, yet they were shouted down by those who were convinced that despite Germany's patent military superiority, Russian greatness required decisive action.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You must listen to the final chapter
- By Turquelblue on 09-06-15
-
Marie Antoinette
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 20 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 224
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 183
Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine mechante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Spectacular.
- By BBB on 17-12-14
-
Haig's Enemy
- Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front
- By: Jonathan Boff
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12
During the First World War, the British army's most consistent German opponent was Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. Commanding more than a million men as a General, and then Field Marshal, in the Imperial German Army, he held off the attacks of the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French and then Sir Douglas Haig for four long years. But Rupprecht was to lose not only the war, but his son and his throne. In Haig's Enemy, Jonathan Boff explores the tragic tale of Rupprecht's war - the story of a man caught under the wheels of modern industrial warfare.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The mirror to traditional world war one histories
- By SGG71 on 27-04-19
-
1939
- A People's History of the Coming of the Second World War
- By: Frederick Taylor
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
In the autumn of 1938, Europe believed in the promise of peace. But only a year later, the fateful decisions of just a few men had again led Europe to a massive world war. Drawing on contemporary diaries, memoirs, and newspapers, as well as recorded interviews, 1939 is a narrative account of what the coming of the Second World War felt like to those who lived through it.
-
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
- By: Candace Fleming
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Eugene Alper, Mark Deakins, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Here is the riveting story of the Russian Revolution as it unfolded. When Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brought to tears
- By Amazon Customer on 03-11-17
Summary
Almost a century after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Kaiser Wilhelm II is still viewed as either a warmonger or a madman, as the hundred-year-old propaganda posters remain fixed in the general consciousness. Was he, though, truly responsible for the catastrophe of the First World War, or was he in fact a convenient scapegoat, blamed for a conflict which he desperately tried to avoid?
What listeners say about The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 19-05-19
Peace-loving Kaiser
A very different positive view of the Kaiser that portrays him as a peace maker
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hayley McCoy
- 05-09-18
A different perspective
As a Millennial I believe I had looked on this time in history (until I studied it at a level and then further at degree level) as a time when Germany were persistently "the bad guys" for whatever reason. I suppose this opinion was relatively all lumped together as here in the UK we have always seen ourselves as 'the allies', the side of good. while during the second world war there is certainly good reason to suppose we were fighting something very sinister, this reflection on kaiser Wilhelm in his own time with his European familial connections certainly over turn such an uneducated view. This book is a very good reflection of the kaiser's life and does well to show that he is not the monster the Allies made him to be. Although this is only one such source on the topic it is well worth a listen!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- 3rd Colt
- 06-07-21
Great narrative, not sure about narrator
The story of Kaiser Wilhelm is a compelling one and is well worth the read. However, I found the narration annoying. A slavish adherence to pauses after commas had me listening out for the next occurrence and not to the story.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- daniel hardy
- 10-06-21
The only book i've gave up on
He was and probably still is portrayed to be the bad guy in the story, however this book makes him out to be the most kindest gentlest man who ever walked the planet.
It seems every point narrated goes like this "Wilhelm was accused of doing X, but infact Wilhelm was doing the opposite of X".
Theres only so much of that I could listen to. I have given up with 2 hours to go.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- rarely review
- 24-12-20
Truly Incredible
the best thing I've ever heard on the real causes of the first world war. a moving portrait of a man and a time and a world. delivered everything and much more than I expected. superbly read. full marks.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-10-20
Facinating and overdue
Great narrative and truly eye opening account from an under served pint of view. This rehabilitation of Wilhelm may raise an eyebrow for many, but it deserves serious examination by those who continue to be interested in who the catastrophe of the Great War was allowed to happen. My only gripe: I’m sure the author means ‘specific’, no ‘pacific’.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vytas
- 23-05-17
To me it's a great book!
Sometimes to you need read to different point of view. But I love this book!!!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Marsh
- 09-11-18
Really make you re-think what your were told
The audio performance was great, I like the change of accents by the narrator. Overall the book it's self was very interesting. I kind thought it was going to be a overly slanted affair in reverse, all in the Kaiser's favor. However, She is not afraid to call him out when he was wrong. However, since so much of history seems based more on propaganda from the time, and the winners writing history, the author is faced with an up hill battle. This forces the bulk of the book making the case in the Kaiser favor which it does well, supported and countered with well thought out examples. Sure some of the examples are likely spin or or propaganda from the time that was in the favor of the Kaiser, but on the whole, there are a lot of facts that seem to be on his sides and Christina Croft does a great job making the case.
The book makes me want to learn more. I am not going to say this 100 percent convinced me, and not blaming Croft but after 100 years it is interesting to get a different perspective. I am not ready to say the Kaiser and Germany were innocent or did not make some mistakes, but at the same time did Britain really want to go to war out of their love for Belgium, or France who had to go war because of a treaty with Russia, who was going to war over a dispute over Serbia with the Austrians, so was France really willing to risk it's nation over that? Wilson who was going to make "the World Safe for Democracy" but in the end abandon his deal with Germany and allowed the victors to take their spoils and continue their reign over their colonial subjects. There has to be more to it, and maybe this does explain some.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Emmet
- 26-03-20
Good book
While this was a good book with a good narrator. Some facts (one in particular) were simply not true. For example, the easter rising in Dublin in 1916 was not carried out to support the concept of home rule, but complete independence for the island of Ireland from the tyranny if the UK. Also the subsequent executions of the leaders DID NOT galvanise support in Ireland for the allies war effort. In fact it resulted in a war of independence which resulted in the partition of the island. Other than this poor use of historical facts, the book was a good listen.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- cody Miller
- 02-02-19
the real history behind ww1
This book is the best I've read on the real causes and players behind ww1. And by listing to this book you will find out how this horrible war really started.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-05-21
History is not as it seems
History is written by the victor is a statement as old as Time. In the crusade against the fatherland his Imperial Majesty was labeled a tyrant to hide the actions of a malevolent force from international finance and global liberalism. May you rest in peace even though the world spits on your grave
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Parker Rydbom
- 21-02-21
Eye-Opener
This story is really an eye-opener. Casts Wilhelm II in a whole new light. Informative
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Laurence P. Yarosh
- 08-08-17
Very readable, just not believable
What did you love best about The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II?
The details that are overlooked in standard histories of World War I. It's that much more fun that a few of them are Internet myths or were even made up by the author. Don't miss the part about the French poison gas with the English name Turpinite.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Woodrow Wilson, who doublecrossed the Kaiser. He is the bad guy in this story.
What does Jack Wynters bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The sneering way he reads the snotty comments from the author and various historical figures. I was almost ready to vote against President Wilson in the next election.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The Kaiser, in retirement, blaming World War I on the freemasons.
Any additional comments?
I look forward to trips to the grocery store because I can read the headline in the Inquirer while I'm waiting for checkout. I think that's why I liked this book so much. Meet Kaiser Bill, the nicest autocrat in Europe, beloved by all except for Germany's neighbors. Like many other leaders, he talks incessantly of his desire for peace, but he really means it. He made only two mistakes, however: he allied himself with some Austrian thugs who murdered the heir to their own throne, blamed it on a terrorist organization that had been dormant for a decade, and dragged Bill into a world war against all his best efforts. His second mistake was to preside over a government that never gave straight answers to his questions and ignored his decrees. It's not easy being the All Highest.
3 people found this helpful