The Price of Glory

Verdun 1916

By: Alistair Horne

Narrated by: John Lee

The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 is the second book of Alistair Horne's trilogy, which includes The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle and tells the story of the great crises of the rivalry between France and Germany.

The battle of Verdun lasted ten months. It was a battle in which at least 700,000 men fell, along a front of fifteen miles. Its aim was less to defeat the enemy than bleed him to death and a battleground whose once fertile terrain is even now a haunted wilderness. Alistair Horne's classic work, continuously in print for over fifty years, is a profoundly moving, sympathetic study of the battle and the men who fought there. It shows that Verdun is a key to understanding the First World War to the minds of those who waged it, the traditions that bound them, and the world that gave them the opportunity.

©1962, 1964, 1993 Alistair Horne (P)2023 Tantor

The narrator was very good with the different players.

I read it in 1965 and twice since 1993. This is the second time I listened with audible. Superb insight and detailed description of the characters and terrain, political and cultural, social issues contemporary to the time.

Epic Account, Masterful in Its Scope, Power and Resonance

The leaders of Europe set in motion the death machine of the Great War in 1914, which eventually consumed 8.5 million soldiers, 10 million civilians and wounded twenty million others.....and no such battle captures the tragic waste, bloodshed and horror as Verdun. Filled with First Person Accounts, The Price of Glory is a timeless monument to the Dead, and a plea to future generations to make war no more.

Facinating, tragic & moving

If there is an intersection where history & literature meet, I believe Mr Horne has found it. What a great work on history that must be remembered.

Riveting, Tragic, Eye-Opening

A truly comprehensive recounting of the battle of verdun. The tragedy of the event as well as the heroism of the soldiers on both sides are captured in the writing and outstanding performance by John Lee. A masterpiece of a work and a poignant reminder of the scale of suffering that occurred in the war.

Old classic must read

Fabulous narration of a rich and gripping narrative history of WW1s greatest, longest, bloodiest battle. Thoughtful summation of the meeting of such awesome killing technologies and tactics developed and available in time to demonstrate the futility of the effort by Germany and France to fully exploit them, sacrificing an entire generation of young men. The. Dawn of modernity in warfare writ large.

a rare gem from a bygone age

Written close enough to 1916 you can still feel the emotion of all the main characters, this was a gem. John Lee great always.

Fascinating history

Reader’s voice trailed off after nearly every phrase or sentence making it difficult to understand while in car. Lots of detail to the battle and those involved. Enjoyed listening but sickening to know so many lives lost because of poor leadership causing the Great War and then running. Pride can be a very sinful emotion.

More English, please! But great story.

First, the good. This is an amazing story! I was thoroughly engaged and could not put it down.


Next, some suggestions. The seemingly frequent passages and phrases
spoken in the french language sounded very authentic and were delivered with dash, but I do not speak french so they were distracting rather than diverting. Was it a quote? Slogan? Speech? Military term? Aphorism? Just add a parenthetical note before or after for the audio version.