mmm45 Posted 5 August , 2006 Share Posted 5 August , 2006 Hi Covenant with death by John Harris is it a good read?? Im interested in the pals battallions and just fancy a good summer read.I know its out of print and i got sniped on Ebay yesterday thought it was in the bag set off down to Gods country from Scotland got home 5hrs later went to check my account and lost it by 60p!! gutted! Am sure ill get one soon. Ady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 5 August , 2006 Share Posted 5 August , 2006 I haven't read it in a while, but it helped spark my interest in the Pals. It is based on a combination of the Sheffield and Accrington Pals. Harris was a reporter on a Sheffield newspaper and interviewed some veterans. It's not a great book in my view, and seems to have spread the idea that some Pals units were disbanded after 1st July. It does have historical significance though, as I believe that it was this book that helped inspire Martin Middlebrook to write 'First Day On The Somme'. There has been a previous thread about this novel but it may have been before the site migrated and I'm not sure it's still archived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Clay Posted 5 August , 2006 Share Posted 5 August , 2006 Do a search on Covenant with death in "Book Reviews" - you'll get a few previous threads. I think this was the novel that introduced me to the horror of the first day, around the late 60s/early 70s. It's on the shelf, to read again - one day .... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart150 Posted 6 August , 2006 Share Posted 6 August , 2006 It is very very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 6 August , 2006 Share Posted 6 August , 2006 How can you set off from Scotland to God's country? Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 6 August , 2006 Share Posted 6 August , 2006 Pass on that one, Roxy.......but remember what Dr Johnson said about the Scotsman and the road leading to England Anyway, "Covenant with Death" is jolly good, and Harris has also produced several other novels, one of which (I think) called "Swordpoint" (or possible "Spearpoint" - I can't find my copy ) about a battalion in WW2 Italy is also extremely good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 7 August , 2006 Share Posted 7 August , 2006 I didn't mention 'Swordpoint' in my previous post, partly because I ended up in a slightly acrimonious exchange of correspondence with the author about it some years ago. Chunks of it are, shall we say, 'closely based' on the memoir 'So Few Got Through' by Colonel Martin Lindsay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 7 August , 2006 Share Posted 7 August , 2006 Really? I've read that, too, many years ago. I'll have to dig it out and read it again. Is it a tribute or plagiarism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 8 August , 2006 Share Posted 8 August , 2006 If you have both books you will see that there are a few paragraphs that are remarkably similar. I had recently finished 'So Few Got Through' (which is about the NW Europe campaign) when I read 'Swordpoint' and I got an eerie sense of deja vu when I was reading the Harris book. I was quite shocked when I compared parts of the two. I wrote to him and said I found it a bit disappointing as I'd enjoyed other books by him. His rather splenetic reply was on the lines of 'where do you expect me to get my material from?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 8 August , 2006 Share Posted 8 August , 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawson Posted 13 August , 2006 Share Posted 13 August , 2006 Excellent book, the book that started this obsession I'm affraid. Is he still alive? Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen D Posted 13 August , 2006 Share Posted 13 August , 2006 One of the first books I read on The Great War. Even did a bit on it in school assembly back in 1983. Also did my "O" Level Art exam based on it.....got an "A". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmm45 Posted 10 September , 2006 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2006 Got my copy of Covenant with Death gonna read en route to Helmand via Brize tonight! (Hope its light reading!) Ady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 10 September , 2006 Share Posted 10 September , 2006 Got my copy of Covenant with Death gonna read en route to Helmand via Brize tonight! (Hope its light reading!) Ady Be careful out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Clay Posted 10 September , 2006 Share Posted 10 September , 2006 Hope you enjoy the book, Ady. And, as Steve says, be careful out there. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withcall Posted 10 September , 2006 Share Posted 10 September , 2006 I suspect JH must be long gone. For me, it's a brilliant book, irrespective of whether or not some of it is nicked. I find the final section almost too poignant to read now, particularly the bit where they try to do the roll call, and just give it up as a bad job. The ending is brilliant, with the last three short sentences a really powerful ending. An interesting note on the book's availability - ages ago, we stayed at The White House in Mailly Maillet. It was run as a guest house by this English guy and his family. He had about twenty copies of CWD in his lounge - they were all Book Club editions, as I recall. I think he fell out bigtime with some people from the WFA - it all got a bit nasty as I recall. So, if you need a copy, chase this man down - he must have cornered the market!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 10 September , 2006 Share Posted 10 September , 2006 Great book. Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 11 September , 2006 Share Posted 11 September , 2006 Like Ian (Dawson) this book was to blame for what began as a mild interest in the Great war becoming an all consuming passion! A great book. Scottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmm45 Posted 11 September , 2006 Author Share Posted 11 September , 2006 Typical Crabs the tri stars only delayed!.(if it was the states or Caribbean it would break down out there!!) 11 hrs on a bus then a night in the Gateway! Books good though. Ady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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