First World War....any recommendations?

[Paul Wakefield]

I also have an excellent Lyn Macdonald book; unfortunately I think son has "borrowed" it but I'm 95% certain its just called Somme.

Another useful site is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission particulalrly if you are trying to trace relatives as it has a comprehensive search facility. I know we managed to track down the grave of one of my wife's relatives. They have a map of the cemeteries available for £7 and also some useful links: www.cwgc.org.


Paul

 

[retroman]

Birdsong .... Sebastian Faulkes

Just finished reading this. Although it is a novel the author has researched his subject superbly.

His account of that first morning 'over the top' on the Somme makes for difficult reading ....

Puts the observance of Armistice Day into a whole new perspective.

 

[Satnav]

The Great War

BLACKADDER GOES FORTH

Best comedy ever written, just to lighten the mood a little eh?

 

[Lord Snooty]

I have a few WW1 books at home, will check them out tonight. I know one of them is called "Eye Deep in Hell" about the Somme and may be by Lyn MacDonald.

 

[Deleted account W]

Richard Holmes’ new book Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front .

Listened to an interview with the author yesterday, he's used letters and diarys of the soldiers as his source for the book.

Worth a look. Published by Harper and Collins.

Quote from Amazon:
To discover new voices and new perspectives on the war he has trawled through the rich archives of letters, diaries and memoirs that still exist, most of them written while the fighting still continued. From these he has constructed an extraordinarily vivid and moving picture of what it felt like to be one of the millions of men who served in the British army during the four years between August 1914 and the armistice on November 11, 1918. From Private Albert Bullock rejoicing in the discovery of 200 Woodbines in the pack of a fellow soldier who had fled the front line, to Private Eric Hiscock describing the horrors of finding himself entangled in barbed wire. The Tommies, whom Richard Holmes rescues from obscurity, prove powerful witnesses to the diverse realities of the war. Beneath the stereotyped images of the First World War that we all carry in our heads, the real lives of the men who fought it are still there to be discovered and Holmes’s book brings them forcefully to our attention. ––Nick Rennison

 

[Invicta Moto]

Richard Holmes’ new book Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front .

Veing a tight bugger I'm waiting for the paperback version.

 

[Banger]

There are lots of books i have read on the Great war. I have read a few of the above mentioned but if you want two sides of the coin so to speak then read these two.

Mud , blood and poppycock which i know has been mentioned which IMO states that there was not alot more that could have been done that was not done and some myths where rubbish!

On the flip side of the coin there a book called "Haigs suspect command a reassessment".
This by far is my favourite as the author a man called Winter went to far colonies such as Canada and Australia to gather evidence that had been hidden from the British Archives.

It showed that many Battles where complete "Cock ups" but hidden from the public and documents destroyed, but copies had not been in these colonies.

Haig had only risen through the ranks because he mixed in high circles and was the son of the great Whisky manufacturer his record before the war was disasterous and was no where near fit enough or no enough to command an army, he lied through his back teeth , without spoiling it to much incase you decide to read it, in one push he claimed a victory for the allies by saying we had killed 600,000 germans when he knew it was just 300,000.
And said we had gained a mile into there terrotory when infact we had gained 40yards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know propaganda in war is not un-common but he made "gerbils" look like an honest man in comparism.
He got men slaughtered and said we had lossed or won the battle on the amount of men we had killed or lossed.
Second in Command was a man called Plummer who was by far a better tactician and the men respected him, he did not and refused to in many occasions to send his men into a "Turkey Shoot" for the germans and they both fell out on many occasions.
You can make your mind up about Haig but i have read many books for and against and i think he was incompetent and slaughtered many men needlessly especially towards the end when he knew the americans had joined so he just used them like cannon fodder as he knew he had superior numbers.

Great book , you make your own mind up but i think he was "probably" the worst general that we ever had in history and many men paid for that.
And that is also a view of many historians too although they would not go as far as to say offcoarse-God Forbid!!

 

[Droopy Dick]

A good book that looks at the motivations of WW1 generals is, "On the psychology of military incompetence" - by Norman Dixon.

"Shot at Dawn: Executions in the First World War by Authority of the British Army Act" - Julian Putkowski, Julian Sykes, also makes for sombre but interesting reading.

 

[Timolgra]

Well worth aread

'Birdsong' by Sebastian Faulks.
Pub. Vintage.

Tim

 

[Banger]

Re: Well worth aread

'Birdsong' by Sebastian Faulks.
Pub. Vintage.

Tim

Yes read that and it was a good read but the love story i thought ruined it a bit.

Good Story.

 

[Den]

[/B]

dont go, its finished

 

[Beemer Bob]

Tommy - Richard Holmes

 

[MikeP]

The War Walk by Nigel Jones. ISBN 0 7090 1174 1
Literally a walk along the western front following the authors fathers service there. Lots of then and now photos, maps of routes and contemporary stories about the artefacts still being found.
This is a personal story but is a route through most of the well known battlefields.

The First World War by John Keegan. ISBN 0 09 1801 788
Keegan is probably the most respected military historian alive. This book covers all theatres so you would have to pick out the relevant chapters.

Tommy Goes To War by Malcolm Brown. ISBN 0 7524 1772 X.
This is terribly moving. It's made up of real letters from soldiers serving on the front and interspersed with explanations of the battles and campaigns relevant to the letters to put them into context.

Finally, if you want to read the best book on the issues that lead to the Great War, Dreadnought by David Massie. ISBN 0 224 03260 7.
The arms race and politics that made the war inevitable. Absolutely invaluable to understand why it happened.