doogal Posted 12 May , 2005 Share Posted 12 May , 2005 Troop Morale and Popular Culture in the British and Dominion Armies 1914-1918 J.G. Fuller The full title was too long for the usual means of presentation. Has anyone read the book, and if so - is it any good? regards doogal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gporta Posted 12 May , 2005 Share Posted 12 May , 2005 Troop Morale and Popular Culture in the British and Dominion Armies 1914-1918 J.G. Fuller <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm definitely curious as well about the title. Amazon gives the following details (and a very high price! ouch, ouch!): Hardcover 226 pages (January 3, 1991) Publisher: Clarendon Press ISBN: 0198201788 I read L. B. Collins' "Theatre at war 1914-18" (a somewhat related subject), and it was a fascinating insight on the subject. Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogal Posted 12 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2005 Amazon gives the following details (and a very high price! ouch, ouch!): My thoughts entirely. doogal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 12 May , 2005 Share Posted 12 May , 2005 I much recommend Fuller's book. Although somewhat academic in approach, it contains a wealth of very interesting material and insights. I found it invaluable when researching welfare and morale for my own book. Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gporta Posted 12 May , 2005 Share Posted 12 May , 2005 Yes, it is usually the scholarly, well researched approach which raises the price of these kind of books: as they are dealing extensively with a very specific subject, they are not believed to appeal to a wide group of readers, so they are usually released by university publishers in small printings. This is what increases the price, I guess. Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 12 May , 2005 Share Posted 12 May , 2005 I read this book a while ago and found it quite interesting and useful. It is pretty specific though - although there are lots of details which I'm sure would interest a wider readership outside academia. Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hodges Posted 13 May , 2005 Share Posted 13 May , 2005 Yes - I've also read it. With Charles' view and also Richard Holmes highly commending it in Tommy, my view is rather inconsequential. The great proportion of its content is from trench journals. Some really great stuff in it as these are such good source material - rich in details, witty and engaging. Some 200 odd have been read and used by the author from the British Library and Cambridge University archives. Certainly there is plenty to be found that is not covered elsewhere. It's not hugely long though, so whether it is worth paying high prices for is debatable. Now don't let me put you off reading it, as I think it is a good read, but in more academic terms I find this reliance on one source is both a strength and a weakness. I just don't think, as the author does, that you can accurately assess troop morale through that particular prism in isolation. While fascinating in their own terms, trench journals are light-hearted morale boosters, high on flim-flammery and low on serious examination. It's a bit like rating the state of the today's nation based only on a reading and analysis of Viz, Loaded and the satirical bits of Private Eye. As a result, I disagree with quite a large bit of his thesis - particularly regarding British and ANZAC troops lack of emnity towards the enemy. Still deserves to be better read; shame it never came out in paperback. Paul H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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