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The Trigger

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About this listen

On a summer morning in Sarajevo a hundred years ago, a teenage assassin fired not just the opening shots of the First World War but the starting gun for modern history. By killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Gavrilo Princip triggered conflict that would claim millions of lives in battle, and turmoil that would change our world. Tim Butcher uncovers the unreported details of Princip’s life and draws on his own experience, as a war reporter in the Balkans in the 1990s, to face down ghosts of conflicts past and present. The Trigger is a rich and timely work that brings to life both the moment the world first went to war and an extraordinary region with a potent hold over history.

©2014 Tim Butcher (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd 20th Century Europe Military Modern Political Science Politics & Government War Imperialism Middle Ages Africa Middle East

Critic reviews

"An exploration of the life of the teenager who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and so triggered the First World War"
"A remarkable, fascinating book by a courageous and perceptive writer" (Alexander McCall Smith) on (Blood River)
"Quite superb… a masterpiece" (John Le Carre)
All stars
Most relevant
Well written and well read , gives you the when and the why ,and shows the long term effects of the actions of one man.

Enlightening

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I absolutely loved this book, obviously because of the subject matter but because Tim brought his whole journey of Princip to life. A book like this demands a certain storytelling & Tim Butcher has that in spades. The right author, the right subject, the right time. Really enjoyed this, a cracking wee book.

What a great book

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Really interesting listen, swinging back and forward through the 20th century and into the 21st. The only frustration for me was the hurried narration and I had to listen 0.85 to tolerate it.

Great tale but the narrator grates a little

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