Fattyowls Posted 1 May , 2018 Share Posted 1 May , 2018 7 hours ago, hazelclark said: Crunchy is spot on with this book. That happens a lot I find, thanks for that Hazel. 1 hour ago, Steven Broomfield said: Agreed. As the book is now endorsed by both Hazel and the sage of Southampton Parkway I will have to buy it once I've saved up enough pocket money. This comes at a time when I'm ever so slightly perturbed about the impact of the Sainsbury's/Asda tie up on the quality of the refuse out the back of my local J S branch so the timing is not great. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 1 May , 2018 Share Posted 1 May , 2018 It's £4.99 in Kindle format as we speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 1 May , 2018 Share Posted 1 May , 2018 How come I always miss out ??? just jumped on my kindle... 12.99euro... grrr ... OK... have enough to read anyway for now ... will come later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazelclark Posted 1 May , 2018 Author Share Posted 1 May , 2018 2 hours ago, Marilyne said: How come I always miss out ??? just jumped on my kindle... 12.99euro... grrr ... OK... have enough to read anyway for now ... will come later... I am rarely ever able to get the British kindle and books deals either. In my case I think it is because there is not the same demand here for UK topics. Hazel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 1 May , 2018 Share Posted 1 May , 2018 19 minutes ago, hazelclark said: I am rarely ever able to get the British kindle and books deals either. In my case I think it is because there is not the same demand here for UK topics. Hazel worse... my kindle is German... amazon.de !! Has good deals, but not always on the books I want... M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 13 July , 2018 Share Posted 13 July , 2018 (edited) A very informative book. I did wonder at his use of casualties per square mile gained as a measure of battle success? Edited 16 July , 2018 by PhilB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John P. Moore Posted 28 February , 2019 Share Posted 28 February , 2019 I have been trying to read this book for the past two weeks. I found it exceptionally BORING and finally put it aside after the first 240 pages. I bought the book with the expectation that it would contain many personal accounts and detailed descriptions of small unit actions. Instead, the first 90 pages (4 chapters) were comprised of high-level political and military discussions in an effort to provide background on the battle. The book was difficult to read because of frequent digressions between local actions and intrigues in London. Too much speculation. Pages 306 - 390 are references and end notes. The resolution of the photos is poor. I will probably toss this book in the re-cycling and avoid this author in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 28 February , 2019 Share Posted 28 February , 2019 It goes to show that one man's meat is another's poison. I think the book is one of the best single-volume histories of Third Ypres, with the right mix of Front-line and political background. I thought it especially good in describing Plumer's three great strikes after the campaign was taken off Gough, and given to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddell Posted 28 February , 2019 Share Posted 28 February , 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, John P. Moore said: I have been trying to read this book for the past two weeks. I found it exceptionally BORING and finally put it aside after the first 240 pages. I bought the book with the expectation that it would contain many personal accounts and detailed descriptions of small unit actions. Instead, the first 90 pages (4 chapters) were comprised of high-level political and military discussions in an effort to provide background on the battle. The book was difficult to read because of frequent digressions between local actions and intrigues in London. Too much speculation. Pages 306 - 390 are references and end notes. The resolution of the photos is poor. I will probably toss this book in the re-cycling and avoid this author in the future. I imagine it must be a nightmare for an author approaching a subject like Passchendaele and trying to find the right balance between the political scene and what actually happened on the ground over such a prolonged period. I have not read the book in question but have read around the subject matter and am currently listening to Paul Ham's book Passchendaele (mentioned in this thread) on CD. That book also focuses heavily on Lloyd George and Haig and the politics around them. Nothing wrong with that, however, it can be quite boring to read. As Paul says 'one man's meat is another"s poison'. If you are looking for personal accounts from Passchendaele can I suggest that Lyn McDonald's book 'They Called it Passchendaele' is a good starting point and if you are looking for particular unit actions then battalion histories and personal memoirs are worth searching out. Don't neglect the official histories as well. Peter Barton's book on Passchendaele is another I return to frequently, largely for the photographs of the battlefield then and now. Scott Edited 28 February , 2019 by Waddell Added more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 1 March , 2019 Share Posted 1 March , 2019 OK.... gave up resisting... I tried to read it in Dutch from the library, but honestly, it does not work for me. Ridiculous, in a way, right?? Dutch and French are my mother tongues, I studied a whole year in Dutch, but I just can't bring myself to read a book about British history in Dutch... whatever... just ordered it on Amazon (.de!!)... only 59cents differece between the Kindl and the real deal... so that's another one to put on the pile... M., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 1 March , 2019 Share Posted 1 March , 2019 I thought it an excellent book. Maybe one for the person who already knows the basics of 3rd Ypres and wishes to extend his/her knowledge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 1 March , 2019 Share Posted 1 March , 2019 5 hours ago, PhilB said: I thought it an excellent book. Maybe one for the person who already knows the basics of 3rd Ypres and wishes to extend his/her knowledge? I suspect you might be right. As others have said, for the political amd military background decision-making, this is defintely THE book to read. For battle coverage, less so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 1 March , 2019 Share Posted 1 March , 2019 In my book, The Book has got to be To Play a Giants part. Nothing I have on the topic read touches it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 1 March , 2019 Share Posted 1 March , 2019 2 hours ago, David Filsell said: In my book, The Book has got to be To Play a Giants part. Nothing I have on the topic read touches it. Spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 2 March , 2019 Share Posted 2 March , 2019 15 hours ago, David Filsell said: In my book, The Book has got to be To Play a Giants part. Nothing I have on the topic read touches it. I confess my ignorance: I'd not heard of it before. Checked prices - £35 from the publisher (N&M) or £15.15 from Amazon (sorry - using that weird Forum thing, I should say Amaz*n but I'm a rebel). Looks like a no-brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 2 March , 2019 Share Posted 2 March , 2019 15 hours ago, David Filsell said: In my book, The Book has got to be To Play a Giants Part. Not one I've read either. Can anyone, who's read both, comment on the differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 2 March , 2019 Share Posted 2 March , 2019 It came out of the blue to me for review. I am far from an expert on the battle - although I have read a number of books on the topic. None of them seem to have length or breadth of this little known work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 On 01/03/2019 at 18:15, David Filsell said: In my book, The Book has got to be To Play a Giants part. Nothing I have on the topic read touches it. if Amaz*** .de would mind lowering the price a bit... 50 euro is a bit much for some light reading... M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 34 minutes ago, Marilyne said: if Amaz*** .de would mind lowering the price a bit... 50 euro is a bit much for some light reading... M. It isn't light! It's A4 and 600 pages, a tome not to be argued with. But , yes, €50, or £35 is itself a weighty investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 32 minutes ago, paulgranger said: It isn't light! oops... OK, so not the kind of book to take along on holiday ... airplane crew might see it as a weapon and not let one on board with it !! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 3 hours ago, Marilyne said: oops... OK, so not the kind of book to take along on holiday ... airplane crew might see it as a weapon and not let one on board with it !! M. Or it might tip your luggage weight allowance over the brink ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 Go for it. Its weighty in every way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 6 hours ago, Marilyne said: if Amaz*** .de would mind lowering the price a bit... 50 euro is a bit much for some light reading... M. Good Lord. As reported in post 40, Amazon were charging £15.15 a few days ago ... now it's gone up. I blame Filsell (Note: abve post edited for Forum terminolgy - read 'Post #40' and 'Amaz***' I have no idea why the Forum uses these styles, but one hates to be an outsider) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazelclark Posted 8 March , 2019 Author Share Posted 8 March , 2019 I gave it up! Weighs a ton and is down right awkward ! H.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 8 March , 2019 Share Posted 8 March , 2019 Influential? Moi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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