Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

The true classics


David Filsell

Recommended Posts

On ‎24‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 13:08, museumtom said:

Thank you Paul, Denis Winter it is! I have corrected it.

 

Henry Winter is the football correspondent in The Times

 

Glad we're keeping to one: if we allowed more there would be a dilution of quality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hervey Allen's 'Toward the Flame'.

 

Scott 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Only 17 classics chosen so far, plus 2 books chosen twice and 3 'illegals' , it doesn't seem many when one thinks of all the books that have been written on

the war in the last one hundred and two years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Salute of Guns" by Boyd 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

St Pauls Bookshop in Stamford, Lincolnshire have a nice copy of 'Somme Harvest', for £45 on ABE. I have seen the book in the shop. I didn't buy it as I have copy already that belonged to Randolph Churchill!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Black Maria said:

Only 17 classics chosen so far, plus 2 books chosen twice and 3 'illegals' , it doesn't seem many when one thinks of all the books that have been written on

the war in the last one hundred and two years.

Possibly because we're limited to one book per contributor. That and the fact that 'literature' isn't that interesting to many. I suspect many (all) contributors to this thread so far could quickly get the numbers up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Steven Broomfield said:

Possibly because we're limited to one book per contributor. That and the fact that 'literature' isn't that interesting to many. I suspect many (all) contributors to this thread so far could quickly get the numbers up!


One suggstion per contributor distills it down to the essentials just nicely i think.

However to get more titles then perhaps a top 5 by each person will give a greater mix. Obviously the overlapping suggestions will show the real gems.

I've not read all that many to be honest, but the stand out for me is "Canon Fodder" by A. Stuart Dolden.

Edited by Derek Black
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque.

 

(Nearly said 'Goodbye to All That').

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Storm of Steel' by Ernst Junger at the recommendation of Chris Baker (the other by Chris was 'There's a devil in the drum' by J. Lucy thoroughly enjoyed both)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I agree with your second choice, keith, I found Storm of Steel rather unpleasant. Probably a national culture thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Four Years on the Western Front' by A Rifleman (Aubrey Smith).

 

Cheers Martin B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'At the war'. Lord Northcliffe. 

Published for the Red Cross & the Order of St John. 1916.

Some have called it a piece of propaganda, on behalf of the author. 

Quite by chance, my copy has dedications dated Christmas 1916 and May 1941 inside the front cover. Must have been given as a present to, firstly, a J H Waugh from a Mrs Stallard and, secondly, a Mr John Hall in 1941 from the executor of J H Waugh's estate. I have no idea of it's value. It cost me very little a few years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Steven Broomfield said:

Possibly because we're limited to one book per contributor. That and the fact that 'literature' isn't that interesting to many. I suspect many (all) contributors to this thread so far could quickly get the numbers up!

We could indeed , well I suppose at least my post has regenerated the thread and we have another five to add to the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BM!

its certainly a fascinating list, and I have some buying to do. There are very few books here whose nomination I would dispute. It's been most interesting. Thanks for taking the trouble go respond team.

best regards

David

Edited by David Filsell
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Luigi Albertini's "The Origins of the War of 1914." It's the classic that all subsequent war origins books try to live up to.

 

 
Edited by The Ibis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very hard to choose, but I'll opt for 'The war the infantry knew' as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only for the fact that it has already been chosen, I would have picked: 'The Price of Glory' as an absolute classic. But another favourite of mine is: 'The First Hundred Thousand: Being the Unofficial Chronicle of a Unit of "K (1)." 

 

Written by Ian Hay... the pen-name of Captain John Hay Beith of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, it was at the time reckoned to be one of the finest books to have come out of the great war. Mine is an original wartime copy. As a former soldier myself, much of the contents remind me very much of my own small arms training. If you have never read it, I can highly recommend it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 09:43, burlington said:

'At the war'. Lord Northcliffe. 

Published for the Red Cross & the Order of St John. 1916.

Some have called it a piece of propaganda, on behalf of the author. 

Quite by chance, my copy has dedications dated Christmas 1916 and May 1941 inside the front cover. Must have been given as a present to, firstly, a J H Waugh from a Mrs Stallard and, secondly, a Mr John Hall in 1941 from the executor of J H Waugh's estate. I have no idea of it's value. It cost me very little a few years ago.

 

That's interesting ... that's one of my family names - do you have any more details of her, for example a location, please?

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...