Book · 1989
A Peace to End All Peace
by David Fromkin
The Ottoman Empire collapses after World War One, and Britain and France carve up the pieces into the borders the modern Middle East still lives inside.
What does Reddit think of A Peace to End All Peace?
A Peace to End All Peace shows up in exactly two subreddits, and both treat it the same way: the book to read once the general history questions run out. The ↑36 r/history comment calls it a phenomenal study of how the modern Arab world emerged from the Ottoman Empire's collapse and its division by France and Britain, and credits it as one of Dan Carlin's sources for his WWI podcast series. The ↑37 AskHistorians comment is more measured, recommending it for detailed great-power realpolitik while admitting upfront that it's long. Neither excerpt disputes the other. If anything, both are making the same pitch from different angles: dense material rendered readable despite the length. What's absent is friction. Nothing in the displayed data pushes back on it, and nothing outside those two subreddits has picked it up yet.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · The WWI-era Ottoman collapse redrawing the modern Middle East
- · Great-power incompetence and mixed messaging during wartime diplomacy
- · A frequently cited source behind Dan Carlin's WWI podcast series
- · Approachable narrative history despite dense, tangled geopolitics
Common praise
- + The ↑36 comment calls it a phenomenal study of how the modern Arab world was born out of the Ottoman collapse.
- + The ↑37 comment recommends it specifically for detail on WWI-era great-power goals and calls it approachable despite the length.
- + The ↑36 comment credits it as one of Dan Carlin's sources for his WWI podcast series, the kind of citation that sticks.
Common criticism
- − The same ↑37 comment that recommends the book flags the length upfront, not as an afterthought.
- − r/history and r/AskHistorians combined produce only fifteen recognized mentions in seven years, a thin trail for a book this specifically name-checked.
- − Nothing in the displayed excerpts argues with the recommendations, but nothing outside two history-focused subreddits argues for it either.
Who it's for
Come to this if Dan Carlin's WWI series left you wanting the primary source instead of the audio adaptation; the ↑36 comment names it as exactly that. If you want the realpolitik version of how the Middle East's modern borders got drawn, rather than a single-country history, the AskHistorians recommendation (↑37) is aimed at that reader specifically. Budget for the length: even the people recommending it say so before they say anything else.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for A Peace to End All Peace?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I'm going to separate this answer into three sections, since it's responding to quite a broad question. **The Ottoman Empire** The Ottoman Empire first acquired vast numbers of Arab subjects, at the start of the 16th century, Arab nationalism did not exist, and it would not exist for centuries mo…
“I have to disagree with the part of your reply when it comes to the definition of the "heartland" of the Muslim world. This is a very Middle-East/Arab-centric view and doesn't take into account the fact that the vast majority of the Muslim world and the ones who gave legitimacy to the Ottoman claim …
“It was pretty bad for a while. When they got pushed back to and besieged at Kut, things got so hairy the British paid a massive sum to the Ottomans *while they were at war* to get them out. Several books have a good overview of the campaign, and I would HIGHLY recommend David Fromkin's "A Peace To E…
“Hello everyone. I compiled a list of all the books I strongly recommended, and organized them by region/topic. Hope you guys find it useful! Afghanistan: *Afghanistan* by Jonatahn A. Lee. The books provides a great overview of Afghanistan's rich history from the 15th century to the modern day. Int…
“Thanks so much for this post. I saw Lawrence of Arabia in a huge, Cinemascope theater back when it was re-released in the late 1980s and it started my lifelong love of the Middle East and Islamic Culture in general. I ended up with an undergraduate degree in Middle Eastern History. While I don't use…
“If you want a really good, detailed historical overview of WW One-era "great power" goals, and the incompetence/mixed messages, I highly recommend David Fromkin's "A Peace to End All Peace." It's long, but very approachable and neutrally written,and from the realpolitik perspective, with lots of ev…
“**A Peace To End All Peace** by David Fromkin is a phenomenal study of how the modern Arab world was born out of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and its division by the French and Brits and whoever else following World War 1. It was one of Dan Carlin’s sources in his series on WW1.
“I wanted to add David Fromkin's 'A Peace to End All Peace' as an excellent book covering the creation of the modern Middle East.
“They didn't. The Arabs sided with themselves inorder to increase their influence and saw British backing as a means to an end. The British actively publicised their support of local Arab warlords as a support to pan Arab federation. I'm currently reading "A peace to end all peace" and this above is …
“Those are some excellent suggestions! I got a couple of David Stevenson's books for Christmas, and I can't wait to dig into them. Hope you don't mind if I chime in with a few of my own suggestions on the topic. You'll probably be able to tell a few of my supernerd niche interests from this list, but…
“The Arabs sided with Britain against the Ottoman Empire in World War I primarily due to nationalist aspirations. Under Ottoman rule, many Arab leaders sought independence from Turkish dominance. The British, through the 1915–1916 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, promised Arab independence in exchange…
“A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin is a good starting point for learning about the post-WWI Middle East. His focus is fairly broad, discussing the entirety of the former Ottoman Empire, but that is important for understanding the specifics of British policy in the Levant, since nothing occurs…
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with A Peace to End All Peace — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring A Peace to End All Peace
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
A Peace to End All Peace — frequently asked
Is A Peace to End All Peace a good starting point for WWI Middle East history?+
Yes, according to the excerpts that name it directly. The ↑37 AskHistorians comment recommends it for exactly that: a detailed overview of great-power goals and incompetence, calling it approachable despite the length. That's one account identifier's framing, but it's the most detailed endorsement in the tracked data.
How long is A Peace to End All Peace, and is it worth the length?+
Long, by the recommenders' own admission, and nobody pretends otherwise. The ↑37 AskHistorians comment flags that it's long before it says anything positive, then argues the approachable, neutral writing and realpolitik perspective make up for it. Nothing in the displayed data disputes either half of that claim, and no shorter alternative gets named in its place.
Did Dan Carlin use A Peace to End All Peace for his WWI series?+
That's the specific claim in the ↑36 r/history comment, which calls the book phenomenal and lists it among Carlin's sources. It's one displayed excerpt making that claim, not an independently verified bibliography, but it's the reason the book keeps resurfacing in these threads.
Is A Peace to End All Peace focused on the Ottoman Empire or the whole Middle East?+
Both, per the ↑36 excerpt, which frames it as the story of the modern Arab world emerging from the Ottoman collapse and its division by France and Britain after WWI. r/AskHistorians treats it as a source for that same period rather than a single country's history.