Some Desperate glory..authentic?

[Tag]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book " Some Desperate Glory", but can any one shed some light on its authencity? I began to reflect on this book after ...and found it hard to believe that Officer Vaughan would be so describtive in his journal. In one instance he refers to his friend talking " In a low tone" Who would put that in a journal? Maybe the book was revised later in his life. If any one can shed some light on this I would be greatful. Otherwise a very good read... Thanks Tag

[spike10764]

Tag,

I would have thought the book is not a transcript of his journal, but a book about his experiences based on his journal as a memory jogger. I have read some direct transcripts from journals in book form before and they yend to be , well, to be honest, stilted and formal. I must declare an interest in this, as Vaughan's book is one of my favourite memoirs, but to be objective- I would have thought the publishers will have had some input into the style and essence of any book they publish.

If you check out the book in This Post, you get some idea of a war diary, of a soldier merely reproduced.

I don't think many post war book publishers would have tried to sell a straight journal to their readers. Using the journal as a memory jogger and recalling events that stuck in his mind beyond that, is how I see Vaughan producing such a good, readable book.

[Tag]

Tag,

I would have thought the book is not a transcript of his journal, but a book about his experiences based on his journal as a memory jogger. I have read some direct transcripts from journals in book form before and they yend to be , well, to be honest, stilted and formal. I must declare an interest in this, as Vaughan's book is one of my favourite memoirs, but to be objective- I would have thought the publishers will have had some input into the style and essence of any book they publish.

If you check out the book in This Post, you get some idea of a war diary, of a soldier merely reproduced.

I don't think many post war book publishers would have tried to sell a straight journal to their readers. Using the journal as a memory jogger and recalling events that stuck in his mind beyond that, is how I see Vaughan producing such a good, readable book.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Spike , In the introduction written by Robert Crowley he states" The quality and authenticity of the diary are recognized immediately" the book was published in 1981 , fifty years after the authors death. So I assumed that the book was taken almost entirely from his raw diary accounts. I would like to see a copy of his original diary to compare it to the book. At any rate I think the book was a first rate account of the war and one of my favorites. If any one could add anything to this I would be greatful...Tag

[Captain Dave]

Whilst I enjoyed this book, I too was dubious of it's authenticity. Unless the auther revised the notes immediatly post war?

[Dawson]

As this is one of my favourite books, I think and hope it's a genuine account. I've always wondered why it ended so suddenly, I guess the account of the battle he witnessed would silence most people,

His grandson visited Ypres in the past year, visiting places that are mentioned in the book, like the pillbox and the hotel in Amiens. I think it was for a forthcoming tv programme.

Does anyone know where he is buried? I would love to pay my respects, I've already paid them to his men at Tyne cot.

Ian.