Book Recommendations Please: WWI

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ecc
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Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ecc » Sun May 24, 2020 1:33 pm

Hello fellow Clarets and visitors from fans of other clubs,

I have a serious request to put to history buffs.

I know many of you are keen on history and so I'd be very grateful to receive any recommendations concerning the following request.

Many of you will be familiar with Antony Beevor's epic "overview" work concerning WW2. I have a copy and it's excellent.

I would like to buy a similar "overview" book concerning World War One. Whilst Beevor's book on WW2 is, it seems to me, THE reference in this respect I can't seem to find a consensus concerning a similar general history of 1914-1918.

Thus far, I've read good reviews of the following books:

John Keegan's "The First World War"

David Stevenson's "1914-1918: The History of the First World War"

Sir Martin Gilbert's "The First World War"

Gary Sheffield "A Short History of the First World War".


I would be very grateful to anybody who has read one or more of these books, or indeed any other such "overviews", and who might be so kind as to give their opinion(s).

Many thanks in advance!

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by 1Simpleton » Sun May 24, 2020 1:46 pm

Einsteins war (available at Waterstones) but not strictly about WWI more of how scientist got along during the time
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Hipper
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Hipper » Sun May 24, 2020 2:58 pm

I tried reading Hew Strachan's First World War Vol 1: A Call to Arms. Unless you had your wits about you it was so detailed in the number of named people, place names etc. that it was unreadable. More a text book needing an accompanying set of maps and people profiles. Plus Volume 2 is even after seventeen years not yet published.

I have his one volume book, The First World War, which is well recommended but I haven't got round to reading it!

I also read Niall Ferguson's 'The Pity of War'. What I got from this was mostly about how the war was financed, which I haven't seen discussed much.

Post war I read Margaret MacMillan's 'Peacemakers' about the Versailles Treaty which shaped so much of today's world.
Last edited by Hipper on Sun May 24, 2020 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Buxtonclaret » Sun May 24, 2020 2:59 pm

Michael Howard's The First World War is an excellent overview.

The Oxford Press has a lot too.

https://global.oup.com/academic/categor ... gb&lang=en&
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Clarets4me » Sun May 24, 2020 3:32 pm

As an aside, I find the late Stephen Ambrose's books on the 2nd World War very readable ... The award winning TV mini-series, " Band of Brothers " was based on his book.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Malvern claret » Sun May 24, 2020 3:34 pm

The Great War by Corelli Barnett is the only one I have read. It is not as critical of General Haig as, I am told, some other books are. I found it a very good overview.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ClaretTony » Sun May 24, 2020 4:04 pm

I know it is nothing to do with WW1 but I'm currently reading To Meet in Hell - it's written by Bernice Lerner and tells the story of Brigadier Glen Hughes, a British officer, and Belsen prisoner Rachel Genuth and them eventually meeting when Hughes led the liberation of the camp and rescued Genuth. Bernice Lerner is Rachel Genuth's daughter.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by blsclaret » Sun May 24, 2020 4:10 pm

Not a definitive reference book as such, but I recommend Harry's War, a book version of the diary of Harry Drinkwater.
Harry signed up to WW1 under age, and kept an account of his life in such battlefields as The Somme, daily boredom and routine, and North Italy. And how the highlight of a month was to queue for a bath ! It made me realise, moreso, what men like him endured on the ground on a daily basis for year upon year.
I wish it was essential reading at school, and also for those numpties who could not conduct themselves properly during eight weeks of lockdown.
It is a book I will always keep.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Rowls » Sun May 24, 2020 4:28 pm

This is only tangentially connected but if you ever want a soldier's memoir of WWI then I recommend 'Good-Bye to All That' by Robert Graves.

It's harrowing as it's a first-hand account so it doesn't indulge in the hyperbole of second hand accounts. It's a hellish but captivating account.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by evensteadiereddie » Sun May 24, 2020 4:42 pm

"The Unknown Soldier" by Neil Hanson is an incredible description of the fates of several WW1 soldiers on both sides, using records, letters, eye-witness accounts and so on.
All perfectly true based on real resources, putting the conditions faced and the attitudes of those taking part in magnificent perspective.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by lakedistrictclaret » Sun May 24, 2020 4:46 pm

Try "The First World War " by A J P Taylor. Easy to read and plenty of maps and photographs.

It's available online at Waterstones.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Buxtonclaret » Sun May 24, 2020 4:50 pm

lakedistrictclaret wrote:
Sun May 24, 2020 4:46 pm
Try "The First World War " by A J P Taylor. Easy to read and plenty of maps and photographs.

It's available online at Waterstones.
That's the one I'd gone to look for when reading the OP but, then recalled someone borrowed it years ago and it never came home.
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ecc
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ecc » Mon May 25, 2020 6:03 pm

Many thanks to you all for your recommendations. I'm interested in both World Wars and all facets of them so all of the recommendations are very gratefully received and duly noted.

Thank you.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by mikeS » Mon May 25, 2020 6:08 pm

Not non fiction but there are some very good fictional stories of WW1 - Sebastian Faulkes - Birdsong and Pat Barkers trilogy The Ghost Road.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Mb90 » Mon May 25, 2020 7:16 pm

One of the best books I’ve ever read ion the subject is P Gibb’s ‘Now It Can Be Told’ - he was a journalist attached to an array of battalions and spent time in the trenches during many of the famous and not so famous battles. One of the most harrowing scenes was an ‘over the top’ attack on German soldiers dug in to scag heaps. A British gas attack blew back over our own soldiers, after a change in the wind. The book could only be released a number of years after the war as the title suggests.

Another really good one is ‘Storm of Steel’ by Ernest Junger (a German Stormtrooper) which is very readable and gives the perspective from the other side.

If you fancy to listen to something focusing entirely on the First World War in great detail then I can’t recommend Dan Carlin’s ‘Blueprint To Armageddon’ podcast which is a five part series (free to listen). This takes you right through from start to end and doesn’t squirm at the grimness of the battles.

I’d be really interested to know if anyone knows of any accounts from soldiers/officers who came from Burnley?
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by giveusaB » Mon May 25, 2020 7:28 pm

I’m currently reading The world aflame by Dan Jones.It covers the period 1914-1945.
It contains 200 original photographs,all of which were initially shot in black and white and each of which has been colourised.Brilliant book.Is available on kindle but I got the hardback version.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Erasmus » Mon May 25, 2020 8:37 pm

I like Lyn Macdonald's series of books on World War 1. Mainly based on anecdotes and recollections from those who served at the front. Bit different from the detached reviews of the military campaigns.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Taffy on the wing » Mon May 25, 2020 8:45 pm

Journey to the end of the night by Celine.
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Hipper
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Hipper » Tue May 26, 2020 7:12 am

ecc wrote:
Mon May 25, 2020 6:03 pm
Many thanks to you all for your recommendations. I'm interested in both World Wars and all facets of them so all of the recommendations are very gratefully received and duly noted.

Thank you.
Then may I offer suggestions for WW2:

Edward Young - One of Our Submarines

The first RNVR captain of an RN submarine

Eric Bull - Go Right Young Man

Captured by the Germans in Africa, POW in Italy, freed into the Italian countryside and survived with the help of Italian villagers.

The Right of the Line - John Terraine

The RAF as it developed before and during WW2

IBM and the Holocaust - Edwin Black

IBM and their trading relations with Nazi Germany before and during the war

Snaith Days - Keith S Ford

Detailed account of the equipment and admin needed on one bomber station

Courage and Air Warfare - Mark K Wells

Combat Stress in the RAF and USAAF
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ecc
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ecc » Thu May 28, 2020 11:22 pm

Many thanks to all my fellow Clarets who posted recommendations be they on WWI or WWII.

FAO Hipper:

Many thanks for your numerous recommendations.

The book you mentioned "Go Right Young Man" sounds absolute ideal for a friend of mine who is very interested in Italy and WWII. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print. I'll let him know about it because you can get second-hand copies.

You didn't mention it but I imagine you've read/heard of "Naples '44" by Norman Lewis. I haven't read it but the same friend has and loved it. It seems to be a "classic".

I'll check out all your other suggestions as well those kindly provided by everybody else.

Thank you all again.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by longside72 » Thu May 28, 2020 11:51 pm

Great book on the East Lancashire Regiment by Burnley author Andrew Mackay , ' A history of the 5th East Lancashire Regiment 'Saturday Evening Soldiers'
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by superdimitri » Fri May 29, 2020 4:18 am

Not sure it it's still there but there used to be a small collection of pictures and memorabilia dedicated to Pals in Accrington town hall as you enter.

The pictures show the town then exactly as it stands now, really puts it into perspective seeing all those men gather in celebration to go to war in the very steps you can still take today.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Hipper » Fri May 29, 2020 8:22 am

ecc wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 11:22 pm
Many thanks to all my fellow Clarets who posted recommendations be they on WWI or WWII.

FAO Hipper:

Many thanks for your numerous recommendations.

The book you mentioned "Go Right Young Man" sounds absolute ideal for a friend of mine who is very interested in Italy and WWII. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print. I'll let him know about it because you can get second-hand copies.

You didn't mention it but I imagine you've read/heard of "Naples '44" by Norman Lewis. I haven't read it but the same friend has and loved it. It seems to be a "classic".

I'll check out all your other suggestions as well those kindly provided by everybody else.

Thank you all again.
I wrote the review of 'Go Right.....':

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Right-Young-Er ... oks&sr=1-1

Eric Bull was a neighbour of mine although he was the father of a friend and I never knew how to take him. The people of that generation, including my parents, had lots of stories to tell. I guess the book had a small publishing run.

Thanks for the Naples '44 tip - looks interesting.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by Alanstevensonsgloves » Fri May 29, 2020 8:27 am

For a WW1 overview book, have a look at Liddel Hart's History of the First World War

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0333582616/ ... 0EbCYAX12H

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by martin_p » Fri May 29, 2020 9:22 am

ecc wrote:
Mon May 25, 2020 6:03 pm
Many thanks to you all for your recommendations. I'm interested in both World Wars and all facets of them so all of the recommendations are very gratefully received and duly noted.

Thank you.
I’ve just finished ‘A Game of Birds and Wolves’ by Simon Parkin. It looks at the battle for the Atlantic in WWII from the point of view of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit based in Liverpool who were tasked with running war games to work out better tactics against the U-boat attacks that were devastating a lot of the merchant convoys crossing the Atlantic. Really good read and a story I wasn’t aware of. The Western Approaches HQ in Liverpool is still there and I’m really keen to go and have a look now (damn you lockdown!)

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by jamesisaburyfan » Fri May 29, 2020 11:01 am

I read the chapter about the first day of the Somme in Hope and Glory by Stuart Maconie in the back room of a spit and sawdust pub in Manchester city centre. Just reading a book in there would be enough for the regulars to start setting up the ducking stool but the chapter moved me to tears and I ended up sobbing my eyes out.

I don't think I could read much more on the subject after reading that, watching They Shall Not Grow Old and 1917.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ecc » Fri May 29, 2020 3:42 pm

Hello James,

I'm glad you're still using UTC. Bury were my Dad's "second team" albeit in the sense that he always looked for their results first after Burnley's. Losing your club is something I really wouldn't like to begin to contemplate.

Thank you very much for your recommendation.
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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by jamesisaburyfan » Fri May 29, 2020 5:40 pm

Thanks ecc. It’s been a living nightmare, as has the civil war in the fanbase that shows no sign of ending.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by chekhov » Fri May 29, 2020 5:57 pm

Rowls wrote:
Sun May 24, 2020 4:28 pm
This is only tangentially connected but if you ever want a soldier's memoir of WWI then I recommend 'Good-Bye to All That' by Robert Graves.

It's harrowing as it's a first-hand account so it doesn't indulge in the hyperbole of second hand accounts. It's a hellish but captivating account.
I second that. So good I’ve read it twice.

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by chekhov » Fri May 29, 2020 6:20 pm

Another book about the 1st world war I’ve read twice is A Farewell to Arms. It’s a novel but based on some of Earnest Hemingway’s experiences as an ambulance medic in Italy. It’s a wonderful book.

Not a book but a podcast to recommend which covers the whole Great War including its origins, is Hardcore Histories by Dan Carlin - the road to Armageddon. He has a unique style which will either appeal to you or not. But it is detailed and exhaustive. One of the episodes comes in at over 4 hours!

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by bfcjg » Fri May 29, 2020 7:16 pm

The monocled mutineers, fantastic true story of an original anti hero and gets tobthe horrors of the war and how working class volunteers were treated.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-mo ... 0285643109

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Re: Book Recommendations Please: WWI

Post by ceborame » Fri May 29, 2020 7:47 pm

Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth is a memoir of hers written about her experience as a nurse on the western front, it's a wonderful book
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