Synopses & Reviews
This book uses personal accounts and illustrations, mainly from the author's own archives, to cover all aspects of World War I-from departure of the Old Contemptibles to fight the Kaiser in 1914, young men eagerly enlisting, high hopes of 1915 that fizzled out at Gallipoli, to the bloody fields of Flanders. It runs through the battles of the Somme and Passchendaele to the coming of the Americans, fighting in the closing months of the war, joyous celebrations of Armistice Day and burial of the unknown warrior in the aftermath. The authors have drawn on the experiences of the men who fought, touching on subjects as diverse as propaganda, fear, morale, bravery, bawdiness, filth, and frivolity and the stark contrast between attitudes of civilians at home and the men at the front. Newspapers, magazines, letters, diaries, songs, poems, as well as a wealth of first-hand anecdotes and personal accounts by the soldiers themselves are included in this book.
Synopsis
From the boys who eagerly enlisted to the solemn burial of the Unknown Soldier, the Christmas truces that the generals could not prevent, the girls handing out white feathers on the streets of London, the filth, the rain, the flies and rats, the military blunders -- scenes from the Great War have an almost overwhelming emotional power. Here, acclaimed historian Lyn Macdonald brings together letters, diary extracts, photographs, songs, amateur poetry, official reports, press cuttings, and eyewitness accounts of the Western Front and Gallipoli. The result is a terrifyingly vivid piece of unofficial history.