George, Nicholas and Wilhelm

Posted on 04 July 2018 by Miranda Carter

In the years before the First World War, the great European powers were ruled by three first cousins King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Together, they presided over the last years of dynastic Europe and the outbreak of the most destructive war the world had ever seen, a war that set twentieth century Europe on course to be the most violent continent in the history of the world.Miranda Carter uses the cousins correspondence and a host of historical sources to tell the tragicomic story of a tiny, glittering, solipsistic world that was often preposterously out of kilter with its times, struggling to stay in command of politics and world events as history overtook it George, Nicholas and Wilhelm is a brilliant and sometimes darkly hilarious portrait of these men damaged, egotistical Wilhelm quiet, stubborn Nicholas and anxious, dutiful George and their lives, foibles and obsessions, from tantrums to uniforms to stamp collecting It is also alive with fresh, subtle portraits of other familiar figures Queen Victoria grandmother to two of them, grandmother in law to the third whose conservatism and bullying obsession with family left a dangerous legacy and Edward VII, the playboy arch vulgarian who turned out to have a remarkable gift for international relations and the theatrics of mass politics At the same time, Carter weaves through their stories a riveting account of the events that led to World War I, showing how the personal and the political interacted, sometimes to devastating effect.For all three men the war would be a disaster that destroyed forever the illusion of their close family relationships, with any sense of peace and harmony shattered in a final coda of murder, betrayal and abdication. Best Read [ George, Nicholas and Wilhelm ] Author [ Miranda Carter ] – kino-fada.fr I have a joke for you hereditary monarchies That s it That s the joke Of all the ways that man has devised for cornering power, none is as breathtaking as the hereditary monarchy For centuries, kings and queens have ruled vast nations based solely on the notion that their blood is somehow royal It s utter wash, of course, as countless failed leaders have proven There is nothing special about royal blood It is the same blood as runs through our veins Except for the hemophilia The roya I have a joke for you hereditary monarchies That s it That s the joke Of all the ways that man has devised for cornering power, none is as breathtaking as the hereditary monarchy For centuries, kings and queens have ruled vast nations based solely on the notion that their blood is somehow royal It s utter wash, of course, as countless failed leaders have proven There is nothing special about royal blood It is the same blood as runs through our veins Except for the hemophilia The royals have a lothemophilia The absurdity of the crown runs like a black joke throughout Miranda Carter s triple biography, George, Nicholas and Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I King George V of Great Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were...OK, I haven t read this book I will but I was pissed after reading a review Here s part of a review that demonstrates why I often hate reviews in the NY Times Book Review Last two paragraphsGeorge, Nicholas and Wilhelm is an impressive book Ms Carter has clearly not bitten offthan she can chew for she as John Updike once wrote about G nter Grass chews it enthusiastically before our eyes You turn this book s pages with interest, however, but rarely with eagerness It s a OK, I haven t read this book I will but I was pissed after reading a review Here s part of a review that demonstrates why I often hate reviews in the NY Times Book Review Last two paragraphsGeorge, Nicholas and Wilhelm is an impressive book Ms Carter has clearly not bitten offthan she can chew for she as John Updike once wrote about G nter Grass chews it enthusiastically before our eyes You turn this book s pages with interest, however, but rarely with eagerness It s a volume that never quite warms in your hands, ...I highly recommend this book What it does in an exemplary fashion is show the reader who George, Nicholas and Wilhelm were You learn not only of their actions, but also of there varying temperaments This is a biography, not a dry history book It is well researched, and will be fascinating to those of you who want to look at the personalities of these three cousins At the same time you will come to understand why WW1 occurred why in fact it was practically inevitable Political disputes and I highly recommend this book What it does in an exemplary fashion is show the reader who George, Nicholas and Wilhelm were You learn not only of their actions, but also of there varying temperaments This is a biography, not a dry history book It is well researched, and will be fascinating to those of you who want to look at the personalities of these three cousins At the same time you will come to understand why WW1 occurred why in fact it was practically inevitable Political disputes and family disputes are intertwined I loved learning about Queen Victoria, the three cousins grandmother This book whets the readers interest in numerous other historical figures too, such as Queen Victoria, Bismarck and Vicky, Wilhelm s mother If you have not read about the Archduke Franz Ferdinand you will need to read other books that focus on him I liked The Assassination of the Archduke Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World You si...This was brilliant For anyone interested in the road to WWI this is a wonderful synopsis from the perspective of the exhaustion and decline of autocracy, monarchy and empire Using the familial relationships among Victoria, Edward, George, Wilhelm and Nicholas Carter pulls the reader into the conflicting pulls on the leading monarchs of their day amid the challenges of nationalism, republicanism, socialism ...Monarchy LOLZ.The Impact of Queen Victoria on HistoryQueen Victoria of England not only had one of the longest reigns in royal history her reign of 63 years and 7 months, which is longer than that of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history but her progeny produced leaders in disparate countri...I enjoyed the book for the most part It has a simple thesis Theyour leader is out of touch and coddled thesevere the results inflicted on the followers Spoiled children without reality are not the ones to run the country think of Mr TrumpOh, families If you think your family is crazy, you haven t met the Saxe Coburg Gotha Romanovs This academic style text is a discussion of the familo political interactions from about 1860 that lead to World War I I left this book thinking that perhaps we could blame WWI, not on the Germans, but instead on Queen Victoria Why She was the grandmother from hell She insisted that all of her children were raised in an extremely severe style favored by her husband, Prince Albert some of her c Oh, families If you think your family is crazy, you haven t met the Saxe Coburg Gotha Romanovs This academic style text is a discussion of the familo political interactions from about 1860 that lead to World War I I left this book thinking that perhaps we could blame WWI, not on the Germans, but instead on Que...First class analysis, and really well written.Other reviews have noted that there is little new here, but the point of this book is not to bring out new information It is to explore the origins of World War I from a different point of view In examining the character of these three cousins, their upbringing and education, their role in the structure of their respective governments and the issues and attitudes of their counties, Miranda Carter shows how they did and...

English
04 July 2018

Miranda Carter