ianw Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 "The Man Who Was Greenmantle" by Margaret Fitzherbert - a fascinating biography of Irish Guard , Aubrey Herbert - friend of Raymond asquith , half brother of Lord Caernarvon. Extraordinary man. All the better because it's a nice copy of a quite rare book and cost a £1 at my local charity shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham-McAdam Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 I'm approaching the end of Dominic Hibberd's new biography of Wilfred Owen (Weidenfeld & N 2002). Having got to 'Scarborough, Summer 1918' I'm dreading finishing it, partly because he spends so long getting one deep into the poet's mind that I don't want to leave it, and partly because we know how it ends and will have to trail back to Ors again for another visit. After that, I see I've got Gitta Sereny's 'Albert Speer - His Battle with Truth' waiting. Oooh, I do like a cheerful read at bedtime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Same as Terry - Forgotten Voices. Some interesting quotes from Harry Patch, a lewis gunner from the DCLI, who was featured in BBC 2's 'The Trench' aged 103! - Respect! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark A Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Graham, Glad to hear that the Owen biography is so good, I look forward to reading it. I'm glad to tell you in turn that I found the Sereny book about Speer as gripping as anything I've read- an intelligent, urbane man seduced by Hitler, it's quite a story and Sereny is one hell of a writer. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Currently reading REDCOAT - The British Soldier in the Age of Horse & Musket by Richard Holmes with RAJ - The Making of British India by Lawrence James lined up. Heavy hints as to what books to buy for my birthday have been given to my daughters....they always come up trumps.. it keeps Dad quiet and out of the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 "Peacemakers - The Paris Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End the War" - Margaret MacMillan. And absoloutely nothing to do with WW1 - "Victorian Things" - Asa Briggs and any "Viz" books. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Currently reading "The Doughboys" by Gary Mead. Quite a comprehensive history of the USA in WW1 (and "The Red Army Years" - not WW1,but quite a nostalgic read for me). Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 I thought there were errors i Doughboys but it's been a while and I do not remember what they were. The best ever book on the total American experience is The War To End All Wars by Dr Edward Coffman of Lexington, Kentucky, a friend. It will remain the best since the research was done in the 50s and 60s when lots of men including MacArthur and one of Pershing's staff, G3 maybe, were alive as were lots of company commanders etc. This is not just my opinion, it's generally agreed it's the best. Best on our only really big battle is The Test of Battle by Dr. Paul Braim, now dead, a former friend, also a very highly decorated retired Colonel who was in WW2, Korea, four Vietnam tours. Both are available, Coffman book in print from University Press of Kentucky, trust me, get the paperback unless you collect books in which case get former edition in hardback, current hardback has no dust jacket, mainly for libraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Thanks Paul. I'll certainly hunt out Dr.Coffman's book.I've only just started reading "The Doughboys" recently (I'm not very far into it yet) and find it an interesting read.I haven't noticed any "blazing" errors as such (yet!),but it's rare to find a book that has none. Is the list of units that saw action (with dates) accurate ,do you know? By the way, did you decide on a name for April 8th? Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 The British Army in Italy 1917-1918. John & Eileen Wilks and The Air V.C,s of the Frist World War.Peter G.Cooksley. Regards Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robwilliams Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 I'm currently reading 'General Jack's Diary', which is very interesting. A few months ago, in response to my wife saying,'why don't you have a break from the first world war?' I read a couple of books about the Franco-Prussian War (couldn't quite let go, you see)! Fiction...the ONLY book of fiction I read is Lord of the Rings. Currently reading it for the fourth time, this time to my son. Have just got back from the cinema after seeing it for the second time. Waiting to read Richard Hough 'The Great War at Sea' and Ian Passingham, 'Pillars of Fire'. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 21 February , 2003 Share Posted 21 February , 2003 Re Redcoat, heard this evening that Richard Holmes is writing something similar for Tommy in the Great War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 22 February , 2003 Share Posted 22 February , 2003 SIMON I read Trench Fever a while ago...story of the authors grandfather.. from what I remember it was a good read...tracing his grandfather's exploits. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 22 February , 2003 Share Posted 22 February , 2003 Just started reading 'The Battle Below - 3rd Squadron Australian Flying Corps'. Prior to this I had been reading 'Ghosts in Khaki - 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion AIF' by Les Cody; plus when taking a break from books about WW1 & WW2 I have found Ian Rankin's books on Inspector Rebus to be quite engrossing. Cheers Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 22 February , 2003 Share Posted 22 February , 2003 Well, here goes... Following me around by bed, briefcase etc is "The Villa, The Lake, The Meeting" by Mark Roseman. About the Wannsee Conference in 1942. (Basis of 'Conspiracy', the TV movie with Kenneth Branagh. Utterly superb. Following: "Somme" by Gary Sheffield "Gallipoli" by LA Carlyon (Any good? Not a G expert) "The American Film Institute's Desk Reference" and then a re-read of 'Band of Brothers', since my heavily delayed Xmas present (the series on DVD) finally arrived! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lesley Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 Birdsong by Sebastian Foulkes - this is my third attempt but I'm finding it heavy going - i'm tempted to skip the first bit and go straight to the war. I also dip into At The Going Down of Sun.This is ideal bedtime reading as i read about one or two soldiers before nodding off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 I'm currently reading (in bits) Authority and Upheaval in Leipzig, 1910 - 1920 by Sean Dobson. It gives an excellent insight into German domestic unrest, particularly in 1918, and the considerable extent of the Soldiers and Sailors councils seizing power in the wake of the Naval Insurrection at Kiel. I think too few of us know anything about the German home front. WELL YOU DID ASK! For light relaxation I've nearly finished Fokker's "Flying Dutchman" which gives a fascinating, but clearly biased, view of aircraft manufacture in Germany during the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 ...you asked for it: THE PLAYBOY, what else at the bedside??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 ...no seriously: "Wir von der Infanterie" from Friedrich Lehmann, 1929. It is about the personal war diary of a" Bavarian infantry soldier" from 5 years at the front and hospital. Wow , all written in gothic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Brown Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 Nearing the end of The Somme. Lyn MacDonald. And to compare, The First Day on the Somme. Martin Middlebrook. As a reference guide, the 2 magnificent ref. books by Barry Cuttell. "One Day On The Somme" and "148 Days On The Somme". Excellent Stuff. Well, I want to make sure i get it right. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 23 February , 2003 Share Posted 23 February , 2003 Just starting to read "Elmira - Death Camp of the North", by Michael Horigan. My Xmas present from the USA branch of the family (who live near Elmira in New York State). A notororius northern PoW camp of the American Civil War. And I'm rereading Stedman's "Manchester Pals" - now I've got my own copy at long last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 24 February , 2003 Share Posted 24 February , 2003 'The Old Curiosity Shop' by an up-and-coming writer called Charles Dickens. Yes, really! Occasionally, we need a spot of leave to re-charge the batteries, although I'm still daily dipping into our war collection. The Old Curiosity Shop was serialised in an excellent dramatisation running to 25 x 15-minutes episodes on Radio 4 in December. However, as I prefer to read the original (where possible) prior to witnessing an adaptation, I studiously avoided the later episodes. Happily, my enjoyment has been enhanced by aquaintance with the characters through some excellent realisations by the cast; the weasely voice of Daniel Quilp, for instance, is in my mind's ear whenever he appears on the page. Once I've done with Little Nell & co. I may well turn to 'A Surgeon Looks Back' by Herbert Paterson, who founded Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers, which admitted its first patients on 23 March 1915. Now for the admission - I hardly ever read a Great War book from cover to cover. There are several reasons for this, such as half-read books having to be put aside in favour of Inter-Library Loans, and the nature of research requiring skim-reading to locate the information you actually require. Am I alone in sampling books rather than consuming them wholesale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 24 February , 2003 Share Posted 24 February , 2003 Christina Holstein's excellent book on Verdun and Vera Brittain's diary entries in "Chronicle of Youth." I always keep MCarthy's "Somme-Day by Day" nearby. I seem to always need it for reference. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted 24 February , 2003 Share Posted 24 February , 2003 Has anyone read Geoff Dyer's The Missing of the Somme? I really love the book even though it's impossible to catergorise (art history, architectural history, travel book, literary criticism). .. (snip) I often dip into the last few pages where he visits Thiepval on a warm summer's day, the writing is very lyrical and unashamedly emotional but I think it sums up a lot of what many of us feel when we go there... Anyway... Spot on. It's a brilliant book, especially the last 40 pages or so. As you say, one can recognise oneself in his writings; it's like looking in a mirror. I think he tries to do for memorials what Paul Fussell does for literature, but he doesn't have the range of material that Fussell had and anyway Geoff is not Paul Fussell. But he more than succeeds in other ways. I liked his description of the Ulster Tower and some of the peole who go there - I think he shares my view of the place. My children view my interests in the Western Front with a benign mixture of sympathy and non-comprehension. My youngest son asked me to explain my fascination. I lent him Dyer's book and told him to read the last 50 pages. I am still waiting for the book to be returned. Currently on bedside table; Tony Benn's diary; Nigel Keech Battlefield Europe Series book on Bullecourt; Michael Moore's 'Stupid White Men' and Nicolas Offenstadt 'Les Fusilés de la Grande Guerre et la Memoire Collective' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 24 February , 2003 Share Posted 24 February , 2003 Well Hedley, I just ordered the Dyer book. If he rates even a mention with Fusell's Great War and Modern Memory it's really good! Best book of criticism I know of. Since we are in complete agreement about Ulster Tower, the modern monument to the Orange Order men who fell, etc. and apparently Dyer is also, that's another reason to get it. Also bought Paris 1919 which has very good reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now