Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

What WW1 books are you reading?


andigger

Recommended Posts

On 05/09/2022 at 10:01, r.singha said:

Having often benefitted from this forum I thought members might be interested in the  translation of a Gujarati travel memoir written by Nariman Karkaria a Parsi ( Zoroastrian ) who enlisted in the 24th Middlesex regiment in 1915 and served in France, Palestine, Salonica and in the Caucasus. I have reviewed this translation in an online journal titled The Wire.

The Travel Writer as Soldier: The First World War Adventures of Nariman Karkaria : A Memoir, translated by Murali Ranganathan, Harper Collins,

regards 

 

It sounds fascinating.  I've ordered a copy.  Thank you for writing such a compelling review.

Edited by pierssc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished 'Facemaker' by Lindsay Fitzharris.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was easy to read full of detail, made good links to others working in the same field as Gillies at the time and the professional relationships they made.   Highly recommended.... and I am sure that there is a thread on our Forum about this great book..... have to say that Andrew Bamji's book I liked perhaps a little bit more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Facemaker-Surgeons-Battle-Disfigured-Soldiers-ebook/dp/B09D7BD6JH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HHGRP2GPA4LQ&keywords=facemaker&qid=1662554367&sprefix=facemaker%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-1

Oh, but what to read next... the 'to read' pile is bigger than it has ever been!  Onwards and upwards.

Andrew

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Working my way through Walter Noble's "With a Bristol Fighter Squadron" with Vivian Voss's "Flying Minnows" next in the hopper.  Informed GWF members may detect a trend in my reading. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On re-reading Barbara Tuchman’s ‘August 1914’ and her description of the funeral of Edward VII, I am taken by the words then of Lord Esher: ‘All the old buoys which have marked the channel of our lives seem to have been swept away.’

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Just finished my second reading  of For Love And Courage, the letters of Lt Colonel W E Hermon DSO. We had a short break in Sussex this week, staying in his former home. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished reading the IWM edition of "With a Machine Gun to Cambrai", by George Coppard, and can thoroughly recommend it!

Presently completing reading of Unbekannte Helden des Krieges, by Erich Grix, rather langweilig" in parts, also in 'Gothic' script(!), but certainly an interesting novel from the "other side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi all, 

It's been a while ... couple of guys east keeping us at the EU quite busy, so I'm trying to keep up with my reading list but it's not easy. 

So right now I'm reading two books at the same time: Aubrey Smith's "Four Years on the Western Front" on the Kindl, which horse-riding logistic-me highly appreciates, as it is mostly set on the lines of communication with the Horse Transport and then James Dunn's seminal "The War the Infantry knew" in real book .. actually a re-reading since last time I had that it hand I did not have the time to finish it... 

M. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally finished Unbekannte Helden des Krieges, by Erich Grix, with a rather unexpected end to the second part - the heroes of the story die in a skirmish with Serbian troops! 

Trajan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Currently  re reading (after some years) Stand To by FC Hitchcock. A real classic memoir. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Marilyne said:

Hi all, 

It's been a while ... couple of guys east keeping us at the EU quite busy, so I'm trying to keep up with my reading list but it's not easy. 

So right now I'm reading two books at the same time: Aubrey Smith's "Four Years on the Western Front" on the Kindl, which horse-riding logistic-me highly appreciates, as it is mostly set on the lines of communication with the Horse Transport and then James Dunn's seminal "The War the Infantry knew" in real book .. actually a re-reading since last time I had that it hand I did not have the time to finish it... 

M. 

‘The War the Infantry Knew’ well worth it.

Remember the Mules as well as the Horses.

58 DM.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Marilyne said:

I'm reading two books at the same time: Aubrey Smith's "Four Years on the Western Front" on the Kindl, which horse-riding logistic-me highly appreciates, as it is mostly set on the lines of communication with the Horse Transport ... 

M. 

I thought Aubrey Smith's book was a worthwhile read, and for really cheap on Kindle. Also very useful as background when I was researching the 1915 experiences of my GGF in a Divisional Train.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, trajan said:

Finally finished Unbekannte Helden des Krieges, by Erich Grix, with a rather unexpected end to the second part - the heroes of the story die in a skirmish with Serbian troops! 

Trajan

Spoiler!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished 'The Dardanelles Disaster - Winston Churchill's Greatest Failure' by Dan Van Der Vat (2010),  Concentrates on the naval side of things, with only one chapter on the land campaign.  Very well written and rightly critical of inertia and missed opportunites, which saw the dismissal of three admirals.  A charity shop find, with author signature.

Mike.

 

Edited by MikeyH
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/10/2022 at 12:36, MikeyH said:

Just finished 'The Dardanelles Disaster - Winston Churchill's Greatest Failure' by Dan Van Der Vat (2010),  Concentrates on the naval side of things, with only one chapter on the land campaign.  Very well written and rightly critical of inertia and missed opportunites, which saw the dismissal of three admirals.  A charity shop find, with author signature.

Mike.

 

Ooh you jammy so and so! :) Sounds like one both I and my husband would be interested in.

Having only read (so far as I can remember) Roses of No Man's Land and They called it Passchendaele of Lyn MacDonald's books, I am catching up by reading e-books of her others. Somme and 1915: the death of innocence so far. Not in chronological order, you will observe, but after all I know how it all ends.

sJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 21/10/2022 at 21:03, 58 Div Mule said:

‘The War the Infantry Knew’

I'm reading that at the moment too.  The vocabularly and construction of sentences also reflects the time it was written.  Sometimes I have to re-read a sentence to make sure I get it right!  I usually only manage a few pages each reading session so it will be a while before I finish it as I'm up to about page 400.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, seaJane said:

Ooh you jammy so and so! :) Sounds like one both I and my husband would be interested in.

Having only read (so far as I can remember) Roses of No Man's Land and They called it Passchendaele of Lyn MacDonald's books, I am catching up by reading e-books of her others. Somme and 1915: the death of innocence so far. Not in chronological order, you will observe, but after all I know how it all ends.

sJ

seaJane,

The great majority of my Great War books, have come from charity shops.  The Van Der Vat title on a recent holiday in Southwold.  Think I have now read all of the Lyn McDonald books, with the exception of 'To the Last Man - Spring 1918', which sits on my bookshelf paitently awaiting it's turn.  I know that some tend not to like her, but I find her writing and editing first rate.

Mike.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't necessarily rely on her for historical details, but for realism of experience she is first-rate, and one of the few to have collated VAD experiences.

sJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not so much as a book I am reading, but a heads-up on a recently published title:-  'Northamptonshire in the First World War' by Mikesh Mistry, this follows the Northamptonshire Regiment throughout the conflict and also explores the effect of the war on the population of the county.  264 pages rrp £22.99.  All profits to be donated to charity.

Mike.

Edited by MikeyH
Link to comment
Share on other sites

recently finished Light Car Patrols 1916-1919 with a mix of input from Claud Williams and Russell McGuirk. Very enjoyable read.

Now on Samson and the Dunkirk Circus, 3 Sqn RNAS 1914-15 by John Oliver

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, doyle3 said:

recently finished Light Car Patrols 1916-1919 with a mix of input from Claud Williams and Russell McGuirk. Very enjoyable read.

Now on Samson and the Dunkirk Circus, 3 Sqn RNAS 1914-15 by John Oliver

Both these sound like ones I would enjoy. Thanks for flagging up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got an advance copy of Peter Hart & Gary Bain's book "Laugh Or Cry". They were selling them at the Great War Group Conference in Chester last week. Highly recommend it. Release date is 11th November.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Reading Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Somme: into the breach. You know you're old when First World War generals turn out to have been younger than you are ....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 14/11/2022 at 03:05, seaJane said:

Reading Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Somme: into the breach. You know you're old when First World War generals turn out to have been younger than you are ....

good one!!

I feel the age when I see the numbers of the promotions at Military Academy right now... 

But on topic: I started the book just before my GS course and have yet to finish it, but it is on my list for early 2023! (yes, I have a numbered list of what books I want to read ... now you all know!) 

M.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I've been given "Coal Black Sea - Winston Churchill and the Worst Naval Catastrophe of the First World War" by Stuart Heaver for Christmas. 

It's the story of the sinking of HM Ships Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue in September 1914. I was inspired to ask for it by a webinar conducted by the author for the Western Front Association last month.  I knew the basics of the story, but not the detail, so I'm looking forward to reading more.

As it's a present, it'll have to wait until after the day to be read ... but I have other books to read before then!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...