--- product_id: 1702138 title: "The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914" price: "€ 46.42" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1702138-the-sleepwalkers-how-europe-went-to-war-in-1914 store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 **Price:** € 46.42 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 - **How much does it cost?** € 46.42 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1702138-the-sleepwalkers-how-europe-went-to-war-in-1914) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “A monumental new volume. . . . Revelatory, even revolutionary. . . . Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable.” ― Boston Globe One of The New York Times Book Review ’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) Historian Christopher Clark’s riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself, but on the complex events, diplomatic history, and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict. Clark traces the paths to war in a minute-by-minute, action-packed narrative that cuts between the key decision centers in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, and Belgrade, and examines the decades of history that informed the events of 1914 and details the mutual misunderstandings and unintended signals that drove the July Crisis forward in a few short weeks. Meticulously researched and masterfully written, The Sleepwalkers is a dramatic and authoritative chronicle of the causes of WWI and Europe’s descent into a war that tore the world apart. Christopher Clark’s definitive account untangles the intricate web of events that plunged a continent into chaos. A Balkan Powder Keg: A deep dive into the complex politics of the Balkans, focusing on the role of Serbian nationalism and the events in Belgrade and Sarajevo that directly triggered the conflict. The Tangle of Alliances: A minute-by-minute narrative that cuts between the key decision centers in Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Paris, and London to reveal the misunderstandings and miscalculations that doomed the continent. Diplomatic Failures: An analysis of the complex relationships and unintended signals between leaders that transformed a local crisis into a continent-spanning catastrophe. The Path to War: Rather than focusing on the battles, Clark examines the decades of history that informed the events of 1914, providing a fresh and authoritative chronicle of Europe’s descent into war. Review: Splendid Examination of An Open Question: Was World War I Inevitable? - Was World War I inevitable? This splendid and readable book argues that it was not, focussing a series of specific policy choices made by individual national leaders in several different countries. Taken together, these choices unleashed the maelstrom, but Clark suggests that different choices could have been made, and that a different and more peaceful outcome might have followed. This brings us up against two key themes -- or more accurately points of disagreement -- in World War 1 historiography. First, there's what another reviewer succinctly describes as the powder keg vs. the match. The "powder keg" view argues that political and economic tensions in Europe in 1914 were so intense that war was inevitable, making the Sarajevo assassination and subsequent events nothing more than a trigger: had they not happened, something else would have done. The "match" view argues that a general European war was not inevitable, which makes Sarejevo very important indeed. Clark argues that the match mattered a great deal, more by detailing what actually did happen than by presenting counter-factuals. For me, this was a compelling approach. His detailed presentation of the Balkan situation and of Serbian internal politics is particularly enlightening, suggesting that Austria's response was not as irrational as is often assumed. And his discussion of the domestic pressures working on various political leaders taught me a great deal that I did not know. As well as specific issues -- he argues that much of the British military establishment saw a European war as something that could stop Home Rule in Ireland -- he discusses the cultural and even personal pressures that worked on key actors. Overall, he describes a policy environment in which internal communications were poor and lines of command blurred -- an environment in which mistakes were all too possible. Second, there is question of national war guilt, which has been a central issue ever since the Treaty of Versailles put all of the guilt on Germany. This was of course a major political issue in the interwar period, which tended to be pushed aside after World War II. But Fritz Fischer reopened the argument with a bang in 1961; in "Germany's Aims in the First World War", Fischer argued that Germany planned the war as a step towards European domination, making Hitler's policies a continuation rather than an aberration. The debate that Fischer opened up is still wide open. Some who disagree with him argue that another country (Russia, or France, or England) bore at least a large part of the responsibility, while others argue that war was triggered by a series of mistakes that left all participants (or no participants) responsible. All involved have tended to move towards more nuanced points of view, but big differences persist. Clark's title makes it clear where he stands in this debate: "Sleepwalkers" argues that the war resulted from mistakes rather than intention, though several national leaders were only too ready to move towards the brink. The institutional issues are critical here, in that leaders did not have accurate information, and did not communicate clearly, on a national as well as an international level. Moreover, he describes a situation in which all the major players had belief systems -- different and contradictory belief systems -- which allowed them to convince themselves that highly aggressive actions were in fact defensive. Overall, this is an illuminating and very interesting book. Any historian of course selects and arranges his evidence, and Clark does so quite brilliantly. I am not entirely convinced that the war could in fact have been avoided. But reading this book has certainly shown me how much individual misjudgements and random chance had to do with the war's outbreak,and how much Sarajevo really did matter. Review: The slow road to Perdition 4 1/2 stars - This is a masterpiece.It is the clearest and best documented account in one volume of why and how the 1st WW happened,not by the Sarajevo assassination but by events going back many years. Reading this very well written book one understands the strength of the possible when it becomes probable until,"Some stupid thing in the Balkans"happens, as Bismarck had foreseen thirty years previously. The book combines deep and broad research,diligent and profound analysis and intelligent and rational synthesis of a tremendous amount of data.It also provides a rationale (to the extent that a rationale exists)for the acts of the various players of that period up to the start of the War.Every nation's and every caste's within the nations are examined exposed and understood better than before. The shaping of intentions and the shaping of actions by intentions ,all originating in perceptions is clearly demonstrated ,analysed and exposed for our judgement The best way I can describe this book is that it shows how the various political,diplomatic and military clouds formed, how these clouds interacted within a nation,between two nations,and in the whole of Europe and the results of these interactions. It shows how every year from about 1905 to 1914 ,brought the conflict closer and the probability of a war increasing as time went by. Reading the book is like watching a collision in slow motion.The irreconciiability of perceived interests of every nation with opposing nations led to the formation of the two alliances.Professor Clark demonstrates also that Great Britain was not the undecided bystander in this conflict as often presented,but there also a Team of Players in power ,with or without parliamentary legitimization in a convoluted way,contributed to the build-up of the momentum that led to the collision. The principal conclusion of the book is that there ware no innocent parties except Belgium,and each,unable to act for Peace,dominated by fear ,perceived potential danger,and greed and forced to a confrontational rectitude by the stiffness of their male egos,accepted by steps the fatality of war. The book is significant not only for its Academic Honesty and Intellectual Integrity but also for the depth of its perception of causes an effects even the very minor ones,and the presentation of them all for the reader to be the final judge. The first part of the book is the most interesting part ,also because the second part is much more written about and known.The author elegantly avoids to assign responsibilities in a more even handed than necessary and somewhat insipid way,hence my 4 1/2 stars instead of 5. The writing by a gifted storyteller is in an elegantly simple and free of conceit prose,arranging the real events in such a way as to create the interest to the reader.It is a pleasure to read. D.V.Kokkinos PS It is the sarcasm of History that Serbia was grown to Yugoslavia after the 1st WW for the wrong reasons and was reduced again to small Serbia after 75 years again for the wrong reasons by the Great Powers of the times ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #25,079 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #12 in World War I History (Books) #20 in Russian History (Books) #33 in German History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,532 Reviews | ## Images ![The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91mdWZifgWL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Splendid Examination of An Open Question: Was World War I Inevitable? *by A***S on June 21, 2015* Was World War I inevitable? This splendid and readable book argues that it was not, focussing a series of specific policy choices made by individual national leaders in several different countries. Taken together, these choices unleashed the maelstrom, but Clark suggests that different choices could have been made, and that a different and more peaceful outcome might have followed. This brings us up against two key themes -- or more accurately points of disagreement -- in World War 1 historiography. First, there's what another reviewer succinctly describes as the powder keg vs. the match. The "powder keg" view argues that political and economic tensions in Europe in 1914 were so intense that war was inevitable, making the Sarajevo assassination and subsequent events nothing more than a trigger: had they not happened, something else would have done. The "match" view argues that a general European war was not inevitable, which makes Sarejevo very important indeed. Clark argues that the match mattered a great deal, more by detailing what actually did happen than by presenting counter-factuals. For me, this was a compelling approach. His detailed presentation of the Balkan situation and of Serbian internal politics is particularly enlightening, suggesting that Austria's response was not as irrational as is often assumed. And his discussion of the domestic pressures working on various political leaders taught me a great deal that I did not know. As well as specific issues -- he argues that much of the British military establishment saw a European war as something that could stop Home Rule in Ireland -- he discusses the cultural and even personal pressures that worked on key actors. Overall, he describes a policy environment in which internal communications were poor and lines of command blurred -- an environment in which mistakes were all too possible. Second, there is question of national war guilt, which has been a central issue ever since the Treaty of Versailles put all of the guilt on Germany. This was of course a major political issue in the interwar period, which tended to be pushed aside after World War II. But Fritz Fischer reopened the argument with a bang in 1961; in "Germany's Aims in the First World War", Fischer argued that Germany planned the war as a step towards European domination, making Hitler's policies a continuation rather than an aberration. The debate that Fischer opened up is still wide open. Some who disagree with him argue that another country (Russia, or France, or England) bore at least a large part of the responsibility, while others argue that war was triggered by a series of mistakes that left all participants (or no participants) responsible. All involved have tended to move towards more nuanced points of view, but big differences persist. Clark's title makes it clear where he stands in this debate: "Sleepwalkers" argues that the war resulted from mistakes rather than intention, though several national leaders were only too ready to move towards the brink. The institutional issues are critical here, in that leaders did not have accurate information, and did not communicate clearly, on a national as well as an international level. Moreover, he describes a situation in which all the major players had belief systems -- different and contradictory belief systems -- which allowed them to convince themselves that highly aggressive actions were in fact defensive. Overall, this is an illuminating and very interesting book. Any historian of course selects and arranges his evidence, and Clark does so quite brilliantly. I am not entirely convinced that the war could in fact have been avoided. But reading this book has certainly shown me how much individual misjudgements and random chance had to do with the war's outbreak,and how much Sarajevo really did matter. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The slow road to Perdition 4 1/2 stars *by D***S on June 10, 2013* This is a masterpiece.It is the clearest and best documented account in one volume of why and how the 1st WW happened,not by the Sarajevo assassination but by events going back many years. Reading this very well written book one understands the strength of the possible when it becomes probable until,"Some stupid thing in the Balkans"happens, as Bismarck had foreseen thirty years previously. The book combines deep and broad research,diligent and profound analysis and intelligent and rational synthesis of a tremendous amount of data.It also provides a rationale (to the extent that a rationale exists)for the acts of the various players of that period up to the start of the War.Every nation's and every caste's within the nations are examined exposed and understood better than before. The shaping of intentions and the shaping of actions by intentions ,all originating in perceptions is clearly demonstrated ,analysed and exposed for our judgement The best way I can describe this book is that it shows how the various political,diplomatic and military clouds formed, how these clouds interacted within a nation,between two nations,and in the whole of Europe and the results of these interactions. It shows how every year from about 1905 to 1914 ,brought the conflict closer and the probability of a war increasing as time went by. Reading the book is like watching a collision in slow motion.The irreconciiability of perceived interests of every nation with opposing nations led to the formation of the two alliances.Professor Clark demonstrates also that Great Britain was not the undecided bystander in this conflict as often presented,but there also a Team of Players in power ,with or without parliamentary legitimization in a convoluted way,contributed to the build-up of the momentum that led to the collision. The principal conclusion of the book is that there ware no innocent parties except Belgium,and each,unable to act for Peace,dominated by fear ,perceived potential danger,and greed and forced to a confrontational rectitude by the stiffness of their male egos,accepted by steps the fatality of war. The book is significant not only for its Academic Honesty and Intellectual Integrity but also for the depth of its perception of causes an effects even the very minor ones,and the presentation of them all for the reader to be the final judge. The first part of the book is the most interesting part ,also because the second part is much more written about and known.The author elegantly avoids to assign responsibilities in a more even handed than necessary and somewhat insipid way,hence my 4 1/2 stars instead of 5. The writing by a gifted storyteller is in an elegantly simple and free of conceit prose,arranging the real events in such a way as to create the interest to the reader.It is a pleasure to read. D.V.Kokkinos PS It is the sarcasm of History that Serbia was grown to Yugoslavia after the 1st WW for the wrong reasons and was reduced again to small Serbia after 75 years again for the wrong reasons by the Great Powers of the times ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great book to learn about human error that leads to war. *by M***C on September 3, 2014* Like many people, I had an uptick (well, more than that) interest in anything about WWI because the 100th anniversary of the commencement of hostilities in Europe. As an amateur hobbyist in European history, I felt like my knowledge about WWI was weak (and it is very weak). So I scanned Amazon's titles, looking for a book that covered the reasons why Europe went to war. There were bundles of books that discussed the strategies and tactics in the battles, but not as much covering the excruciating politics that lead to the War to End All Wars. I decided to purchase Clark's book, because it was well reviewed, but more than that, it's much more recent scholarship on the topic. Overall, I really loved the book. It is detailed, scholarly, and brings in characters about whom I knew little. But, for those of you who want to have a quick read, this book isn't it. For example, I would estimate that one-third of the book focuses on the Balkans, specifically on Serbia's guilt (or at least, co-conspirator) in the beginning of the war. I did get a little frustrated reading about the Balkans, when the real heart of the war was much further north and west. But everything I read about the planning and implementation of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and what happened in Austria and Serbia after that. What was surprising was the almost nonchalant attitude of every character in the story to the event. Clark leads the reader through the excruciating decision, mistakes, misinformation and downright stupidity that lead Europe down the path of war. I counted at least 10 instances when everyone could have backed away easily, and who knows, maybe WWI (though WWII probably would have anyways). I was also surprised by the involvement of Europe's monarchies in the lead-up to war. The book starts with a regicide of the Serbian King by Army Officers (the very first step, at least in this narrative, to WWI), so all of the royal families of Europe were part of the story. In fact, I was surprised about the liberalism and wisdom exhibited by some of the leaders. The Czars, Emperors and Kings all had a part to play in the slow walk (cause they weren't running) to war. Again, I loved this book. Some minor nitpicks would be the long discussion of the Balkans (and I remain unconvinced that should be given such importance, but I am just an amateur); the lack of focus on the UK, which gave me the impression that they were either uninterested or playing chess pieces in the background; and occasional wandering off-topic to give us backstories. The title of the book is perfect. Europe more or less sleepwalked into WWI. The story is almost laughable, except that 40 million people died in the war. It's just appalling to realize that dysfunctional monarchies, incompetent and duplicitous foreign affair ministries, along with a dash of pride and arrogance lead to this war. I kept slapping my forehead when Clark would tell a story of how some official misinterpreted something or when an official hints that another course would be prudent, and everyone misses the hint. Of course, the world of early 20th century communications would have been a hindrance. If you have any interest in the causes of war, rather than the war itself, this book is for you. If you have a sudden interest in WWI history, this book is for you. It's not perfect. But it's pretty close. I loved it. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 - The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I - The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1702138-the-sleepwalkers-how-europe-went-to-war-in-1914](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1702138-the-sleepwalkers-how-europe-went-to-war-in-1914) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-07-16*