The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 Cover
Podcast Mentions

The Sleepwalkers How Europe Went to War in 1914

Christopher Clark

The moments that it took Gavrilo Princip to step forward to the stalled car and shoot dead Franz Ferdinand and his wife were perhaps the most fateful of the modern era. An act of terrorism of staggering efficiency, it fulfilled its every aim: it would liberate Bosnia from Habsburg rule and it create...

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The Ezra Klein Show

Podcast

The Ezra Klein Show

He recommended it as an older history of how Europe slipped into World WarI, showing how small steps by leaders led to a massive conflict, useful for comparing escalation risks.

"

Chris Clark's The Sleepwalkers, How Europe Went to War in 1914, is a wonderful history book about the origins of the First World War.

— Episode: A Realist Take on How the Russia-Ukraine...

Episode: A Realist Take on How the Russia-Ukraine War Could...

He recommended it as an older history of how Europe slipped into World WarI, showing how small steps by leaders led to a massive conflict, useful for comparing escalation risks.

"

Chris Clark's The Sleepwalkers, How Europe Went to War in 1914, is a wonderful history book about the origins of the First World War.

Clark shows the perspectives of all the main actors and how nobody wanted a war, yet step by small step we ended up there, making it a valuable comparison for thinking about escalation risks.

The Shawn Ryan Show

Podcast

The Shawn Ryan Show

The host cited it as a historical analysis of how European powers unintentionally entered World War I.

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the book called The Sleepwalkers

— Episode: #289 Michael Lester - Is the United Stat...

Episode: #289 Michael Lester - Is the United States Going t...

The host cited it as a historical analysis of how European powers unintentionally entered World War I.

"

the book called The Sleepwalkers

The Rest Is History

Podcast

The Rest Is History

The hosts highlighted the book as a brilliant, groundbreaking study of the decision‑making that led Europe into war, calling it essential reading for anyone interested in the period. They referenced it as a key source for analyzing British foreign‑office attitudes toward Germany and Russia, and used its critique of the Kaiser’s “blank‑check” myth and vivid portrayal of Austrian decision‑making to challenge traditional narratives. Overall, the presenters praised the work for its insightful analysis and recommended it strongly.

Highly Recommended

Episode: 474. The Road to The Great War: The Lights Go Out...

The hosts highlighted Christopher Clark's book as a brilliant, groundbreaking study of the decisionmaking process that led to war, describing it as essential reading for understanding the period.

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And so that's what makes me think we've referred a lot to Christopher Clarke's brilliant, groundbreaking book on this process, The Sleepwalkers.

great bestseller the sleepwalkers.

Episode: 472. The Road to The Great War: Britain's Fateful...

The presenters cited Christopher Clark's book The Sleepwalkers as a source for his analysis of British foreignoffice attitudes toward Germany and Russia.

"

...in his book, The Sleepwalkers, great historian, Christopher Clarke, Regis professor at Cambridge. He says, in a way you could argue it's a kind of appeasement that Russia is a big threat to our empire in Asia.

Christopher Clarke talks about this in The Sleepwalkers. He says there's a steady stream of memos... arguing about the threat posed by Berlin.

Episode: 470. The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank...

The presenters referenced Clark's work to question the traditional view of Kaiser Wilhelm as a warmad aggressor, noting the book's critique of the 'blankcheck' myth and its vivid description of Austrian decisionmaking.

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Having reread Christopher Clarke's great book, The Sleepwalkers, in preparation for this and having read all your notes, I'm now doubtful.

As Chris Clark says in the Sleepwalkers, they never ever really talk about what will happen if the Russians attack them.

Chris Clark has this wonderful line. It says, the Austrians resembled hedgehogs scurrying across a highway with their eyes averted from the onrushing traffic.

Episode: 468. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Crime (Par...

The podcast mentioned Clark's book while describing the mayor's nervous state, citing that the mayor was portrayed in The Sleepwalkers as being in high agitation and perspiring heavily.

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He's described by Christopher Clarke in The Sleepwalkers as in a state of high agitation and perspiring heavily.

Episode: 467. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Victim (Pa...

The hosts cited the book as a brilliant analysis of the AustroHungarian empire and its leaders, noting its vivid description of how FranzJosef haunts people's sleep.

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Christopher Clarke in his brilliant book Sleepwalkers says how people dream of Franz Josef. He haunts their sleep.

Chris Clark says in his book The Sleepwalkers, between 1906 and 1914 Conrad repeatedly counseled preventive wars against Serbia, Montenegro, Russia and even Italy.

Episode: 465. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Killer (Pa...

The hosts introduced the book as a key source they would discuss in upcoming episodes about the preWorld WarI era. They also noted that its introduction linked the prewar world to modern terrorist attacks.

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And Chris Clark starts his book The Sleepwalkers, which we will be talking about a lot in the next few episodes.

Christopher Clarke, in the introduction to Sleepwalkers, actually makes this point. He says that, you know, looking back to the prewar world, guys in feathers and archdukes and things. But actually, this is a world that will be very familiar to people who've lived through 911 or the London tube bombings.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.