An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

466. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Conspiracy (Part 2)

July 03, 2024

Description

Gavrilo Princip, having been sent to school in Sarajevo, has become mixed up with the wrong crowd, and is now entangled in a secret Serbian nationalist organisation, the Black Hand. Hoping to be...
Read more here

Books Referenced

Thunder at Twilight

Author: Frederick Morton

Context:

Described as 'a brilliant book' that contains a lush spy thriller passage about the meeting between Princip and Czabrinovich in the cafe, depicting Princip asking his friend to help kill the crown prince of Austria.

The Trigger

Author: Tim Butcher

Context:

Described as 'Tim Butcher's brilliant book' which advances the case that the assassination plot originated with Princip himself rather than being directed by outside forces.

The Sleepwalkers

Author: Christopher Clark

Context:

Referenced multiple times throughout the episode for historical details including Serbian armaments sourcing, identifying who suggested the assassination (Rade Malobabic as 'a super agent'), the grooming of young conspirators, and evidence that Serbian PM Pasic knew about the plot.

July Crisis

Author: Thomas Otte

Context:

Referenced for the description of the conspirators as 'useful idiots, zealous, but ignorant and so deniable' and for comparing the events to 'something from the Scarlet Pimpernel.'

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author: Baroness Orczy

Context:

Mentioned as a book published a few years before 1914, used as a comparison to describe the spy thriller-like nature of the Black Hand conspiracy and its rituals.

Catastrophe

Author: Max Hastings

Context:

Referenced for presenting Serbian PM Pasic as 'a crafty old Serbian peasant' in his book about this period (title not specified in transcript).

Foucault's Pendulum

Author: Umberto Eco

Context:

Mentioned as a comparison to the idea that the Black Hand invented elaborate rituals and spy thriller elements specifically to impress the young conspirators.