James S Posted 5 June , 2022 Share Posted 5 June , 2022 What re some of the best books on Passchendaele? Thanks, James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Linham Posted 5 June , 2022 Share Posted 5 June , 2022 James A lot depends on what your interest is in the battle, one of the books that I find useful is Passchendale the Day By Day account by Chris McCarthy. By it's very nature it will only give an overview of the battle but it will give pointers to to which units were engaged on which day and you can develop your research/ interest from thier. Best wishes Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James S Posted 5 June , 2022 Author Share Posted 5 June , 2022 Malcolm, My interest is the battle itself, a good book on the battle with first hand accounts, etc. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acknown Posted 5 June , 2022 Share Posted 5 June , 2022 Whilst I have no idea where it stands in other peoples' ratings, I have found 'The Road to Passchendaele' by Richard van Emden (Pen & Sword, 2017) to be a most readable, well-presented book. It has many personal accounts and photos. Acknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 5 June , 2022 Share Posted 5 June , 2022 I still think highly of John Terraine’s ‘Road to Passchendaele’, Leon Wolf’s ‘In Flanders Fields’ & Lynn Mac Donald’s ‘They called it Passchendaele’. All rather old now and there are probably better more recent accounts but these still stay with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 7 June , 2022 Share Posted 7 June , 2022 Passchendaele, by Nick Lloyd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fellop Posted 7 June , 2022 Share Posted 7 June , 2022 I rather like: Passchendaele in Perspective; The Third Battle of Ypres. Edited by Peter H Liddle. Pen and Sword 1997 if memory serves. Or Something a little heavier, in both size and reading. To Play a Giants Part by Robert A Perry [The role of the British Army at Passchendaele] Naval & Military Press 2014. I enjoyed both though it took me almost a year to read the latter due to the minute detail and copious notes at the bottom of each page. Regards Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 28 June , 2022 Share Posted 28 June , 2022 On 07/06/2022 at 23:55, Steven Broomfield said: Passchendaele, by Nick Lloyd. Agreed. A sound, well balanced history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 28 June , 2022 Share Posted 28 June , 2022 1 hour ago, Crunchy said: Agreed. A sound, well balanced history. Thanks, Chris. I thought it very good. His book on Loos is also very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil andrade Posted 28 June , 2022 Share Posted 28 June , 2022 Very dated, and definitely not free from bias, but thoroughly recommended as a readable and straightforward account : IN FLANDERS FIELDS, Passchendaele 1917, by Leon Wolff. This was published in 1958, so it’s bound to be obsolete in many respects, but, despite its flaws, it has enough merit to persuade me to offer a whole hearted recommendation , especially if you seek something as a starting point. It’s journalistic history, but it has an enduring quality that I find seductive. I would advocate reading this first, and then read Nick Lloyd’s book to get the more authoritative study. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 1 July , 2022 Share Posted 1 July , 2022 On 28/06/2022 at 20:46, Steven Broomfield said: Thanks, Chris. I thought it very good. His book on Loos is also very good. Agreed Steven. I also like his The Hundred Days, and his latest - The Western Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crunchy Posted 1 July , 2022 Share Posted 1 July , 2022 On 28/06/2022 at 22:27, phil andrade said: IN FLANDERS FIELDS, Passchendaele 1917, by Leon Wolff. Personally, I’d give this one a miss. Readable yes, but too biased and there are much better and well researched accounts around these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 1 July , 2022 Share Posted 1 July , 2022 3 hours ago, Crunchy said: Agreed Steven. I also like his The Hundred Days, and his latest - The Western Front Yes. The latter, in particular, comes in tour de force territory. On 28/06/2022 at 13:27, phil andrade said: Very dated, and definitely not free from bias, but thoroughly recommended as a readable and straightforward account : IN FLANDERS FIELDS, Passchendaele 1917, by Leon Wolff. This was published in 1958, so it’s bound to be obsolete in many respects, but, despite its flaws, it has enough merit to persuade me to offer a whole hearted recommendation , especially if you seek something as a starting point. It’s journalistic history, but it has an enduring quality that I find seductive. I would advocate reading this first, and then read Nick Lloyd’s book to get the more authoritative study. Phil I'd agree with Crunchy about this one. I think your use of the word 'obsolete' sums it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardenerbill Posted 1 July , 2022 Share Posted 1 July , 2022 'Passchendaele The Untold Story' by Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 2 July , 2022 Share Posted 2 July , 2022 "To Play A Giant's Part" The role of the British Army at Passchendaele by Robert A. Perry is worth a look. Naval & Military press 2014 - www.naval-military-press.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil andrade Posted 2 July , 2022 Share Posted 2 July , 2022 19 hours ago, Gardenerbill said: 'Passchendaele The Untold Story' by Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson is very good. Didn’t Jack Sheldon take an exquisitely refined swipe at this one when he remarked that no book on the battle was more aptly titled ? Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 Reminds me of a review of another title many years ago: "this is not a bad book . . . this is a very bad book" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardenerbill Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 (edited) 19 hours ago, phil andrade said: Didn’t Jack Sheldon take an exquisitely refined swipe at this one when he remarked that no book on the battle was more aptly titled ? Phil Have you read it? I will look at a book reviews and if mixed I will make my own judgement. I enjoyed reading the book but I am no expert on the subject so I can't comment on it's accuracy or otherwise. Edited 3 July , 2022 by Gardenerbill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil andrade Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 Yes, I have read it, and I attended a conference in Ypres in 2007 to commemorate the ninetieth anniversary of Passchensaele, and listened to Robin Prior deliver a lecture. He impressed me, and his book did, too. The thing about Leon Wolff’s outdated and biased book is that it aroused great interest in the subject, which drove me to research further. Maybe the originator of this thread is far more steeped in knowledge and has no need of an introductory account, but it worked well for me half a century or more ago. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 20 minutes ago, phil andrade said: Yes, I have read it, and I attended a conference in Ypres in 2007 to commemorate the ninetieth anniversary of Passchensaele, and listened to Robin Prior deliver a lecture. He impressed me, and his book did, too. Phil I was at the Ypres conference in 2007 as well and bought the book at some point. I have read it and I enjoyed the book at that point. I don't know why it would be bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 6 minutes ago, AOK4 said: I have read it and I enjoyed the book at that point. I don't know why it would be bad. Maybe someone will enlighten us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil andrade Posted 3 July , 2022 Share Posted 3 July , 2022 2 hours ago, PhilB said: Maybe someone will enlighten us? Put it down to rivalry between historians : perhaps they can’t resist the odd swipe at each other ! Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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