Cynthia Posted 9 June , 2004 Share Posted 9 June , 2004 I finished 'Tommy' last weekend, and feel in some ways refreshed by what I read. As many of you know from my postings, I am not as avid a historical book reader as others, preferring to read letters, memoirs and accounts that are not always giving a clear picture, but a personal one. It was often harder for me to get through certain chapters, such as the ones on rank, but, like a good exercise workout, you feel better for having got through it and sensing your picture of the Great War expanding its borders. As one reviewer said, Holmes is eminently readable, and indeed he is. I must confess, though, that it was the penultimate chapter that I liked the most! Old habits die hard. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypres Posted 9 June , 2004 Share Posted 9 June , 2004 OK Guys and Gals, If Seb was not at the park now I would be going to book shop and buying it tonight. Now i will have to wait until tomorrow!!!! Boo Hoo! Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 22 June , 2004 Share Posted 22 June , 2004 Just finished reading Tommy. Up to Holmes' usual standard. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 28 June , 2004 Share Posted 28 June , 2004 I thought I`d have read it all before. I was mistaken. Very enjoyable. What amazes me is the amount of work that appears to have been involved. Would Prof. Holmes have had to read all the books in his bibliography, making notes as he went and then organize all his notes and write the book? Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salientpoints Posted 5 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2004 Richard Holmes is doing a talk of the testimony and experiences of those soldiers drawn on in the book 'Tommy' at St Pauls Church, Chichester 6pm on Friday 9th July. If anyone can make this I am sure it will be truly engaging. Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 5 July , 2004 Share Posted 5 July , 2004 I thought I`d have read it all before. I was mistaken. Very enjoyable. What amazes me is the amount of work that appears to have been involved. Would Prof. Holmes have had to read all the books in his bibliography, making notes as he went and then organize all his notes and write the book? Phil B I should imagine that as a career academic with many decades of the study of military history under his belt - including lecturing to officers - he would have accumulated a huge wealth of information from countless books to draw upon and aid him in his research. It is standard practice to make notes and/or make reference to the contents of such books to aid future writing/research/lecturing (luckily I had forsight to keep such old references: it is an invaluable practice although can interrupt the flow of a book whilst reading). In any case, I am sure that anyone who has studied and has an interest in such a subject would have a comparable bibliography: it's surprising how much one digests over the years from various sources, but without such notes it is bl**dy difficult to verify the source of the information when one has to include it for copyright or purposes of academic protocol. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHollinger Posted 6 July , 2004 Share Posted 6 July , 2004 I thought I`d have read it all before. I was mistaken. Very enjoyable. What amazes me is the amount of work that appears to have been involved. Would Prof. Holmes have had to read all the books in his bibliography, making notes as he went and then organize all his notes and write the book? Phil B I should imagine that as a career academic with many decades of the study of military history under his belt - including lecturing to officers - he would have accumulated a huge wealth of information from countless books to draw upon and aid him in his research. It is standard practice to make notes and/or make reference to the contents of such books to aid future writing/research/lecturing (luckily I had forsight to keep such old references: it is an invaluable practice although can interrupt the flow of a book whilst reading). In any case, I am sure that anyone who has studied and has an interest in such a subject would have a comparable bibliography: it's surprising how much one digests over the years from various sources, but without such notes it is bl**dy difficult to verify the source of the information when one has to include it for copyright or purposes of academic protocol. Richard You forget the age-old practice and the only place that human slavery is still allowed .. the practice of having your "students" do some/much of the research for you. As a graduate student this is part of your training and provides another set of eyes, mind and what-have-you to the effort. No one has read all of the books in a bibliography - most of the time they are germane and have had some impact on the research, if for nothing else but their bibliography ... When a graduate student I kept a 3X5 card on every book I even looked at ... you never know when they'll come in handy ... nowadays, I suspect their kept in a database on one's laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 6 July , 2004 Share Posted 6 July , 2004 In case it hadn't been noticed I did post in a different thread (and I've put it in the calendar as well - with a link) that Mr. Holmes is talking on 'Tommy' at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 6 July , 2004 Share Posted 6 July , 2004 I have read a great deal of this before but like it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmericanDoughboy Posted 7 July , 2004 Share Posted 7 July , 2004 I hope to purchase it as soon as possible, yet it is over 800 pages. It seems to be a very engaging yet very long book focusing on the British Army in the Great War. However, as I have stated, I hope to purchase it and read it thoroughly. -Doughboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 7 July , 2004 Share Posted 7 July , 2004 It's long, Doughboy, bu once you start reading, it doesn't FEEL long. It just flies past...and it's horrible when you get to the end and there's nothing left of it. Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogal Posted 27 July , 2004 Share Posted 27 July , 2004 Just bought a copy from Waterstones. Looking forward to it... I selected a copy from second down the pile of books, wanting to avoid the top version which had a very used looking dust jacket on it, possibly because it also had a sticker on it saying "signed by the author", but no signature to be found anywhere. Upon eagerly opening my book on returning to work, the dust jacket on my copy was upside down, so after putting this right and opening the book at the start - lo and behold, signed by the author! This may not improve the read, but it brought a smile... rgds doogal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 27 July , 2004 Admin Share Posted 27 July , 2004 Really enjoyed it, but found 11 errors at last count-hopefully just typos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 27 July , 2004 Share Posted 27 July , 2004 I started unimpressed but as I went on it got real good, so much that I bought & read his excellent biography of French who was/remains at or near my list of bad ones. Whatever else Kitchener did/did not, he kept the BEF in the war while French was, at best, wavering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 27 July , 2004 Share Posted 27 July , 2004 Really enjoyed it, but found 11 errors at last count-hopefully just typos! I also found a dozen errors/typos. 'A man who never made a mistake never made anything', and the number of real errors is [exposed to my rather specialised knowledge] very few, and does nothing to alter my view that this is a marvellous book which will become a standard reference. I wrote to Professor Holmes with my list, and received a rapid and affable reply which conceded all my points except one. Contrary to polular belief, we authors are usually happy to receive constructive criticism, and I always keep a copy of my books for annotation with errata and addenda. Just in case there is a demand for a second edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 27 July , 2004 Share Posted 27 July , 2004 Contrary to polular belief, we authors are usually happy to receive constructive criticism, and I always keep a copy of my books for annotation with errata and addenda. Just in case there is a demand for a second edition. I'm not ... grrrr ... criticise me... how dare you... LB, Did you get a personal reply from Prof. Holmes? He seems to be one of few t.v. known historians to have kept his feet on the ground (at least that is my perception) since he has a life outside of his television and academic persona? He is also a JP, so has anyone appeared before him? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 28 July , 2004 Share Posted 28 July , 2004 There's nothing more frustrating to an author than typos! Especially when you have checked, double-checked, and your editor has done the same. How do they get in there? One problem I found is that digital printing takes a file and compresses it somehow, lopping off words left and right! Still, it seems that the term 'editing' has become a 'spellchecker' on Word now, which certainly does not catch all the mistakes. Errors of history, however - well, I suppose we feel Richard Holmes should not make any, but he, too, is human! An elevated human, perhaps, but human. I am sure he welcomes the information, as most authors would, so they can make corrections in later editions. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auimfo Posted 30 July , 2004 Share Posted 30 July , 2004 O.k. this isn't fair guys. Everyone's giving this book a good wrap but we can't get our hands on a copy down under in Oz. I've checked all the major book distributors but come up empty handed. I did manage to find a copy of Redcoat and thoroughly enjoyed that but that's just made me want to read Tommy even more!! Anyone got any ideas where I can my hands on a copy? P.S. If anyone wants another good read, try Kokoda by Peter Fitzsimons or Gallipoli by Les Carlyon. Although they are just another in a series of books on those topics they seem to come from a totally different perspective and are both excellent. Tim L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogal Posted 30 July , 2004 Share Posted 30 July , 2004 Hi Tim, Amazon books might be able to help: www.amazon.com I did a search: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...5857509-3777741 Worth a try rgds doogal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogal Posted 30 July , 2004 Share Posted 30 July , 2004 ...but I'm not sure if the link works go to "search" rather than the quick search option. doogal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmericanDoughboy Posted 30 July , 2004 Share Posted 30 July , 2004 This title is also available in America, as you can see here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846 I schedule to purchase my copy as soon as possible, as I have stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 31 July , 2004 Share Posted 31 July , 2004 LB, Did you get a personal reply from Prof. Holmes? Yes, I said I received an affable reply. Conceded all my points except one. We do not agree on brevet rank! It is just remotely, ever so remotely, possible that I might just possibly be a teeny bit, well, not wrong, you understand, but not quite right. Or something. But then again .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted 31 July , 2004 Share Posted 31 July , 2004 Went into a bookshop in Perth today and got a copy SIGNED by Prof Holmes and with a discount. Who'se a happy chappy then. My wife was shopping for a wedding outfit and came home empty-handed. Looks like I'll have to read it in the loo!!! Aye Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MaryFM Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Hi everyone I just bought my copy of Richard Holmes "Tommy" in the Sussex Stationers, Redhill they still have a few copies at £9.99 incase anyone is still looking. Best wishes Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.B. Posted 9 August , 2004 Share Posted 9 August , 2004 Richard I've never appeared before him in his JP role, but I have met him a few times and had a very enjoyable dinner with him one evening (paid for by the BBC....sometimes, just sometimes, I love my job!) I think his publicist invited me to the meal so she'd have someone to talk to...cue three hours of WWI related conversation....he really is an excellent guy, and his knowledge of WWI is nothing short of encyclopaedic. This happened when he was on tour to promote "Battlefields of the Second World War", and the photo below shows yours truely in the black suit and Richard Holmes doing his thing for the book-buying public of Newcastle. The easiest days work I've ever done: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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