First World War Books

Book SynopsisSimon Armitage - poet, playwright, broadcaster and Professor of Poetry at Oxford University - has been commissioned by 14-18 Now to write a sequence of poems in response to photographs (aerial, oblique and panoramic) of areas associated with the Battle of the Somme, which took place on the Western Front between July to November 1916.

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Book SynopsisAn Irish Independent book of the year. Did the Versailles Peace Treaty cause World War II? The Versailles Peace Treaty — the pact that ended World War I between the German empire and the Allies — has long been regarded as one of the key causes of World War II. Its requirements for massive reparation payments, it is argued, crippled Germany’s economy, de-stabilised the country’s political life, and paved the way for Hitler. Here, Jürgen Tampke disputes this commonplace view, suggesting that Germany got away with its responsibility for World War I, that the treaty was nowhere near as punitive as people think, and that the German hyper-inflation of the 1920s was a deliberate policy to minimise the cost of paying reparations. This is a controversial and important work of revisionist history, which challenges one of the greatest misconceptions of our times.Trade Review‘In this highly readable account Jürgen Tampke tackles the much-debated and perennially fascinating question of whether the Treaty of Versailles caused the Second World War. He comes down firmly on the No side and produces a wealth of evidence and careful analysis to back his arguments. Anyone who is interested in what remains one of modern history’s most important debates will want to read this.’ -- Margaret MacMillan‘An intriguing and persuasive account by an experienced historian of the much-maligned Treaty of Versailles. This new book provides a fresh and often provocative account of a tangled story. It should help put to rest the persisting myth about the 1919 peace with Germany.’ -- Emeritus Professor David Walker‘Gamely confronts the now-prevailing orthodoxy … deserves to be read.’ -- Roger Moorhouse * The Times *‘This is a fascinating and provocative re-assessment of one of the great conventional wisdoms of recent history, made all the more compelling by the Australian-based author's forceful and often witty delivery.’ -- Eamon Delaney * Irish Independent *‘This is an excellent book, which argues it case well. It should be widely read in the lead up to the centenary of the Armistice and peace settlement.’ * NZ International Review *

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Book SynopsisOver and Above is Gurdon’s first and best book, repeatedly reprinted for two decades, variously titled Winged Warriors or Wings of Death. Billed as a novel, it is not so much that as a fictionalised account of his own service flying career, with names changed, incidents rearranged. True, it tells of ‘exciting raids over enemy lines and towns, desperate fights against fearful odds, chivalry shown to an unchivalrous foe...’ but the narrative turns darker as men become wearier, new comrades arrive and are killed, and those who remain try to hold onto meaning in increasingly unintelligible circumstances, a mirror to Gurdon’s own experiences. Written in the style of the era and by and for a class which put great store in maintaining a slangy, backslapping cheerfulness, no matter how grim things were, with chums wishing each other ‘beaucoup Huns’ before embarking on a ‘show’ in ‘beastly’ weather, this book is a classic to rank with Winged Victory by V M Yeates, and which should never have been out of print. This new edition retains exactly the original script but has been updated with an introduction by John Gurdon’s granddaughter Camilla Jane Gurdon Blakeley and an extended illustrated appendix by renowned historian Norman Franks.Trade ReviewGrub Street has re-issued a number of Great War aviator books and this one is up there with the best of them. Gurdon, as Warton, is heroic and tragic. He was just a kid. Imagine the youth of today climbing into a fighter and shooting down twenty-eight enemy aeroplanes in the length of a summer madness? This book is well worth reading to appreciate the author for the brave and flawed young man he was. In later life, Gurdon lived in straitened circumstances, the consequences of the decisions he made as a younger man. -- Mark Barnes * War History Online *

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Book SynopsisExplores the decline of the XIV Reserve Corps from 1917 to 1918 including post-war effects, veteran experiences, and the rise of the Nazi Party.The Other Side of the Wire Volume 4: With the XIV Reserve Corps to the Bitter End, September 1917?11 November 1918 explores the events that occurred from preparations for the great German offensives to the transition of the Westheer from a powerful force to no more than a shell of an organization. Since then, many have assumed that it was not defeated in the field but by the undermining consequences of political unrest at home - the so-called ?stab in the back? conspiracy theory. This volume will show what truly happened within the ranks of the defeated army.While many volumes end with the Armistice, The Other Side of the Wire Volume 4 also explores the post-war years; the establishment of the veteran organizations, rise of the Nazi Party and the decades that followed the end of the Second World War. The tragic fate of Jewish veterans of the Great War under the Third Reich is also examined in detail.The final volume of the series, The Other Side of the Wire Volume 4 chronicles the often personal stories of the men who marched to war in 1914 only to face ultimate defeat four years later. It is unique in the sense that the wartime and postbellum experience of XIV Reserve Corps officers and men are chronicled from mobilization through the late 20th century.This superb Great War title has been published in a strictly limited edition hardback run of 750 copies, each individually numbered and signed by the author.

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Book SynopsisHerbert Martin Massey was by any measure, a remarkable man. He was wounded three times in three separate conflicts, the first of which, in the First World War, almost killed him. Brought down in flames by one of Germany’s great aces, Werner Voss, he somehow recovered from his horrific, life-threatening injuries to continue his flying career in the Royal Air Force, only to be nearly killed once more in the Palestine Emergency of 1936, when his life was saved by the thin metal of his cigarette case. Then, at the age of 44 and having risen through the ranks to Group Captain, he was shot down over Holland on the second of the Thousand Bomber Raids in June 1942.Massey was taken prisoner by the Germans and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan. Here, he was to excel as the Senior British Officer, vigorously defending the rights of his fellow prisoners of war, the men now under his command. Respected and admired by his comrades and captors alike, fate handed to him the decision to authorise the Great Escape, the famous breakout from Sagan in March 1944.Too badly wounded to join the escape himself, Martin Massey was the man to whom the Germans first broke the news of the execution of fifty of those who had been recaptured. Repatriated to Britain because of his wounds shortly afterwards, it was Massey who brought home the details of the murders which began the process of bringing the perpetrators to justice post-war.Decorated for his gallantry and leadership six times, men like Martin Massey come along only rarely. This book, using previously unseen documents and photographs, tells his story.Trade ReviewExtremes of Fortune is an intimate look at Massey's amazing life through the lens of contemporary letters and memoirs...definitely qualifies as adventure reading for the World War I aviation enthusiast. * Indy Squadron Dispatch *

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Book SynopsisOnce the steel storm of the industrial war had passed, the idyllic Flanders Fields region in Belgium was left as a desolate moon landscape. The First World War had wiped dozens of villages and cities completely off the map. The fields had been destroyed by grenades, mine craters, scrap, trenches, bunkers, railways and infrastructure of the war machine. But Flanders Fields rose again, like a Phoenix from the ashes. Even before the end of the war, the first people returned to their previous homes. A traditional architecture was supposed to remove all traces from the war and restore the former beauty of the area. With the first fairs and processions from 1919 onwards, the social fabric started to heal. Pilgrims started to come from all the corners of the earth to visit the many memorials and cemeteries. By the end of the twenties the reconstruction was largely finished. It is this post-war reconstruction that continues to define the characteristics of the region to this very day. This book has been published to commemorate the centenary of the recovery as guide for iconic sites of reconstruction, thematic exhibitions, public events, and walking and cycle routes that will take you to many striking sites of the reconstruction in the Westhoek. It also contains an historical overview of the revival of a region so heavily scourged by the Great War and new insights a century on.

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Book SynopsisThe pages of history recall scarcely any parallel episode at once so romantic in character and so extensive in scale." ,Winston S. ChurchillIn 1917, two empires that had dominated much of Europe and Asia teetered on the edge of the abyss, exhausted by the ruinous cost in blood and treasure of the First World War. As Imperial Russia and Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary began to succumb, a small group of Czech and Slovak combat veterans stranded in Siberia saw an opportunity to realize their long-held dream of independence.While their plan was audacious and complex, and involved moving their 50,000-strong army by land and sea across three-quarters of the earth's expanse, their commitment to fight for the Allies on the Western Front riveted the attention of Allied London, Paris, and Washington.On their journey across Siberia, a brawl erupted at a remote Trans-Siberian rail station that sparked a wholesale rebellion. The marauding Czecho-Slovak Legion seized control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and with it Siberia. In the end, this small band of POWs and deserters, whose strength was seen by Leon Trotsky as the chief threat to Soviet rule, helped destroy the Austro-Hungarian Empire and found Czecho-Slovakia.British prime minister David Lloyd George called their adventure one of the greatest epics of history," and former US president Teddy Roosevelt declared that their accomplishments were unparalleled, so far as I know, in ancient or modern warfare."Trade Review"An epic story unknown even to many World War I history buffs...With admirable energy [McNamara] has assembled the story by piecing together archival records and the memoirs of the gallant men who served in the rejuvenated Czech Legion during the fateful spring and summer of 1918...A fascinating narrative." --Wall Street Journal "This incredible story lives up to its billing. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it, though, is that it's a fable that's remained largely untold. Until now...A captivating tale, brilliantly told." --History of War "Extraordinary... McNamara, an impressive storyteller armed with a treasure of documents only recently available, ably narrates the remarkable feats of these men who fought every inch of the way... A fantastic addition to the shelves of World War I histories." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "In this captivating narrative history, foreign policy scholar McNamara reveals the obscure yet grand story of how a small, motley, and hastily organized army ushered in the founding of the nation of Czechoslovakia." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "A valuable story that is relatively unknown and understood in the West... McNamara's work presents a vital first entry that opens the doors on this integral part of World War I history and the shaping of the Soviet-influenced Eastern European political and social fabric." --Library Journal "Kevin J. McNamara highlights this bizarre and heroic story...Much of his extensive source material is only recently available, and he uses it well. The brave misadventures of the Czech Legion deserve the wider recognition this fascinating history should provide." --Shelf Awareness "The saga of the Czech-Slovak Legion is one of the great unknown stories of the twentieth century. Kevin J. McNamara brings these fighters back to life by presenting their firsthand account of their travails in World War I and the Russian Civil War. His engaging and valuable work should be required reading for students of the period--and for anyone interested in stories of hardship and heroism." --Max Boot, author of Invisible Armies

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Book SynopsisThe volume focuses on violence during the breakdown of East Central European states brought by one of the most violent periods in modern European history: from the start of the Great War in 1914 until 1923 when Europe, finally, achieved peace after a series of civil conflicts and interstate wars. The contributors offer several case studies that cover the vast region stretching from the Baltic states to Hungary. They explore different types of violence against its civilian populations with a particular focus on communal violence committed by civilians onto their neighbors. They suggest that disintegration of state power brought by the Great War was a key condition that produced violence. Yet the process of post-WWI state building was equally or more violent as nascent East Central European states institutionalized the use of violence to achieve their political agendas.Trade Review“East Central Europe was transformed by war, revolution, and the birth of nation-states after the First World War. The Shaken Lands excels by examining 1914 to 1923 as an interconnected ‘Greater War’. Combining conceptual insights with solid case studies, it suggests both national comparisons and transnational overviews of the manifold violence that shaped the entire region, including the Baltic states. It is an indispensable study in this rapidly emerging field.”— John Horne, emeritus Professor of History, Trinity College Dublin“Based on the latest scholarship and written by some of the leading historians in the field, this volume makes an outstanding contribution to a better understanding of one of the most violent periods in modern European history and the deeper historical origins of present-day conflicts such as Russia’s current war against Ukraine.” — Prof. Robert Gerwarth, University College DublinTable of ContentsAcknowledgements IntroductionTomas Balkelis and Andrea Griffante Contributors 1. The Evolution of Wartime Criminality in Lithuania, 1914–1920 Vytautas Petronis 2. War Violence and Its Representation: A Comparison of Civilian Experiences of the Great War on Both Sides of the Former Russian-German Border Vasilijus Safronovas, Vygantas Vareikis, and Hektoras Vitkus 3. The Military Pogroms in Lithuania, 1919–1920 Darius Staliūnas 4. Scandinavian Volunteers as Perpetrators of Violence and Crime in the Estonian War of Independence Mart Kuldkepp5. The Rich and the (In)famous: Social Conflicts and Paramilitary Violence in Hungary during the Counterrevolution, 1921–1923 Béla Bodó 6. The Polish Central Government, Regional Authorities, and Local Paramilitaries during the Battle for the Western Borderlands, 1918–1921 Jochen Böhler7. Eisenbahnfeldzug: Railway War in East Central EuropeMaciej Górny 8. Beyond Comparison? The Challenges of Applying Comparative Historical Research to ViolenceJulia Eichenberg

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Book SynopsisAlthough the impact of the Great War on Brighton was profound, the seaside town was spared any direct attack by the enemy. The fear of spies and sabotage, however, was widespread at first and aliens were an issue which had to be swiftly resolved under new legislation. Allies, of course, were warmly welcomed, and accommodation was swiftly found for those fleeing the catastrophic events in Belgium.Between 1914 and 1918, Brighton made major contributions to the war effort in many ways: by responding readily to the call to arms, by caring for great numbers of wounded (the story of the exotic Royal Pavilion being used as a hospital for Indian casualties is widely known locally) and by simply being itself - an open and welcoming resort that offered sanctuary, respite and entertainment to besieged Londoners and to other visitors, from every stratum of society. The book looks at the fascinating wartime roles of Brighton's women, who quietly played a vital part in transport services, industrial output and food production. Non-combatant menfolk also kept the wheels turning under very trying circumstances. When the meat shortage became acute, the mayor himself took direct action, requisitioning ninety sheep at Brighton Station for the town which were destined for butchers' shops in London.The names of no fewer than 2,597 men and three women who made the supreme sacrifice were inscribed on the town's memorial, which was unveiled at the Old Steine on 7 October 1922 by Earl Beatty. At the ceremony, the earl acknowledged that 'it was by duty and self-sacrifice that the war was won.' It remained, he said, for those who had survived the conflict to ensure that the great sacrifices of the past, both by the dead and the living, should not have been made in vain. We remember them in this book.

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Book SynopsisFrom the ashes of empire, the nation rose on a wave of idealism. That, at least, is the standard tale. Dominique Reill argues that empire retained many supporters after 1919. Investigating the post-WWI crisis in multicultural, urbane Fiume, she finds that the stories of empire’s cosmopolitans have been overwritten by the triumph of nationalism.Trade Review[An] excellent example of how modern historians are adding texture to our understanding of 20th-century Europe…The colorful story of Fiume has indeed been told before, but never with so many fresh and fascinating insights as Reill provides. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Reill’s depiction of the local, enriched by massive research in Rijeka’s archives (and some at the Vittoriale [degli Italiani]), is a delight…One of the pleasures of Reill’s work is its inclusion of period photographs…Throughout the book, Reill paints deft portraits of people and events. -- R. J. B. Bosworth * Literary Review *So important…By looking at the ways in which the grandiose D’Annunizian rhetorical flourishes were translated into pragmatic everyday life solutions, Reill opens up an important conversation on What Is History and Who Gets to Write It…With the rigor of a scholar and the artistry of a bard, she finds not just a story to represent the complexities of speaking local problems into a larger global conversation. She finds the story, the case study, the Martin Guerre who articulates a worldview. -- Aliza Wong * Los Angeles Review of Books *An important addition to a hitherto neglected area of Habsburg studies, by helping to disrupt the common wisdom…Brilliantly written…A path-breaking contribution in reconsidering the imperial transitions in twentieth-century Europe. -- Marco Bresciani * H-Net Reviews *As this impeccably researched and engagingly written book demonstrates, the Habsburg monarchy’s afterlife is often as interesting as its proper history. -- Ian D. Armour * History Today *A superb book, smartly conceived and beautifully written. With a genius for unearthing fascinating stories of local people, then using them to illuminate larger issues, Reill forces us to reconsider in profound ways how we conceive the history of the immediate postwar period in Europe. This history from below questions stale nationalist certainties and depicts vividly how communities worked to create their own options in a challenging postwar world. -- Pieter Judson, author of The Habsburg Empire: A New HistoryThe Fiume Crisis offers a fundamentally new way of thinking about war and postwar rebuilding. By zooming in to a specific city at the crossroads of many different pasts and multiple possible futures, Reill provides a fresh perspective on who makes history happen—bilingual cabbage sellers and young schoolteachers, emigré lawyers and seductive dockworkers—all those who tried to create a city that could escape the ravages of war and economic devastation. Their creativity and vision, triumphs and failures come alive in this breathtaking story. -- Alison Frank Johnson, author of Oil Empire: Visions of Prosperity in Austrian GaliciaIn this fascinating and important book Reill transforms our understanding of both the Fiume crisis and the whole geopolitical metamorphosis of Europe that followed World War I. She shows that the struggle over the city between Italy and Yugoslavia reflected a much deeper and more complex history of Adriatic identities in a Habsburg and post-Habsburg context. -- Larry Wolff, author of Woodrow Wilson and the Reimagining of Eastern EuropeA magisterial account of everyday life in the multi-ethnic city of Fiume after the end of the Great War. Moving well beyond the familiar story of the soldier-poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and his occupation of Fiume, Reill succeeds in telling the fascinating story of how a city of considerable cultural complexity dealt with the challenges of being a small successor state in a post-imperial world. -- Robert Gerwarth, author of November 1918: The German RevolutionA brilliant reevaluation of the nationalist myths and legends that have grown up around the history of Fiume under Gabriele D’Annunzio. Shifting our gaze away from his charismatic personality to the experiences of the citizens of Fiume, Reill demonstrates the persistence of imperial loyalties underpinning their quest for greater autonomy. This book forces us to question what we think we know about the relationship between nationalism and empire in the aftermath of the First World War. -- Tara Zahra, author of The Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free WorldIn this gem of a book, Reill peels away the sensational stories that made Fiume notorious as both a diplomatic thorn in Woodrow Wilson’s peacemaking and the prancing ground of proto-fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio, revealing a more thrilling, politically meaningful history. In the plucky polyglot city’s colliding authorities, crazy quilt laws, and contradictory wants, Reill vividly captures the human comedy as well as the shoals on which hopes for the Great Peace to follow the Great War foundered. -- Victoria de Grazia, author of The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s ItalyReill offers a new interpretation of Fiume…Will surely be one of the most, if not the most influential monograph on Fiume in years to come…Impressive in its thoroughness. -- Ágnes Ordasi * Hungarian Historical Review *Reill seeks to show how ordinary Fiumians navigated this period of crisis in the history of their city…Her research reveals their pragmatism as they tried to make the best of their new position as an isolated city-state in the age of nations. -- Liam Hoare * Metropole *[A] crucial new study…A thorough and convincing portrait of a city striving to come to terms with the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian empire and find its way in an evolving political landscape…Reill has produced a compelling analysis of how fundamental day-to-day issues such as currency, legal codes, citizenship, and school curriculums were dealt with in the city. This is a scrupulous, sober, history from below that is essential in a context such as d’Annunzio’s Fiume, which was all about imposing an image from above. -- Aidan O’Malley * Dublin Review of Books *Engaging…Readers will finish this book enthusiastic about Fiume. But they will also come away with new insights into the creative ways that Europeans tackled the aftermath of World War I on the ground…Reill highlights the importance of considering both the imperial and the local if we want to understand the end of World War I or the mapping of interwar Europe. -- Caitlin E. Murdock * Canadian-American Slavic Studies *Particularly relevant to historians of Habsburg Europe, while challenging standard accounts of modern Italian history. The history of interwar Fiume is much more than an Italian story, more than the prehistory of Italian Fascism. Extremely erudite, well-written, and illustrated with many astonishing photographs. -- Axel Körner * Austrian History Yearbook *An important contribution to the burgeoning literature on post-1918 Europe and the debate on continuities between empires and nation-states…This accomplished study invites further discussion and research on a key moment in European history. -- Laurence Cole * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisIn 1932 Sigmund Freud and diplomat William Bullitt completed a well-informed psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson, inspired by his irrational handling of the Treaty of Versailles. Released decades later in redacted form, the book was panned by critics and immediately forgotten. Patrick Weil resurrects the original version and reassesses its insights.Trade ReviewThe American Psychoanalytic Association has said that it ‘does not consider political commentary by its individual members an ethical matter.’ Nor should it. The father of psychoanalysis himself, in an oft-ignored divagation, co-wrote an entire volume about our twenty-eighth president, whom he detested from afar. Patrick Weil…[has] ferreted out the original, unredacted manuscript. This is the hottest gossip about Freud or Wilson in decades. Long-dead celebs seldom spill the tea. -- Dan Piepenbring * Harper's *A vivid shaggy-dog story about a curio that illuminates the possibilities (and perils) of studying the psychological soundness of presidents—a discipline as relevant as ever. -- Franklin Foer * The Atlantic *The extraordinary untold story of how a disillusioned American diplomat named William C. Bullitt came to Freud’s couch in 1926, and how Freud and his patient collaborated on a psychobiography of President Woodrow Wilson. -- Dominic Green * Wall Street Journal *The Madman in the White House ostensibly is about the book Bullitt and Freud wrote about Wilson, but it is mostly a biography of Bullitt, and a good one at that…What comes through clearly is the mostly impeccable judgment Bullitt exhibited in his public life, judgment that political leaders should have listened to and followed—and had they done so, the world would have been less dangerous and perhaps millions of lives could have been spared misery and death. -- Francis P. Sempa * American Spectator *A captivating analysis of the history of the Wilson psychobiography that doubles as a biography of Bullitt. Along the way it vividly documents the shifts in American engagement with Europe from the first world war through the cold war from the standpoint of high-level diplomacy…Both as a work of scholarship and as a sweeping, almost novelistic tour of twentieth-century political affairs, it deserves a wide readership. -- Nick Haslam * Inside Story *[Weil’s] depiction of Bullitt is remarkable and compelling. -- Carl Rollyson * New York Sun *‘Dictators are easy to read,’ Weil writes. ‘Democratic leaders are more difficult to decipher. However, they can be just as unbalanced as dictators and can play a truly destructive role in our history.’ This is well put, but I think Weil’s portrait of Bullitt demonstrates something broader and more hopeful: that politics—even realpolitik—is best understood as an affair of the heart. -- Simon Ings * The Spectator *Thought-provoking…Freud was fascinated by Wilson’s behavior as a world leader and embarked on a rigorous scrutiny of his psychological makeup—the exploration that Weil resumes. -- Paul Starobin * American Affairs *The Madman in the White House has it all: political intrigue, momentous historical events, a charismatic central character who mixed with Churchill, Stalin, Hemingway and Picasso, a cameo by Sigmund Freud, an astonishing discovery in the archives and a champagne-drinking bear…The book excels as history, character study and intellectual thriller. Weil’s assertion that ‘democratic leaders can be just as unbalanced as dictators’ is more apt now than ever. -- Nick Haslam * The Conversation *Excellent…Nearly a century since Wilson’s death, Weil’s monograph is the first to offer a comprehensive historical account of Bullitt’s career-long engagement with Wilson. -- Martin Halliwell * American Literary History *An intriguing book that might be described as a biography of a biography. Deeply researched and scholarly, it tracks Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study from ideation to publication, analysing its contents and chronicling the lives of its authors and their subject…Its portrait of Bullitt is thorough and its treatment of Freudian theory rigorous. -- Theo Zenou * History Today *What is clear from Weil’s book is that history is not just a result of impersonal forces acting upon human decisions. The personalities and views of political leaders matter. -- Francis P. Sempa * New York Journal of Books *[A] thought-provoking study of a psychological profile of the president…Weil draws an intriguing profile of Bullitt and others involved in the negotiations. It’s a convincing case that ‘personality is very often at the heart of policy.’ * Publishers Weekly *This is the wildly implausible and entirely true story of how Sigmund Freud, joined with a US diplomat, wrote a whole book about the ills of the psyche of Woodrow Wilson. For the first time, Weil brings the content of the original Freud manuscript to light, as well as giving a rich study of the role of personal psychology in the shaping of the new global order after World War I. So long as so much political power is concentrated in one human mind, we are all at the mercy of the next madman in the White House. -- Gary J. Bass, author of The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten GenocideA remarkable and valuable contribution which merits applause. There is unlikely to be another account to rival it. Weil has explored with great thoroughness—and detachment—the story of the enigma surrounding Woodrow Wilson and the fascinating events of 1919 which continue to remain such. -- Antony Lentin, Wolfson College, University of CambridgePatrick Weil has given us a vivid group portrait of Sigmund Freud, William Bullitt, and Woodrow Wilson—actors in and witnesses to the great drama of the Treaty of Versailles. Based on newly unearthed archival evidence that sheds light on how Freud and Bullitt wrote a biography of the twenty-eighth president of the United States, this is an urgent reappraisal of critical events of twentieth-century history. -- Élisabeth Roudinesco, author of Freud: In His Time and OursA generation ago diplomats could be real shapers of foreign policy, and not just the president’s messengers. William C. Bullitt was among the most influential of them. He served in the American delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and he represented the United States as ambassador in Moscow and in Paris as World War II approached. He was close to both Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Along the way he met Sigmund Freud and collaborated with Freud in a controversial analysis of Wilson’s character. Patrick Weil uses Bullitt’s career to probe the significance of personality in American presidential decision-making. This unusual book enriches and completes a story that we may have thought we knew well. -- Robert O. Paxton, author of The Anatomy of Fascism

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative biography of Jozef Pilsudski, a key figure in interwar Europe regarded as the founding hero of a pluralistic and democratic modern Poland. After the first elected president was assassinated, Pilsudski lost faith in Poles’ commitment to democracy, led a military coup, and ruled as a strongman, leaving a complicated legacy.Trade ReviewThe ultimate Pilsudski biography for our era. Deeply researched, authoritative, and very well written, it fearlessly faces the great mystery of the man. For how can the Father of Modern Poland, a soldier and statesman of genius and the savior of his country in 1920, be the same man who ruthlessly discarded democracy in a military coup only six years later? Zimmerman’s portrayal of Pilsudski in the courageous Polish Legions days will come alive for readers, but the complexity of the authoritarian period under the ‘Napoleon of Poland’ will give them pause for thought. -- Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with DestinyCompelling…Zimmerman narrates Pilsudski’s life with authority, clarity and verve…The book is an important achievement in its introduction of the English-language reader to a key figure in the historical contest between Russian imperial ambition and the smaller nations that resist it. -- Stanley Bill * Times Literary Supplement *Excellent…a detailed, absorbing book that peels back the complexities of histories to reclaim the figure of Jozef Pilsudski for a new generation. -- Colin Shindler * Jewish Chronicle *A well-timed book…This well-researched and clearly written biography sheds light on the emergence of an independent Poland, which without Pilsudski might never have existed. It is also a meditation on the confluence of ethnic, religious, national, and imperial history that is Eastern Europe. -- Michael Kimmage * The National Interest *Zimmerman has made Pilsudski’s mostly supportive dealings with the Jewish community, and its experience of antisemitism, a central theme of his book. This tends to crowd out his treatment of other topics or minorities, but it’s good that Pilsudski’s long alliance with Jewish and other non-Polish parties should be more widely known. Necessary, too, though shocking, is Zimmerman’s detailed account of the pogroms that broke out as Poland regained independence, crimes Pilsudski condemned but was curiously slow to halt. -- Neal Ascherson * London Review of Books *Piłsudski’s story, complete with flaws, accomplishments and echoes of today’s war in Ukraine, is brought to life in [this] recent biography. -- John Daniszewski * Associated Press *Zimmerman’s biography is long overdue. Balanced, meticulously researched and very well written, it provides a panoramic portrait of the man who towers over modern Poland, warts and all. * History Today *Joshua Zimmerman’s masterful new biography, based on Polish and English sources, explores the controversy that surrounded this contradictory man in his own lifetime and thereafter…This deeply researched study brings to life a restless Polish soul. -- Mark Cornwall * Literary Review *Clearly written, detailed, and absorbing…Zimmerman presents Pilsudski as a classical hero, masterfully balancing the description of events that showcase his hubris and tragedy. -- Magdalena Bogacz * H-Net Reviews *This well-researched and balanced biography of Józef Piłsudski seems destined to become the standard English-language work on the ‘father of modern Poland.’ It is a significant achievement and deserves a wide readership. -- Michael Fleming * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *Likely to be the definitive biography of the Polish political conspirator, military commander, and statesman Józef Piłsudski…Zimmerman’s book is sure to find a wide and admiring readership. -- Jesse Kauffman * Austrian History Yearbook *I much enjoyed Joshua Zimmerman’s biography Jozef Pilsudski: Founding Father of Modern Poland…Will be heartily welcomed by the history buff in your life. -- Roger Moorhouse * Aspects of History *Perfectly timed…[Zimmerman’s] even-handedness gives Pilsudski’s history a nuance that was not allowed by Poland’s post-WWII communist authorities, who portrayed him as a proto-fascist and cracked down on his legacy…Impressively documented…Ultimately, Pilsudski’s life was that of a classical hero, replete with both hubris and tragedy. -- James Jackson * Notes from Poland *Magisterial…Zimmerman, in his splendid book, paints a balanced and thoughtful portrait of an eminent Polish leader who devoted body and soul to reestablishing a state that had been swept away by the tides of fate. -- Sheldon Kirschner * Times of Israel *A masterful biography…This book should be ready widely by historians of modern Europe, and not just historians of Poland. Zimmerman’s account of Piłsudski’s life and legacy helps make sense of modern Poland, to be sure, but it also makes a case for his relevance far beyond Poland’s borders. -- Eva Plach * Slavic Review *A work on the life and motivations of Jozef Pilsudski in the English language has been long overdue. … Zimmerman has not taken the easy route of either producing a hagiography or a diatribe. Instead, he produced a well-written and thoughtful account of Pilsudski and how he shaped the Second Polish Republic. …[He] should be commended for his diligence in executing this excellent biography of a great, if neglected, European leader. -- Evan McGilvray * Journal of Slavic Military Studies *Zimmerman’s book can be read not only as a historical monograph, but also as a fascinating account of how Western ideas found their way to Europe’s peripheries and what their implementation in political activism and state-building looked like in that part of the world…A must-read for scholars interested in Eastern Europe. -- Tadeusz Koczanowicz * Studies in East European Thought *Pilsudski had a profound influence on the politics of twentieth-century Europe, and his legacy is discernible to this day. Yet this extraordinary man—an idealistic political activist turned terrorist, military commander, statesman and finally virtual dictator—has been sorely neglected by historians outside Poland. This well-researched, balanced, and highly readable account of the truly Napoleonic trajectory of his life and complex political evolution is timely and very welcome. -- Adam Zamoyski, author of Napoleon: A LifeHere is the ‘founder of modern Poland’ for twenty-first-century eyes. This fascinating portrait of Pilsudski, one of the most important political figures of twentieth-century Europe, is full of vivid details and incisive observations. Zimmerman has drawn from a huge body of material, much from newly available sources, and turned it into a critical yet brilliantly balanced analysis of a man and statesman. -- Andrzej Nowak, Jagiellonian UniversityA thorough, nuanced biography of Pilsudski, whose extraordinary life sheds so much light on his era and the Poland of his dreams and of his making. Zimmerman highlights Pilsudski’s pluralist and federalist inclinations without downplaying his later authoritarianism. Pilsudski’s attitude toward Polish Jews in particular serves as a bellwether of his cultural pluralism and respect for minority rights. A much-needed, comprehensive account essential for readers seeking to understand this complex, important figure. -- Patrice M. Dabrowski, author of Poland: The First Thousand YearsThe personality and policies of Jozef Pilsudski have long been obscured by both ideological attacks and mindless adulation. This welcome new portrait places the marshal in his rightful position, not just as a military leader whose plans worked out and a would-be democrat whose plans went awry, but as a statesman with a broad, tolerant vision. Zimmerman’s emphasis on Pilsudski’s hopes for a multinational Poland, where all could live in harmony—including the country’s huge Jewish community—is spot on. -- Norman Davies, author of God’s Playground: A History of PolandPilsudski was a central figure not only in the emergence and development of an independent Polish state but also in the larger history of interwar Europe. Zimmerman clearly portrays the complex, multifaceted nature of the man and his political legacy. While Pilsudski sought to create a multiethnic Poland in which all citizens would feel at home, his understanding of how a constitutional system should function was flawed, and he used brutal, extra-legal methods to suppress the opposition after he seized power in a coup. This welcome book will become the definitive treatment in English of Pilsudski, and I enthusiastically recommend it. -- Antony Polonsky, author of The Jews in Poland and Russia

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Book SynopsisAdam Hochschild is an award-winning author of six books, mostly on subjects related to human rights. King Leopold's Ghost was the winner of the prestigious Duff Cooper Prize and Bury the Chains was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. He lives in San Francisco and teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

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Book SynopsisEmily Mayhew is the author of Wounded: From Battlefield to Blighty, 1914-1918. She is Research Associate at Imperial College and consultant and lecturer to various museums including the Wellcome Collection, the Imperial War Museum and the Royal College of Surgeons. Her first book, The Reconstruction of Warriors, was published in 2004. Emily's primary research interest is the history of the medical treatment of severe casualty in 20th and 21st century warfare. She is determined to ensure that, in particular, the work and courage of the stretcher bearers of the Great War is properly represented during the centenary commemorations. During Autumn of 2014 she will be speaking at the Royal Institution, the Cheltenham Literary Festival, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, the Liverpool History Society, the Florence Nightingale Museum, and the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Great War CentenTrade ReviewAn original and absorbing account... [Mayhew] has a marvellous eye for quirky and horrifying detail... Absolutely compelling -- Peter Parker * Times Literary Supplement *Mayhew deftly describes such daily horrors as shattered jaws and severed arteries, filthy uniforms and decay. What takes the book beyond the standard accounts of the trenches, however, is its depiction of how such terrible circumstances forced people to respond in remarkable ways -- Victoria Segal * Guardian *Wounded is a powerful and descriptive read, and through it I found a greater understanding of what it was to be part of that war -- Sarah Mullally * Church Times *Among the many books commemorating the conflict, one stands out for its specialisation. This is Wounded... Mayhew is to be commended for giving us these testimonies -- Colin Gardiner * Oxford Times *A fascinating read -- Stephen Coulson * Lady *

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Book SynopsisFour pipes and flush decks these ships were a distinctively American destroyer design. Devised immediately prior to and during the United States' involvement in World War I they dominated the US Navy's destroyer forces all the way through to World War II. They were deployed on North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea convoys, and virtually everywhere in the Pacific, from Alaska to Australia. Fifty were given to Great Britain in its hour of need in 1940, and many would serve in other navies, fighting under the Soviet, Canadian, Norwegian, and even the Imperial Japanese flags. They also served in a variety of roles becoming seaplane tenders, high-speed transports, minesweepers and minelayers. One was even used as a self-propelled mine during Operation Chariot, destroying the dry dock at St. Nazaire.Fully illustrated throughout with commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs, this volume reveals the operational history of these US Navy ships that fought with dist

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Book SynopsisTE Lawrence focused the Arab revolt against the Turks in 1916 and helped ensure victory for the Allies in the Middle East. This is his story.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War in the Middle East is an accessibly written military and social history of the clash of world empires in the Dardanelles, Egypt and Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia and the Caucasus. Coates Ulrichsen demonstrates how wartime exigencies shaped the parameters of the modern Middle East, and describes and assesses the major campaigns against the Ottoman Empire and Germany involving British and imperial troops from the French and Russian Empires, as well as their Arab and Armenian allies. Also documented are the enormous logistical demands placed on host societies by the Great Powers' conduct of industrialised warfare in hostile terrain. The resulting deepening of imperial penetration, and the extension of state controls across a heterogeneous sprawl of territories, generated a powerful backlash both during and immediately after the war, which played a pivotal role in shaping national identities as the Ottoman Empire was dismembered. This is a multidimensional account of the many seemingly discrete yet interlinked campaigns that resulted in one to one and a half million casualties.It details not just their military outcome but relates them to intelligence-gathering, industrial organisation, authoritarianism and the political economy of empires at war.Trade Review'This is a splendid book we have long been waiting for: the first comprehensive account of the fierce fighting all over the Middle East during World War One. As good on the logistical nightmares facing military planners in a region with few proper road and rail communications as it is on the set-piece battles at Gallipoli, Gaza and up and down the Tigris in Iraq.' -- Roger Owen, A.J. Meyer Professor of Middle East History, and author of The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for LifeA welcome overview of the Great War in the Middle East. ... Ulrichsen manages to achieve a comprehensive synthesis of the military and diplomatic history of the war. Moreover, he captures the full extent of the conflict in the Middle East, from skirmishes in Aden to the Turco-Sanussi campaign against the British in the western deserts of Egypt. ... Its clarity and its concision will make this work of use to scholars of the Great War and the emergence of the modern Middle East alike.' -- Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Oxford, and author of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920'In this concise yet deeply researched book, Ulrichsen seeks to correct widely held Western misperceptions about WWI and its role in staging the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate and the resultant shaping of arbitrary Middle Eastern borders. ... Relevant for anyone with an interest in the Middle East.' -- Publishers Weekly'...fascinating and insightful ... the most comprehensive single-volume history of the war in the Middle East available today. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen's The First World War in the Middle East presents readers with a single-volume, multidisciplinary history of the war across the entire region, and it does so brilliantly, filling an otherwise glaring gap in the subject's literature.' -- Middle East Policy'In this meticulously researched, engaging book, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen explores the devastating consequences of the Great War for the Middle East and the battles fought there on behalf of the European belligerents, as well as the lasting imprints of the War on the region's political geography. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the Middle East and the study of the formation of modern state-system in the region.' -- Mehran Kamrava, author of The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War'This is a timely and important book. In an age when the post-war imperial political system across the region is being eroded by warfare and turmoil, it is indeed edifying to reflect on the causes and consequences of the First World War in the Middle East. The significance of this book lies in the fact that it is not merely a military history, but also excellently weaves together the differing European and Middle Eastern perspectives on the war, situating it in its proper geo-political context by examining not just the war itself, but also what preceded it, and, above all, what the war brought about in terms of socio-economic, cultural, and political transformations.' -- Johan Franzen, Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern History, University of East Anglia, and author of Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam'Lively and compelling...gives a particularly thorough account of the diplomatic relations between the powers, and also of the ways in which policy was formulated within and between Britain, France and Russia, and by the Ottoman government.' -- International Affairs'Kristian Coates Ulrichsen's important study is the first account of the Middle East during the First World War. It is both very readable and a scholarly synthesis of the military, political and social history of the region as well as detailing the legacy of the war.' -- Alan Jeffreys, Senior Curator, Social History at the Imperial War Museum'Ulrichsen's valuable new book...underscores how soldiers and local civilian populations in the Middle East often suffered as much as those in Europe.' -- W. Andrew Terrill, Middle East Journal, 2014'A comprehensive and thoughtful overview of the region's major battles and their consequences grounded in the social realities of the time.' -- Elizabeth F Thompson, H-Diplo'...impressive ... Concise but comprehensive, this book deftly synthesizes accounts of the various military campaigns [in the Middle East] with broader analysis of its massive social, geopolitical and economic consequences.' -- William Armstrong, Hurriyet Daily News'The book is academically robust, detailed and well sourced. It is written in an accessible style and the index and chapter headings enable the reader who does not have the time to read from cover to cover to identify areas of specific interest.' -- The Arab Banker'This book is an extremely interesting overview of events in Palestine and the wider Middle East during World War I and the resulting peace settlement.' -- C.W. Squire, HM Ambassador to Israel 1984-88, The Overseas Pensioner

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Book SynopsisThe inspiring, heart-pumping true story of soldiers turned cyclists and the historic 1919 Tour de France that helped to restore a war-torn country and its people. On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country's border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front. Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war. Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died. The cyclists' perseverance and tolerance for pain would be tested in a grueling, monthlong competition. An inspiring true story of human endurance, Sprinting Through No Man's Land explores how the cyclists united a country that had been torn apart by unprecedented desolation and tragedy. It shows how devastated countrymen and women can come together to celebrate the adventure of a lifetime and discover renewed fortitude, purpose, and national identity in the streets of their towns.'This is an evocatively written homage to the 1919 Tour… This inspirational sports story demonstrates the power of a race to unite a country suffering from the wounds of war and is immersed in wartime historical detail. Cycling fans will get more than an account of the race in this volume, which will also appeal to readers interested in WWI.' — Booklist

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Lioness of Morocco and The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter, the story of an ambitious young woman discovering friendship, love, and her own identity on the eve of World War I. Christmas 1889. A baby is born in the early hours at Vienna General Hospital, only to be abandoned by her unwed mother and entrusted to a foundling home and its loving caretaker. Fanny Schindler grows from a precocious girl into a strong-willed young woman. Undeterred by the rules of her station, she’s determined to rise above her humble origins and pursue her dreams at all costs, becoming an apprentice to one of the most glamorous fashion houses in Austria-Hungary. All the while, as Fanny searches for a sense of belonging, her path crosses with those of three people who will change her future. To one, she is a cherished friend. To another, a confidant. And to a handsome career soldier, something more. When hostilities in Europe burst into flame as a brutal world war, the future of the dual monarchy is at stake, friendships are strained, loyalties are tested, and everything is at risk. And when long-buried secrets about Fanny’s past come to light, she must decide what truly matters—and what is worth fighting for in a new world of infinite possibilities.

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Book SynopsisThe second heartwarming book in The Royal Station Master's Daughters series. For readers of Maisie Thomas and Daisy Styles. It is 1917 and Maria has adapted well to her new life on the royal Sandringham estate where she works as a maid in the Big House for Queen Alexandra and is in awe of the many treasures around her. It is two years since she turned up at the royal station master's house to escape her secret past, destitute and with nowhere else to turn. Having proven herself to Harry Saward and his daughters, she is now welcomed by them as one of the family. But when Nellie, a mysterious relative turns up, on the run from the law, Maria's new-found happiness could be under threat. Meanwhile, the impact of World War I is felt deeply in the community as the fate of missing men from the Sandringham Company, who fought in Gallipoli, is still unknown. Harry's daughters pull together to support each other and women on the royal estate as they face their sorrows and challenges. Ada's husband, Alfie, is away fighting on the front line while Beatrice is now a VAD nurse at a cottage hospital. Jessie has become a land army girl, proudly doing a man's job, while pining for her sweetheart Jack. In a community torn apart by loss and tragedy, how will the station master's family survive and find the happiness they're all searching for?The Royal Station Master's Daughters at War is the second book in the WWI saga series, inspired by the Saward family, who ran the station at Wolferton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through this family we get a glimpse into all walks of life - from royalty to the humblest of soldiers.

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Book SynopsisThe story of an epochal event in German history, this is also the story of the most important revolution that you might never have heard of.Trade ReviewGerwarth argues in his polished narrative drawing on the eyewitness testimony of famous writers and thinkers that Weimar was not "the doomed republic" of legend, a hopeless 14-year interval between a warmongering Kaiser and Hitlers Nazi dictatorship, but a success in its own right... 'November 1918' is a perceptive study of an orderly people who proved that a revolution need not lead to extremes of left and right. * Martin Ivens, The Times *Gerwarth's November 1918 [is one] of the most stimulating histories of the interwar period to have been published in recent years. * Tony Barber, The Financial Times *Gerwarth's scholarship cannot be faulted... a superlative piece of research into a sequence of events that are of immense importance. * Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph *Readable and informative. * Jonathan Sperber, Times Literary Supplement *Authoritative new account... Gerwarth has... done us [a] service by rescuing the Weimar Republic from what EP Thompson, in another context, called 'the enormous condescension of posterity'. * Brendan Simms, The Irish Times *[Gerwarth's] account is written in clear prose and richly documented with eyewitness accounts from the most vivid diaries and correspondence of the period. As an audacious bid to restore the German Revolution to its rightful place in history, November 1918 could hardly have been more skillfully executed. * Daniel Johnson, Claremont Review of Books *...stands out as one of the most successful... * Alexander Gallus, German Historical Institute London Bulletin *Splendidly researched, and with a striking new thesis... a fascinating study, whose insights will stop you dead even if you thought, as I did, that you already knew this stuff. * James Hawse, The Spectator *Thought-provoking and readable ... Gerwarth's invaluable book shows that, compared to their counterparts in other central European states facing similar turmoil, the moderate German revolutionaries had spectacular success in securing their democracy. By 1929, only cataclysmic economic crisis could overturn what was Europes most open and representative liberal state. Hitler, it seems, got lucky. * Alexander Watson, Literary Review *its salutary to have a fresh account of the birthing pains of that vaunted republic rather than another autopsy of its demise Where Gerwarth most excels is deftly weaving together the impressions of contemporary commentators, of whom he has assembled a rich banquet: Victor Serge, Thomas Mann, Kaethe Kollwitz, Alfred Doeblin, Harry Graf Kessler, and Joseph Roth, among others. * Thomas Meaney, The Washington Examiner *A fascinating narrative of the events that transpired during the time in which Germans called for a more democratic government and more political and social freedom. Throughout the book, the author balances small biographies of important political leaders with the extensive use of newspapers, memoirs, and letterseffectively giving those who lived through the revolution a voice Gerwarths book is a wonderful addition to the history of the Weimar Republic. * Louis Grün, Origins *November 1918 provides a first-rate survey of events and personalities surrounding the revolution in Germany ... Robert Gerwarth has written a detailed account of a fascinating topic. The writing is clear and avoids jargon and theory. The research is thorough, as is made evident by the notes and the comprehensive bibliography. His book has academic credibility but can also be recommended for the general reader. * Jim Burns, Northern Review of Books *Meticulously researched, judiciously argued, and written with enviable panache, November 1918 is an engaging history with much original insight that should become the standard work on the subject. * Professor Anthony McElligott, University of Limerick *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction:

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Book SynopsisIn the desert sands of southern Jordan lies a once-hidden conflict landscape along the Hejaz Railway. Built at the beginning of the twentieth-century, this narrow-gauge 1,320 km track stretched from Damascus to Medina and served to facilitate participation in the annual Muslim Hajj to Mecca. The discovery and archaeological investigation of an unknown landscape of insurgency and counter-insurgency along this route tells a different story of the origins of modern guerrilla warfare, the exploits of T. E. Lawrence, Emir Feisal, and Bedouin warriors, and the dramatic events of the Arab Revolt of 1916-18. Ten years of research in this prehistoric terrain has revealed sites lost for almost 100 years: vast campsites occupied by railway builders; Ottoman Turkish machine-gun redoubts; Rolls Royce Armoured Car raiding camps; an ephemeral Royal Air Force desert aerodrome; as well as the actual site of the Hallat Ammar railway ambush. This unique and richly illustrated account from Nicholas Saunders tells, in intimate detail, the story of a seminal episode of the First World War and the reshaping of the Middle East that followed.Trade ReviewDesert Insurgency is a well-written and lavishly illustrated volume that describes the surveys and excavations of the Great Arab Revolt Project * Benjamin Adam Saidel, Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies *This painstakingly detailed and richly illustrated book explores the interface between history, archaeology, and anthropology in one marginal desert area of southern Jordan. * A. Rassam, CHOICE *Table of ContentsMaps 1: Introduction 2: Into the Ghost-Land 3: Archaeology, Material Worlds, and the Arab Revolt 4: The Hejaz Railway: Faith, Conflict, and Afterlife 5: Guerillas and the 'Sultan's Mule' 6: Conflict on Jebel Sherra: Ma'an to the Blockhouse 7: 'Belly of the Beast': Abdullah's Fort to Batn al-Ghoul 8: Forts, Stations, and Ancestors: Wadi Rutm to Tel Shahm 9: Concealment, Raiding, and Ambush: Tooth Hill to Hallat Ammar 10: Beyond the Railway Timeline of Major Events on the Hejaz Railway Between Ma'an to Mudawwara, 1900-2018 Gazeteer

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Book SynopsisThe multi-national story of the Gallipoli campaign - how it was fought, how it has been remembered, and what it has come to meanTrade ReviewIt is within [a] bleak landscape of defeat that Jenny Macleod finds Gallipoli's lasting importance. The battle, she argues, and the acrimony of its aftermath, would help to birth four new nations an independent Australia, New Zealand, Irish Free State and Kamalist Turkey. * Victor Davis Hanson, Times Literary Supplement *I strongly recommend Jenny Macleod's brilliant Great Battles: Gallipoli to readers interested in how the memorialisation of battles and campaigns informs our contemporary world. * British Journal for Military History *an essential addition to our understanding of the consequences of the Gallipoli campaign. * Battlefield Trust *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Origins ; 2. Invasion ; 3. Stalemate ; 4. Australia and the Civil Religion of Anzac ; 5. New Zealand and Anzac ; 6. Britain and Ireland: Gallipoli Day or Anzac Day? ; 7. Turkey and 18th March ; Conclusion ; Further Reading ; Notes ; Index

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Book SynopsisOn 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, fifty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler''s island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: ''If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one''. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Rüger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain''s smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany had acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to wear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Far more than just the history of a small island in the North Sea, this is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe.Trade ReviewJan Rüger [...] has achieved the notable feat of telling a story almost none of us knows. His account of Heligoland's Napoleonic-era experience is a high spot, but the whole work is studded with unexpected gems about extraordinary people. * Max Hastings, The Sunday Times, Paperback of the week (26th May, 2019) *Fascinating. * Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books *Pacey and erudite... succeeds admirably. * European History Quarterly *A Rüger's work on this small island is historiography at its best. * Dieter Langewiesche, German Historical Institute London Bulletin *Rüger's book moves seamlessly between the views and demands of the inhabitants of Heligoland... and the considerations and policies impacting the island in the halls of government in Great Britain and Germany. Well-researched from multiple archives... the book also provides a useful and important reminder to historians of the need to consider a "long view". * Alan M. Anderson, Naval Historical Foundation *Masterful... fascinating... this is microhistory at its best. * W. Mark Hamilton, Mariner's Mirror *A thought-provoking treatise of how nations coexist -- or dont. * Joseph Callo, H Net *This brilliant, quirky book tells the almost unknown story of the tiny North Sea German island that became an unlikely corner of the British Empire. * Sunday Times, Best Books for the Summer 2017 *The reader of Rüger's volume will be fascinated, surprised, horrified and moved. * John R. Davis, Reviews in History *A fascinating book which uses a scrap of land in the North Sea to illustrate the tumultuous relationship between Britain and Germany. * History Hit Podcast with Dan Snow *Rüger's book brilliantly spins a far bigger history out of one small, half-forgotten place. For so long the fault line between two powers, Heligoland deserves to be rescued from oblivion; it has found an admirable historian. * Ben Wilson, The Sunday Telegraph *The whole book is studded with unexpected gems about extraordinary people ... a fine tale. * Max Hastings, The Sunday Times *Resonant... a prism through which to view the entire span of Anglo-German rivalry, conflict and, eventually, reconciliation. * Martin Kettle, Guardian *Utterly fascinating ... impeccable, original, scholarly and superbly written * Simon Heffer, Literary Review *Mr Ruger makes his case that Heligoland's fortunes are a useful bellwether of wider relations and he relates his story in an engaging style ... More people should know Heligoland's story for the echoes it has today. * The Economist *Fascinating * Ian Brunskill, Wall Street Journal Europe *A gem of a study ... concise, scholarly, and readable. On one level it is simply an authoritative narrative history of an island and ist people, but on another it represents so much more: a case study of the twists and turns of Britain's relationship with Germany, Europe, and the wider world over two tumultuous centuries. * Nick Hewitt, Military History Monthly *Visitors today may be quite unaware of Heligoland's curious history or of the weight of symbolism it once bore. Day trippers come now to enjoy the bird watching, the 1950s architecture, the duty-free cigarettes. Before setting out, they should read Mr. Ruger's fascinating book. * The Wall Street Journal *For those devourers of "forgotten" history, this book is a must ... riveting * Ian Hernon, Tribune *distinguished German historian Jan Rüger ... has written a micro-history that captures the complexity of Anglo-German relations * Nigel Winser, Geographical *A brilliant and subtle history of Anglo-German relations, told through the evocative study of a contested island. This fascinating book is a triumphant demonstration of the power of microhistory. * Christopher Clark, author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 *This is a brilliant demonstration of how the very small can have a significance over time on the very large. Drawing on literature, cartography, art, music and film, as well as a wide spread of archives, Jan Rüger shows how and why Heligoland became caught up in a succession of epic and destructive wars, conflicting but also overlapping national identities, the rise and fall of Anglo-German antagonism, and the competition for empire. * Linda Colley, Princeton University *Jan Rüger's new book takes the North Sea island of Heligoland as a lens through which to examine Anglo-German relations over the past two centuries. The result is an entertaining and illuminating study full of colourful detail, that traces the phases of co-operation and hostility between the two powers over the decades from the Kaiser to Hitler and beyond. * Richard J. Evans, author of The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 *Ruger's Heligoland: Britain, Germany, and the Struggle for the North Sea succeeds brilliantly in exposing how Britons and Germans moved from admiration to antagonism, from cooperation to conflict, intermingling elements of both during the long nineteenth century, between the world wars, and after the Second World War. Focusing on the specific, it illustrates the shifting dynamics of the general relationship. The micro-study references higher level diplomacy and the military dimensions of the Anglo-German relationship but focuses on how art, poetry, music, and the everyday interactions of islanders, visitors, and representatives of the state made Heligoland into something more than two small islands buffeted by the waves of the North Sea. * Douglas Peifer, H-War *Table of ContentsPrologue: Between Worlds 1: Edge of Europe 2: Nation and Empire 3: A Matter of Sentiment 4: Making Germans 5: Island Fortress 6: To Heligoland and Back 7: Disarming Germany 8: Hitler's Island 9: Out of Ruins Epilogue: No More Heligolands List of Abbreviations Notes Sources Acknowledgements Picture Credits Index

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 2003. There is an enormous literature on the origins of the First World War. This pamphlet focuses on the major issues involved in the topic and assesses the validity of the different interpretations advanced Beginning with the legacy of Bismarck's diplomacy between 1871 and 1890.Table of ContentsIntroduction to the third edition, Timeline of key events, 1 The origins of war, Bismarck's Legacy The Challenge of German Power The Balkans Crisis The Outbreak of War - July-August 1914 2. The Historical Debate

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Book SynopsisIn its multidisciplinary approach and wide-ranging contributions, the book looks at trench art and postcards through museum collections to prosthetic limbs, and examines the First World War and its significance through the things it left behind.Table of Contents1. Materialities of Conflict: The Great War, 1914-20032. Art, Material Life and Disaster: Civilian and Military Prisoners of War3. 'Sacred Relics': Objects in the Imperial War Museum 1917-1939 4. Prostheses and Propaganda: Materiality and the Human Body in the Great War5. 'Nagelfiguren': Nailing Patriotism in Germany 1914-18 6. Shattered Experiences - Recycled Relics: Strategies of Representation and the Legacy of the Great War 7. The Great War Re-remembered: The Fragmentation of the World's Largest Painting8. Death and Material Culture: The Case of Pictures during the First World War9. A Material Link Between War and Peace: World War One Silk Postcards 10. Thanks for the Memory: War Memorials, Spectatorship and the Trajectories of Commemoration 1919-2001 11. The Lion, the Angel and the War Memorial: Some French sites re-visited 12. The Internet and the Great War: The impact on the making and meaning of Great War history 13. The Ocean Villas Project: Archaeology in the Service of European Remembrance 14. Aftermath: Materiality on the Home Front, 1914-2001

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Book SynopsisThis is the first study of the Ludendorff Offensives of 1918 based extensively on key German records presumed to be lost forever after Potsdam was bombed in 1944. In 1997, David T. Zabecki discovered translated copies of these files in a collection of old instructional material at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He presents his findings here for the first time, with a thorough review of the surviving original operational plans and orders, to offer a wealth of fresh insights to the German Offensives of 1918. David T. Zabecki clearly demonstrates how the German failure to exploit the vulnerabilities in the BEF's rail system led to the failure of the first two offensives, and how inadequacies in the German rail system determined the outcome of the last three offensives. This is a window into the mind of the German General Staff of World War I, with thorough analysis of the German planning and decision making processes during thTrade Review"Zabecki ... has earned a reputation as an outstanding military historian. An essential read for students of the Great War, and an important one for those interested in military operations since its end." - The NYMAS Review, The New York Military Affairs SymposiumTable of Contents1. Why do we Still Bother with World War I? 2. The Operational Art 3. The Tactical Realities of 1918 4. The Strategic Reality 5. The Operational Decision: 11 November 1917 to 21 January 1918 6. Operations MICHAEL and MARS 7. Operation GEORGETTE 8. Operations BLÜCHER, GOERZ, and YORCK 9. Operations GNEISSENAU and HAMMERSCHLAG 10. Operation MARNESCHUTZ-REIMS 11. Operations HAGEN and KURFÜRST 12. Conclusions

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Book SynopsisThis 2000 volume analyses the First World War in light of the concept of 'total war'. Leading scholars explore the efforts of soldiers, statesmen and civilians to adjust to the titanic, pervasive pressures that the military stalemate on the western front imposed on belligerent and neutral societies.Trade Review'… a fine collection of essays that students of the Great War should not miss.' The Economic History Review'… this collection can justify its claim to address the 'totality' of war on the Western Front, and the reader can expect a broadening … of his or her knowledge of the conflict from reading this volume.' War in History'The volume is made attractive by the extremely high quality of the contributions, and by its discussion of important questions concerning the historical location of the First World War.' Sven Oliver Müller, German Historical Institute BulletinTable of ContentsIntroduction Stig Förster; Part I. Basic Reflections: 1. From cabinet war to total war: the perspective of military doctrine, 1861–1918 Hew Strachan; 2. World War I and the theory of total war: reflections on the British and German cases Roger Chickering; Part II. The Changing Realities of Warfare: 3. World War I and the revolution in logistics Martin van Creveld; 4. Mass warfare and the impact of technology Dennis E. Showalter; 5. Total war through new weapons? The use of chemical agents in World War I Rolf-Dieter Müller; 6. Planning total war? Falkenhayn and the Battle of Verdun 1916 Holger Afflerbach; 7. The most extensive experiment that imagination can produce: violence of war, emotional stress, and German medicine Wolfgang U. Eckart; Part III. War Against Noncombatants: 8. War between soldiers and enemy civilians, 1914–15 John Horne and Alan Kramer; 9. The blockade of Germany and the strategy of starvation Avner Offer; 10. Total rhetoric, limited war: Germany's U-boat campaign, 1917–18 Holger H. Herwig; 11. The first air war against noncombatants: strategic bombing of German cities in World War I Christian Geinitz; 12. Bullying the neutrals: the case of the Netherlands Marc Frey; Part IV. Politicians, Soldiers and the Problem of Unlimited Warfare: 13. Poincaré, Clemenceau, and the quest for total victory J. F. V. Keiger; 14. Strategy and unlimited warfare in Germany: Moltke, Falkenhayn, and Ludendorff Wilhelm Deist; 15. The strategy of unlimited warfare: Kitchener, Robertson, and Haig David French; 16. French strategy on the Western Front, 1914–18 David Stevenson; 17. Strategy and total war in the United States Russell F. Weigley; Part V. Mobilizing Economies and Finance for War: 18. War aims, state intervention, and business leadership in Germany: the case of Hugo Stinnes Gerald D. Feldman; 19. Lloyd George and the management of the British war economy Keith Grieves; 20. Better late than never: the American economic war effort, 1917–18 Elisabeth Glaser; 21. How (not) to pay for the war: traditional finance and total war Niall Ferguson; Part VI. Societies Mobilized for War: 22. Mobilizing German society for war Richard Bessel; 23. Women's wartime services under the cross: patriotic communities in Germany, 1912–18 Jean H. Quataert; 24. Pandora's Box: propaganda and war hysteria in the United States during World War I Jörg Nagler; 25. Painting and music during and after the Great War: the art of total war Arthur Marwick; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe real story of how Winston Churchill and the British mastered deception to defeat the Nazis - by conning the Kaiser, hoaxing Hitler and using brains to outwit brawn. By June 1940, most of Europe had fallen to the Nazis and Britain stood alone. So, with Winston Churchill in charge the British bluffed their way out of trouble, drawing on the trickery which had helped them win the First World War. They broadcast outrageous British propaganda on pretend German radio stations, broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill''s Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945 is a thrilling work of popular military history filled with almost unbelievable stories of bravery, creativity and deception. Nicholas Rankin is the author of Dead Man''s Chest, Telegram From Guernica and Ian Fleming''s Commandos. ''This is a story clamouring to be told. We could not have imagined the scope of the inventiveness, the daring of these people''s imaginations . . . I could not stop reading this book.'' Doris Lessing

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Book SynopsisStunningly illustrated in full colour throughout, Tank Hunter: World War One provides historical background, facts and figures for each surviving First World War tank, giving you the opportunity to become a Tank Hunter yourself.

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Book SynopsisThe tiny French hamlet of Serre is the subject of this guide. It covers four battles for the high ground upon which Serre is situated: June 1915: July 1916: November 1916 and July and August 1918.

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Book SynopsisThe battle for Guillemont raged throughout August 1916. Like so many of the battles into which the 'Big Push' degenerated, the struggle centred around a wood, Trones, and a heavily fortified village. It was in this battle that Noel Chavasse won the first of his two VCs.

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