What WW1 books are you reading?

[Will O'Brien]

Half way through Somme Mud by E Lynch.

Very good and see other thread re reviews of it.

TT

How bizarre, so I am I. I too am finding it a really good read. One of the best 1st hand accounts i've seen in a long time.

Once that's finished I've got 1918 A Very British Victory by a certain Peter Hart to read...........no pressure Peter but it better be good

[tjec]

Harry Patch The Last Fighting Tommy, daughter gave it to me for Christmas (off topic but she also gave me

Oliver Cromwell and Churchills Bodyguard).

Happy New Year to you all.

Regards,

Norman

[Martin Bennitt]

'A Hilltop on the Marne" by Mildred Aldrich. Took me years to find a copy! Cheers, BIll

This is in fact available free to download here with contemporary photographs and elsewhere

A lovely little book which I read with much pleasure

Her other books can also be found on Gutenberg.

cheers Martin B

[Copper6197]

Got two for Christmas;

Peter Hart's 'Aces Falling' A great read, I hadn't read anything on the air war in years and found it thoroughly enjoyable.

Also the 'History of the 38th (Welsh) Division. Only critique is it is far too short!, but did help with some research I am doing on that Division.

George

[jdajd]

Don't know whether anyone here has the Kindle, Amazon's e-reader, but I got one for my birthday and have been hooked. As such, my WWI books have been limited. This is further limited because I am going to the Salient in May and want to get books on or about Ypres. Therefore the only one that they had that I had not read yet was:

At Ypres with Best-Dunkley by Thomas Hope Floyd (2/5 Lancashire Fusiliers). I am only a few pages in so not much has really happened yet. It does appear to be extremely detailed though as it was written using his diary and letters home (Its probably a good thing he was an officer because much of what he wrote should have been censored.)

[Private Butler]

Cambrai 1917: The Myth of the First Great Tank Battle by Bryn Hammond. Fantastic, but very near to the end so very glad that I have an Osprey guide to the British Mark IV tank, James Hayward's Myths and Legends of the First World War and David Clark's The Angel of Mons to look forward to next.

What do you all reckon? I'm thinking The Angel Of Mons...

[CT-Guards]

Hi There,

I got this one for Christmas - For Love and Courage: The Letters of Lieutentant Colonel E.W. Hermon from the Western Front 1914-1917.

An excellent read so far.

All the best

[equusv]

What are you reading (WWI related) and would you recommend it?

I just finished My Horse Warrior by General Jack Seely AKA Lord Mottistone. I enjoyed it and the excellent illustrations by Alfred Munnings. It's light reading for sure but interesting and a testament to the value that was placed on horses in that war. Warrior went all the way through it and had several seriously close calls. His number definitely was NOT up.

Seely says near the end when starting to sum up and I quote, "One thing I learned during that strange period, when all the greatest scientists in England were there to help, was that the horse is the most vital element in modern war."

Times have changed somewhat although the way we've been going we might get back to the steadfast horse some day!

Bonfire

PS

Of course I love that he is effusive throughout in his praise for the Canadian Cavalry and the Strathconas.

[KONDOA]

Marching on Tanga by Francis Brett Young, a great read but not without some knowledge of Smut's campaign in German East Africa.

Roop

[Guest]

I'm currently flying through the Famous 1914-1918 by Richard Van Emden, then from my christmas present list I'll have to choose between, Harry Patch, A Soldier's War, Cambrai 1917 by Brynn, Digging the Trenches, The Devil and the Drum and 1st Ypres by Beckett, a lovely choice ahead of me!

Sean

[Paul H]

I have just finished reading

"The Price Of Glory - Verdun 1916"

By Alastair Horne

McMillan & Co Ltd 1964

Its an old Hardback I picked up for nothing, very tatty - but what a good read.

I did not know anything about Verdun before hand, but I thought I would give the book a try.

I am glad I did, it gives a completely different perspective to the war: with insights into the

French and German strategy, tactics and character.

With horrendous casualties on both sides, the author makes the argument that it may well have been the decisive battle of the war ??

I would recommend it

Paul

[paulb]

I have just started The Worcestershire regiment in the great war by stacke.

Paul

[Brian Curragh]

Just started "The Missing of the Somme" by Geoff Dyer which examines remembrance & Remembrance - very stimulating so far.

(Part of my Preliminary Reading List)

Brian

[Nigel Marshall]

I've just got back from a loan my well thumbed copy of The Unending Vigil by Philip Longworth, the history of the IWGC/CWGC. Not strictly a WWI book, but still relevant to our period and subject. Recommended to anyone with an interest in the conception, planning and building of the War Cemeteries and Memorials worldwide.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Martin Bennitt]

'Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality' by Richard Slotkin. Interesting so far, I will write a review once I've finished.

cheers Martin B

[Guest]

Wauchope's ' A History of the Black Watch in the Great War '

THE book on the Black watch ww1, I would think. Got it for a good price too £38 for the three.

Mike

[Suzie-Q]

"Somme Mud". I'm finding it very difficult to put down at the moment. Very well written.

[Brian Curragh]

"Fire-Power - the British Army Weapons & Theories of War 1904-1945" - Shelford Bidwell & Dominick Graham - pub. Pen & Sword Military Classics 2004

Brian

[Suzie-Q]

I've finished Somme Mud which led to me to read In the Footsteps of Private Lynch. Both were excellent and being fairly new to the WWI in Europe, I got a lot from them.

I've read Young Digger by Anthony Hill which resulted in many days with black bags under my eyes and a good, old-fashioned, heart breaking cry at the end. I've since bought 2 more Anthony Hill books,the one I'm currently reading is Animal Heroes and while not strictly WWI, as it also looks at other arenas of war Australians, and more to the point, Australians and their animals have fought in, it's another tear jerker. I mean, the animals did not volunteer to go and live in the same conditions as the diggers. I was going to read this to my class in the lead up to ANZAC Day, but since I was a blubbering mess halfway through the WWI section last night, I think I might not ...

Next in line is Boy Soldier again, by Hill. We have a class set of these novels at school, so this could be our literacy focus in regards to ANZAC Day - if I can get through it without having to buy shares in Kleenex.

[Robert Dunlop]

"Cavalry Action in the Wars of the Future", written by a French cavalry officer known as P.S., translated by Lt. Col. John Formby, Foreword by Sir John French. A fascinating set of 'studies in applied [cavalry] tactics' published in 1905. It features the concepts of fire and movement throughout, with frequent mentions of dismounted action, the importance of marksmanship, and fire suppression in support of any mounted charges.

Robert

[Kutenay]

I am currently reading "The War of the World", by Niall Ferguson and am 100+ pages into it; this is a VERY interesting and informative book with conclusions that tend to support much of my own thinking concerning "The Great War".

I just finished the two volume history of the magnificent Canadian contribution to "victory" in WWI, as it is usually known here; these are "At the Sharp End" and "Shock Troops" by Tim Cook of our "National War Museum" and, again, are VERY much worth careful reading and continual reference.

I also re-read Sir Martin Gilbert's "The Battle of the Somme" and Canadian historian, the late Daniel Dancocks's "Legacy of Valour: The Canadians at Passchendaele" just before Christmas, these two books affect me very deeply as my grandfather, his elder brother, my great-uncle and my other GF's cousin, all Canadian volunteers, served at that time. My GF was wounded at Courcelette, in the final stages of "The Somme" and, very badly, at "Passchendaele", two names that still ring a knell of horror throughout the Commonwealth, over 90 years later.....makes you think, by God.

[kenf48]

Picked up Professor Keith Robbins The First World War in my oxfam bookshop for the price of a Sunday Newspaper earlier this week.

First Pub 1984 my edition 2002 with new foreword. The whole conflict condensed in highly readable fashion to less than 180 pages with an excellent, if a little dated further reading list for each section. For example the Somme battle from 1 July to 18 November is less than a page but is referenced by the books of Farrar-Hockley and Martin Middlebrook.

If anyone was to ask for a brief introduction to the conflict and the politics behind it I would recommend this book.

A much more contemporary and readable style than say Liddell Hart, A History of the World War,which I found in the same shop for a fiver (with dust jacket!), original price 9/6 or nearly ten bob!

Just had to read it especially in light of the author's later reputation.

Books I'm not reading... a few months ago they had a copy of the Calendar of the Great War a day by day account. I didn't have any change and thought I'd go back later, but one that got away

Ken

[Michael Johnson]

War Underground' by Alexander Barrie. My brother had a paperback copy forty years ago or more, but don't know what happened to it. Got a cheapie off you know where. Discovered this morning that it had fallen on the floor in my car and the last half was quite damp. It took a couple of runs in the dryer (on a rack, not loose!)

Still a very readable book, and again makes me wonder what possessed me to part with my Tunneling Company M.M. many years ago.

[kenf48]

re my earlier post I see the first 33 pages of Keith Robbins book are previewed online here including the foreword to the second edition that poses many interesting questions

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qnTq4w-...ntcover#PPP1,M1

so you can make your own mind up!

Ken

[Harper]

While on holiday last week I read "The Other ANZACS - Nurses at War, 1914-1918" by Peter Rees. It certainly gave me another perspective on the the sacrifices and contributions made by these ladies, one of whom is one of my research subjects. Well written and some useful information and background.

Now I'll have to go back to my research records and pay a bit more attention to the hospital stays of the great uncles. Clearly a lot can be learned from their medical records.

Harper