The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order 1905-1922

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Edmond Taylor's The Fall of the Dynasties is that it was written in 1963 and so provides a different perspective on the events leading up to World War I and surrounding the Russian Revolution than more current works. I did a double take the first time I read about "the last man alive who can tell us..." and certainly in the 60s the story of the Balkans was only half-written.

As the title says, The Fall of the Dynasties is an in-depth look at the final years of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman empires. Actually, it's an in-depth look at the first three, and a single chapter on the last (which was too bad, because the chapter on the Ottomans was pretty fascinating, but I digress). Taylor explores the broader societal underpinnings that led to war, but also the personal flaws and foibles of the crowned heads, whose decisions - or lack thereof - sent their empires headlong into a war from which neither ruler nor ruled would ever entirely recover. (To that end, the Czarina came off the worst, while the doddering Habsburg, Francis Joseph, appeared mostly to be swept away by events, at least in the final years. Of course, he was an octogenarian on the eve of the war.)

On the whole, I found the book alternated between extremely interesting and sleep-inducing. As I said before, I wanted more of the Ottomans; conversely, I wanted less of the Romanovs - or, more specifically, of the Bolsheviks and what felt like every.single.detail. of the run up to and immediate aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

It's certainly not terrible, and largely still relevant - plus today's reader has the benefit of the last half-century of history in understanding how the Balkans, Slavic nationalism, and the rise and subsequent fall of the Soviets all played out. That said, there are simply many other more interesting, and possibly complete, books on closely-related topics. The interested reader may want to consider any of the following in lieu of or in addition to The Fall of the Dynasties.

• For an empire-by-empire tour that also considers the roles of the British, American, French, and Japanese empires: 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War.

• A concise look at the the many failures - diplomatic and military - that ultimately led to four years of unrelenting bloodshed across Europe, and eventually the world: The Guns of August.

• For more on the consequences of empire in the Middle East:  Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia or Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell (Lawrence and Bell are both British, so there is also quite a bit about the British Empire, but each offers an excellent look at the Middle East before - and after - World War I).

• And, of course, I would be remiss not to add The Beauty and the Sorrow to this list, as it remains, for me, the most in-depth and moving look at World War I imaginable. As a POW remarks, “the great lords have quarreled, and we must pay for it with our blood, our wives and children” (p. 18-19).