
Nothing Less Than War
A New History of America's Entry into World War I
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tom Lennon
About this listen
When war broke out in Europe in 1914, political leaders in the United States were swayed by popular opinion to remain neutral; yet less than three years later, the nation declared war on Germany. In Nothing Less Than War: A New History of America's Entry into World War I, Justus D. Doenecke examines the clash of opinions over the war during this transformative period and offers a fresh perspective on America's decision to enter World War I.
Doenecke reappraises the public and private diplomacy of President Woodrow Wilson and his closest advisors and explores in great depth the response of Congress to the war. He also investigates the debates that raged in the popular media and among citizen groups that sprang up across the country as the US economy was threatened by European blockades and as Americans died on ships sunk by German U-boats.
The decision to engage in battle ultimately belonged to Wilson, but as Doenecke demonstrates, Wilson's choice was not made in isolation. Nothing Less Than War provides a comprehensive examination of America's internal political climate and its changing international role during the seminal period of 1914-1917.
The book is published by The University Press of Kentucky.
©2011 The University Press of Kentucky (P)2015 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Gulf
- The Bush Presidencies and the Middle East
- By: Michael F. Cairo
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush both led the United States through watershed events in foreign relations: the end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In The Gulf, Michael F. Cairo reveals how, despite many similarities, father and son pursued very different international strategies. He explores how the personality, beliefs, and leadership style of each man influenced contemporary US foreign policy.
By: Michael F. Cairo
-
Vietnam
- An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 33 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the US in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed two million people.
-
-
A more nuanced view than Ken Burns' companion book
- By Vu on 10-21-18
By: Max Hastings
-
The Western Front
- A History of the Great War, 1914-1918
- By: Nick Lloyd
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War. In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918.
-
-
Incisive Overview
- By J.Brock on 01-19-22
By: Nick Lloyd
-
American Midnight
- The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a groundbreaking reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threated by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor
-
-
Disturbing yet Reassuring
- By Sams95 on 11-18-22
By: Adam Hochschild
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
A Blueprint for War: FDR and the Hundred Days That Mobilized America
- By: Susan Dunn
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the cold winter months that followed Franklin Roosevelt's election in November 1940 to an unprecedented third term in the White House, he confronted a worldwide military and moral catastrophe. Almost all the European democracies had fallen under the ruthless onslaught of the Nazi army and air force. Great Britain stood alone, a fragile bastion between Germany and American immersion in war. In the Pacific world, Japan had extended its tentacles deeper into China. Susan Dunn dramatically brings to life the most vital and transformational period of Roosevelt's presidency.
By: Susan Dunn
-
The Gulf
- The Bush Presidencies and the Middle East
- By: Michael F. Cairo
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush both led the United States through watershed events in foreign relations: the end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In The Gulf, Michael F. Cairo reveals how, despite many similarities, father and son pursued very different international strategies. He explores how the personality, beliefs, and leadership style of each man influenced contemporary US foreign policy.
By: Michael F. Cairo
-
Vietnam
- An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 33 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the US in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed two million people.
-
-
A more nuanced view than Ken Burns' companion book
- By Vu on 10-21-18
By: Max Hastings
-
The Western Front
- A History of the Great War, 1914-1918
- By: Nick Lloyd
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War. In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918.
-
-
Incisive Overview
- By J.Brock on 01-19-22
By: Nick Lloyd
-
American Midnight
- The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a groundbreaking reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threated by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor
-
-
Disturbing yet Reassuring
- By Sams95 on 11-18-22
By: Adam Hochschild
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
A Blueprint for War: FDR and the Hundred Days That Mobilized America
- By: Susan Dunn
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the cold winter months that followed Franklin Roosevelt's election in November 1940 to an unprecedented third term in the White House, he confronted a worldwide military and moral catastrophe. Almost all the European democracies had fallen under the ruthless onslaught of the Nazi army and air force. Great Britain stood alone, a fragile bastion between Germany and American immersion in war. In the Pacific world, Japan had extended its tentacles deeper into China. Susan Dunn dramatically brings to life the most vital and transformational period of Roosevelt's presidency.
By: Susan Dunn
-
The War for the Seas
- A Maritime History of World War II
- By: Evan Mawdsley
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Command of the oceans was crucial to winning World War II. By the start of 1942 Nazi Germany had conquered mainland Europe, and Imperial Japan had overrun Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific. How could Britain and distant America prevail in what had become a "war of continents"? In this definitive account, Evan Mawdsley traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea.
-
-
An Unengaging Survey that Disappoints
- By Scott Eckert on 08-06-20
By: Evan Mawdsley
-
Seapower States
- Maritime Culture, Continental Empires, and the Conflict That Made the Modern World
- By: Andrew Lambert
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge - winner of the prestigious Anderson Medal - turns his attention to Athens, Carthage, Venice, the Dutch Republic, and Britain, examining how their identities as "seapowers" informed their actions and enabled them to achieve success disproportionate to their size. Lambert demonstrates how creating maritime identities made these states more dynamic, open, and inclusive than their lumbering continental rivals. Only when they forgot this aspect of their identity did these nations begin to decline.
-
-
only got 1 hour or so through
- By fm2 on 01-14-19
By: Andrew Lambert
-
In Mortal Combat
- Korea, 1950-1953
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brilliant narrative of America's first limited war, Toland lets both the events and the participants speak for themselves, employing scrupulous archival research and interviews as the bases for the drama and accuracy of his writing. In Mortal Combat reveals Mao's prediction of the date and place of MacArthur's Inchon landing, Russia's indifference to the war, Mao's secret leadership of the North Korean military, and the true nature of both sides' treatment and repatriation of POWs.
-
-
Slightly disappointed
- By Patrick on 09-02-19
By: John Toland
-
The American Civil War
- A Military History
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the past half century, John Keegan, the greatest military historian of our time, has been returning to the scenes of America’s most bloody and wrenching war to ponder its lingering conundrums: the continuation of fighting for four years between such vastly mismatched sides; the dogged persistence of ill-trained, ill-equipped, and often malnourished combatants; the effective absence of decisive battles among some two to three hundred known to us by name.
-
-
A Novel Approach (As Opposed to Novelistic)
- By margot on 11-18-12
By: John Keegan
-
The Greek Revolution
- 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe
- By: Mark Mazower
- Narrated by: John Lee, Mark Mazower
- Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Mark Mazower shows us in his enthralling and definitive new account, myths about the Greek War of Independence outpaced the facts from the very beginning, and for good reason. This was an unlikely cause, against long odds, a disorganized collection of Greek patriots up against what was still one of the most storied empires in the world, the Ottomans. The revolutionaries needed all the help they could get.
-
-
Excellent, had it not been for the narrator
- By Jean N on 05-15-22
By: Mark Mazower
-
Tobacco
- A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization
- By: Iain Gately
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tobacco was first cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes long before the arrival of Columbus. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirely - a cultural touchstone of pleasure and success and a coveted commodity that would transform the world economy forever.
-
-
Interesting until a pro-smoking ending
- By Kelli on 12-25-20
By: Iain Gately
-
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grand in scope, rigorous in its arguments, and elegantly synthesizing 30 years of scholarship, Gordon S. Wood's Pulitzer Prize–winning book analyzes the social, political, and economic consequences of 1776. In The Radicalism of the American Revolution, Wood depicts not just a break with England, but the rejection of an entire way of life: of a society with feudal dependencies, a politics of patronage, and a world view in which people were divided between the nobility and "the Herd."
-
-
Changed the Way I Think
- By Cynthia on 01-04-14
By: Gordon S. Wood
-
Stalin, Volume I
- Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928
- By: Stephen Kotkin
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 38 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted.
-
-
Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
- By Nostromo on 03-23-15
By: Stephen Kotkin
-
The French and Indian War
- Deciding the Fate of North America
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1754, deep in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania, a very young George Washington suffered his first military defeat, and a centuries-old feud between Great Britain and France was rekindled. The war that followed would be fought across virgin territories, from Nova Scotia to the forks of the Ohio River, and it would ultimately decide the fate of the entire North American continent—not just for Great Britain and France but also for the Spanish and Native American populations.
-
-
Outstanding Survey of French & Indian War
- By Dennis Jameson on 02-13-24
-
The Second World War
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 39 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of World War II. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the twentieth century, The Second World War. Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on World War II.
-
-
It Fills in Gaps I Didn't Know Existed
- By DJM on 07-31-12
By: Antony Beevor
-
The Enlightenment
- The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680-1790
- By: Ritchie Robertson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 40 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This magisterial history - sure to become the definitive work on the subject - recasts the Enlightenment as a period not solely consumed with rationale and reason, but rather as a pursuit of practical means to achieve greater human happiness.
-
-
The quickest 40 hour audio book I’ve listen to
- By Joey Caster on 04-02-21
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
What listeners say about Nothing Less Than War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-28-16
Important knowledge most American's lack
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. This is a period little known in American history today. Everyone knows the US did fight with the Triple Entente in WWI, but almost no one asks, why? Why we were we not on the Central Alliance side? Why fight at all? We were never attacked. No treaties bound us to enter. There were almost as many Monarchs on both sides, so defending democracy was not a very valid excuse.
This book explains why. Unfortunately, especially in hindsight, the reasoning that led to our ultimate entry late into the conflict is greatly flawed in many areas.
Which character – as performed by Tom Lennon – was your favorite?
There were no characters as this was a non-fiction book. He did a commendable job with a very long book frequently full of very dry material and kept my interest all the way.
Any additional comments?
This may be one of those cases where a "condensed" version might be able to convey all the important information and be a more enjoyable experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matt
- 05-29-15
Interesting and unknown period in America
If you could sum up Nothing Less Than War in three words, what would they be?
Educational, Detailed, Fascinating
Who was your favorite character and why?
Most Americans know very little about this period in history and Woodrow Wilson. This really gives insight into his personality and thought process.
Any additional comments?
This is not an easy read, or listen. The language is archaic and at limes tedious as much of the text is excerpts from letters and newspaper reports from the early 1900s. The comprehension and enjoyment would have both been better had the author simply restated the facts in more familiar modern day prose. Almost every sentence contain a quotation from an obscure source of the period. Keep your dictionary handy.The narrator's voice is very pleasant for long hours of listening, but he obviously also struggled at times with the style of writing and context. I give him a B for effort.
It is as if the book was published in 1917, not this century. I certainly didn't count, but it seems the average sentence length is probably 50 words!As a text book with a valuable lesson to be learned about an important, fascinating, and unknown period in American History this is 5 stars. As a read, or listen on the beech this summer - better pass.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rayc
- 07-15-21
A detailed history
Nothing Less than War.
A detailed history of America's entry into ww1.
The politics and the mistakes that led to the America declaring war.
I found that some of the statements made by politicians and capitalists are prophetic when we look at the world today 100 years later.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily left this honest review.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- xenduro
- 01-24-23
wow never taught us this in school
was great learned so much. very easy to follow. should have been taught in school
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- H S Kinder
- 08-08-15
Failure of Presidential Leadership
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes if they have an interest in understanding why America entered a war that was clearly not in our National interest. Woodrow Wilson's folly.
Was Nothing Less Than War worth the listening time?
Yes. I've often wondered why America entered the War. Most agree that WW1 should never have happened. It was the result of incredibly poor leadership and ineffective diplomacy by the European powers. This book, in my opinion, makes it abundantly clear that there was no legitimate 'national interest' justification for Woodrow Wilson's decision to enter the war. Without American involvement, the the War would probably have ended in a stalemate due to war fatigue.
Why historians rate Wilson as a good President escapes me. Presidents should keep the country out of war, not drag the country into war unless there is a clear 'national interest' at stake. In this case there was none. And most agree that the draconian peace terms imposed on the Germans significantly contributed to the rise of Hitler and WW2. Woodrow Wilson foreign policy failure had enormous adverse consequences for the lives of millions of innocent people.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 10-22-22
good
Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lord Hampton
- 05-24-15
Awkwardly written, badly narrated
This audiobook came very close to being the first of the dozens I have listened to, to being the first I could not complete. The story is barely above what a first year university history student could write. The constant comparatives of the views of historians, or contemporary press accounts, becomes exceptionally tiresome. But worst of all is the narration, filled with mispronunciations, garbled words, and just plain bad pace. I cannot recommend this book, as important as the topic is.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful