The Thirty Years War

By: C. V. Wedgwood

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Initially, the Thirty Years War was precipitated in 1618 by religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. But the conflict soon spread beyond religion to encompass the internal politics and balance of power within the Empire, and then later to the other European powers. By the end, it became simply a dynastic struggle between Bourbon France and Habsburg Spain. And almost all of it was fought out in Germany. After 30 years of conflict, entire regions of Germany and Bohemia were depopulated and destroyed by marching armies, fire, famine, and disease. It bankrupted most of the participants while leaving thousands of German villages, towns, and even cities in smoldering ruin.

Because of the political and geographical complexity of the early 17th century, an understanding of The Thirty Years War can be difficult to grasp in the beginning. Listeners will be rewarded by patience. As an aid to comprehension, we recommend the online Wikipedia article "The Thirty Years War" for maps and overviews of the geography, principle leaders, and major battles.

Total running time: 19 hours and 48 minutes. Narrator: Charlton Griffin.

©1938 Estate of C. V. Wedgwood (P)2012 Audio Connoisseur

Hard work

A cast of 1,000's, the 30 year's war is a hard slog. Probably a better read the second time round. Not for the faint hearted

One of the best

The best history of the Thirty Years War I have read or heard. It is amazingly understandable and I am thrilled to have found it.

I love this narrator

Great story, I will read it again one day. Since listening to it 2 years ago I can’t not see the words BRANDENBURG, MAGDEBURG, TILLY, and WALLENSTEIN and not pronounce it like this guy.

Excellent Historical Treatise

The detail with which the author covers the subject is incredible, and, even though the book is very long, it could have been expanded to include greater coverage of the horrors inflicted on the peoples of the HRE at the time.

A bit dated but a masterful classic nonetheless

Where does The Thirty Years War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a bit dated compared to more recently written war histories. The sweeping one-line characterizations of personalities and moods would be rare in a modern history, for example. But the book is clearly an incredibly thoroughly-researched masterpiece, and really transports you into the strange, chaotic era of the 30 Years' War.

Thorough and Well Written

I only rated this 3-stars despite giving the performance 5 and the story 4. The reason for this--and I've had this problem several times with exhaustive military histories--is that I probably only managed to get 75% of this book. It was just really difficult to keep up with all the unfamiliar names and titles and countries and territories. And you're learning about the complex foreign policies of all of these different entities. I think if you're familiar with the Thirty Years War this book would have to be a 5-star. But if, like me, you have no previous knowledge of the Thirty Years War, it may be a bit overwhelming at times. However, it was very well written and entertaining. Extremely informative. And the narrator absolutely crushes this thing. At first he may seem a touch over-dramatic but you'll soon get used to it and appreciate it. Griffin's style of narration is absolutely perfect for this book.

wow

I love history, but I've never done much with the 30 yr war. This was an amazing introduction. not for the faint hearted, this is a sweeping summary of the war, it's origins, and it's results. The fact that this was written in the years after WW2 just make the book that much more interesting.

Written in the best of the British historical tradition, with all of the commentary and incisive wit one could hope for.

This is not light reading or light history. The names fly by and so do the years. But you'll close the book remembering the right names and ready to keep digging and learning more.

Yes It's Complicated.

I mean thirty years of war and political intrigue will complicate matters. However, 17th Century in Europe set the stage for what was to come for the next three centuries that still echoes to today. History is important to understand today and this history is very well told and an excellent narration. Overall, very enjoyable.

References

Too advanced for me. Needed maps for reference. I felt as though I’d walked into a graduate level course.

Not for the Weak of Heart

The title of my review refers to the content of the book and the effort involved to take in the material in the book.
The Thirty Years War was incredibly destructive. Somewhere I read that it set back civilization and development 200 years in Germany. Death came during the battles, from disease and the rampaging of the armies through the countryside. For thirty years armies marched up and down Germany and when they camped they destroyed the area they lived in. In one episode the peasants attacked the soldiers, knowing they would get killed, because they refused to be passive victims of circumstances. The war began with a revolt in Prague and it seemed like at one time or another every country, duchy and city got into the fight.
It was a period of great social and political change. At the beginning of the war everyone was fighting about religion. At the end it was nations fighting each other. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Ferdinand III of Austria were just two of the fascinating characters among the leadership.
It was a well written book, good literature. It was also long, complex and full of all kinds of different people. It takes a commitment to develop a good understanding of the people and events. The narrator helped. His voice had a nice tone and pace which helped make the listening enjoyable. I am glad I read it and I recommend it. Now I want to learn more about this era.