First World War Books

Book SynopsisBy narrating the Sarajevo assassination in a broad historical context, Misfire contends that the most consequential political murder in modern history would have remained inconsequential if not for the decisions made by the leaders of Europe's Great Powers.Trade ReviewMiller-Melamed has done a service to the field with what should be a new point of departure for discussion of the diplomatic crisis that followed the Sarajevo assassination. * Choice *Miller-Melamed aims to refocus narratives of war's outbreak in 1914 on substantive causes rather than on the inevitable responses to Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Drawing from a robust, multilingual array of scholarship and published sources, he situates the outbreak of war as unfolding in the capitals of Europe's great powers, not Sarajevo, because of a diplomatic misfire....[He] aims to show why southeastern Europe before 1914 should be understood as a site of a great power diplomatic conflict, why an assassination might take place there, and how the event should be understood as a tragedy rather than a reflection of regional or national backwardness....He rightly discards the tired narratives of inevitability or laundry list recitations that emphasize the centrality of one empire over others. Miller-Melamed has done a service to the field with what should be a new point of departure for discussion of the diplomatic crisis that followed the Sarajevo assassination. * Choice *Misfire is without doubt a tremendously important addition to the 1914 literature. It is also, it has to be said, a stylishly written, absolutely entrancing work. In it, Miller-Melamed combines his agnosticism with massive erudition to demonstrate how the explanatory constructs in the narratives about the Sarajevo assassination in fact turn out to be, on closer inspection, no more than 'neat explanatory fiction'. This makes his book uniquely original in a sea of studies detailing the road to war....Misfire is certainly not just yet another account of how the war began. It is much, much more appealing and engaging than that: in showing how history can be so easily misconstrued and then widely transmitted, it is a striking reminder, and something of a reprimand, about how we end up processing the past through a mythological prism. * John Zametica, Balcanica: Annual of the Institute for Balkan Studies *In this authoritative and meticulously researched book, renowned Balkan expert Paul Miller-Melamed argues that the death of the Archduke has been overly romanticised and that the mythology surrounding the plot has served to detract from a more considered understanding of why tensions in the Balkans escalated into a conflict which claimed approximately forty million lives. * Phil Curme, Stand To! *Misfire is an interesting and valuable book... a rewarding read, richly detailed, well researched and argued. * Gary Sheffield, The Critic *Miller-Melamed's compelling account of the assassination at Sarajevo in 1914 is a welcome addition to the literature on the outbreak of the Great War. Turning myth into history, Miller shows that the men responsible for the outbreak of war were not assassins, but prime ministers, foreign ministers, and generals who turned one crime into the justification for another, greater, crime we know as the First World War. * Jay Winter, Yale University *Paul Miller-Melamed asks why Gavrilo Princip is mythologized as a pivotal figure in world history when it was the actions of others which brought about war in 1914. This fresh, engaging retelling of a familiar story highlights the extent and longevity of the 'Sarajevo myths' and paints a vivid portray of the assassin, his victims, and their different, yet similar, worlds which collided on 28 June 1914 * Annika Mombauer, The Open University *The story of the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand has been so often told that most now assume to know what 'Sarajevo, 1914' was and meant. Miller-Melamed's compelling narrative, steeped in his masterful and nuanced command of the scholarly literature, show how little those events are understood to this day. Misfire's retelling shows the characters in this plot should not be dismissed as bit-part actors in the wider drama of the First World War. Neither should the Balkans be treated as a peripheral backwater of Europe when its politics and peoples played a critical role in shaping modern Europe as we know it. Misfire is a remarkable demonstration of the craft of historical writing. Anyone with a keen interest in history, not merely World War I historians, will thoroughly enjoy this book and learn a great deal from it. * Pierre Purseigle, University of Warwick *An engrossing examination of how World War I began, how it is remembered, and the differences between the two, Misfire does not complicate the story of World War I's origins; rather, it serves as a reminder that history is always more complicated than its mythmakers and storytellers suggest. * Eileen Gonzalez, Foreword Reviews *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: "I could have practically touched him" Chapter One: "Tools" of Progress Chapter Two: Worlds Apart Chapter Three: Vying Visions Chapter Four: An "Epic" Conspiracy! Chapter Five: "World History is Horrific From Up Close" Chapter Six: "The First Shots of the First World War" Conclusion: "The Bottom of the Matter" Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary history of French lives under occupation in the First and Second World Wars, this is an intimate, unforgettable meditation on the strange mixture of compromise and betrayal, collaboration and resistance that marks defeat, written by one of the greatest historians of France.''A splendid book for comprehending human kind ... Cobb has a strong sense of how ordinary life has to go on, even through disasters, and a sensitivity for what it was like at the time, matched by a gift for the telling phrase'' Economist ''Prophet of the past, Richard Cobb is a visionary'' New York Review of Books''His France - urban, northern, provincial, pedestrian, noisy, unpuritanical, festive - was in contrast to, and predicated upon, another France: bureaucratic, official, suburban, safe'' Julian BarnesTrade ReviewRichard Cobb is a visionary. His books will take you on an extraordinary intellectual and emotional journey. * The New York Review of Books *His France - urban, northern, provincial, pedestrian, noisy, unpuritanical, festive - was in contrast to, and predicated upon, another France: bureaucratic, official, suburban, safe, rule - crazy, scared. -- Julian BarnesCobb was a true historian of life 'from below', using archival evidence to bring alive the reality - and the suffering - of ordinary people's existence. -- Geoffrey Wheatcroft * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisThe First World War holds a unique place in the nation''s history; the poetry it produced, a unique place in the nation''s hearts. To mark the centenary of the First World War in 2014, the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, has engaged the most eminent poets of the present to choose the writing from the Great War that touched them most profoundly: their choices are here in this powerful and moving assembly. But this anthology is more than a record of war writing. Carol Ann Duffy has commissioned these same poets of the present to look back across the past and write a poem of their own in response to the war to end all wars. Whether as a reader your interest is in the Great War or the great war poets, or whether it is in the poetry of today, this anthology will hold a special place in your affections, as it remembers and recalls - a and through its commissioned work, renews and honours - the engagement between poetry and this terrible, unworldly of world conflicts.

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Book SynopsisIt is 1915 and the Great War has been raging for a year when Edward Rowbotham, a coal miner from the Midlands, volunteers for Kitchener’s Army. He is one of the `lucky’ ones, winning the Military Medal for bravery and surviving more than two-and-a-half years of the terrible slaughter, which wiped out all but six of his original company.

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Book SynopsisNaval aircraft have played an ever-increasing role in wartime conflicts, and this illustrated directory includes key information, specifications and background history.

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Book SynopsisTells of the disastrous campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 when the allies failed to knock Turkey out of the war. Featuring photographs, this book provides detailed historical descriptions of the area and the events. It is of interest to the armchair historian and the intrepid visitor to the sites.

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Book SynopsisHuntly Strathearn Gordon was born in Perthshire in 1898. Educated at Clifton College, he joined the army in 1916. After the war he studied medicine before going to China with Shell Oil. Returning in 1926, he joined London Transport, spending much of his spare time surveying archaeological sites with Sir Mortimer Wheeler. During the Blitz, he initiated food trains for the thousands sheltering in the Underground, and was awarded an MBE. Huntly Gordon died in 1982. Born in 1956, David Gordon is Huntly Gordon's youngest son. Educated at Sherborne and Sandhurst, he has been a soldier, parliamentary researcher and county councillor. A lifelong campaigner on environmental issues, his passions also include vintage vehicles and old houses. He lives in Somerset.Trade ReviewOne of the best First World War memoirs I've read - honest, intelligent and vivid, as fresh as if written yesterday. -- ALLAN MALLINSON * The Times *One of the best half-dozen memoirs . . . Your father writes beautfiully, had an interesting war and emerges as a man who did his bit without being overwhelmed by the horror or elated by the dark beauty of violence -- RICHARD HOLMES, author of Redcoat, Tommy etc.I have never read anything that gives such a vivid description of the hell of Passchendaele - nor of the spirit that enabled our troops to survive it. -- PROFESSOR SIR MICHAEL HOWARDA haunting account of the loss of a generation * Good Book Guide, Jan 2014 *

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Book SynopsisReveals new hitherto unknown stories and adds many more unseen images about the twelve boys caught up in a national wave of patriotism and, in huge numbers, volunteered to serve their country.

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Book SynopsisThe first ever detailed account of the operations of this famous force.

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Book SynopsisStudies the fiercely fought battles of the British Expeditionary Force September 1914.

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Book SynopsisDraws on archive sources to present the battle from the German perspective.

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling, award-winning author of SKELLIG comes a vivid and moving story, beautifully illustrated, which commemorates the hundred-year anniversary of the end of the First World War. I am just a child, says John. How can I be at war?It''s 1918, and war is everywhere. John''s dad is fighting in the trenches far away in France. His mum works in the munitions factory just along the road. His teacher says that John is fighting, too, that he is at war with enemy children in Germany. One day, in the wild woods outside town, John has an impossible moment: a meeting with a German boy named Jan. John catches a glimpse of a better world, in which children like Jan and himself can come together, and scatter the seeds of peace. Gorgeously illustrated by David Litchfield, this is a book to treasure. Trade ReviewProlific and talented author - The Journal (Newcastle)Winner of the Carnegie Medal 1999 for Skellig - Times Educational SupplementWinner of the Whitbread Children's Prize for Skellig 1998 - The Daily TelegraphAble to combine emotional involvement with a real skill for storytelling in a manner rare in any writer - The Times

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Book SynopsisA new history of the large, fast, and long-ranged armored cruisers of the US Navy, and the roles that these warships played in the fleet as America developed into a great naval power.At the dawn of the Steel Navy era, the rapidly expanding US Navy''s fleet of capital ships consisted not only of battleships but also armored cruisers, the forerunner of the battlecruiser. Armored cruisers sacrificed the battleship''s superlative firepower and protection for superior speed and range but, as this study shows, their role was not always easy to define. Controversial because they were as large and expensive as battleships but not able to withstand a battleship in battle, contemporary strategists pointed out that, naval wars are not won by running away from stronger ships.Despite being produced at great expense, tactically they never really had a legitimate missiontraditional deployments were commerce raiding and protection, but despite this, author Brian Lane Herder Trade ReviewThe book is an authoritative, well-written and entertaining read. Illustrated with black and white photographs and some excellent coloured line drawings. -- James Bosbotinis * The Naval Review *Table of Contents(Subject to confirmation) Introduction Development Construction Weapons Armored Cruisers Semi-Armored Cruisers Operational History Conclusion Bibliography

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Book Synopsis''ENORMOUS FUN'' GUARDIAN''SO ENTERTAINING'' THE TIMES''GOSSIPY, LIGHT AND FUN'' TLSQueen Bees looks at the lives of six remarkable women who made careers out of being society hostesses, including Lady Astor, who went on to become the first female MP, and Mrs Greville, who cultivated relationships with Edward VII, as well as Lady Londonderry, Lady Cunard, Laura Corrigan and Lady Colefax. Written with wit, verve and heart, Queen Bees is the story of a form of societal revolution, and the extraordinary women who helped it happen.In the aftermath of the First World War, the previously strict hierarchies of the British class system were weakened. For a number of ambitious, spirited women, this was the chance they needed to slip through the cracks and take their place at the top of society as the great hostesses of the time. In an age when the place of women was uncertain, becoming a hostess wasTrade ReviewSo entertaining - and there's lots of insider fun to be had... Excels at anecdotes and punchlines... The strength of Queen Bees is its wealth of detail and its author's nose for a human story... This book dances in and out of its subject to the sound of plate-smashing, cut-glass gossip, ukeleles, Beecham's orchestras, jazz bands, Nazi anthems and bombs. "I've been to a marvellous party," wrote Noël Coward. Thanks to Queen Bees, we can feel as though we were there too. * The Times *The book, like their parties, is often "enormous fun" * Guardian *Delightful... Crammed with fascinating anecdotes * Independent *If guest lists and gossip columns, invitations and address books, seating plans and social mountaineering tick your box, this is the book for you. * The Times *Rich in anecdote... a fascinating account... Group biography is a difficult trick to pull off, but Evans is deft with her interweaving of narrative and history... * The Sunday Times *This is a whirl of a book, gossipy, light and fun * Times Literary Supplement *Evans's pacy account of these intrepid social lion-hunters sparkles with famous names * Mail on Sunday *Gloriously gossipy... A snapshot of a bygone age from Gosford Park-style big country house parties to dancing until dawn in Park Lane mansions long demolished. * Red Magazine *The individual characters of these unusual women are well delineated and all played significant roles in their time... An entertaining "spectacle of celebrity, talent, and burning ambition". * Sunday Express *An irresistible and witty account * Woman & Home *A compelling portrait of six inspiring women * The Lady *Wonderfully readable * Country Life *An exciting read, Evans has painted a compelling portrait of six inspiring women. * The Mitford Society *Evans makes a good case for her hostesses' importance as purveyors of soft power: the artistic, cultural and political reach of their address books, she argues had a profound impact on modern British society. All were marvellously quotable, as spiteful as they were ambitious, mistresses of the apparently throwaway remark designed to draw blood, but their success was due as much to their status and fortunes as to their brilliance. One of the pleasures of books like these is that you close them with a feeling of overwhelming gratitude for your own mundane life * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisThe French air force of the First World War developed as fast as the British and German air forces, yet its history, and the enormous contribution it made to the eventual French victory, is often forgotten. So Ian Sumner's photographic history, which features almost 200 images, most of which have not been published before, is a fascinating and timely introduction to the subject. The fighter pilots, who usually dominate perceptions of the war in the air, play a leading role in the story, in particular the French aces, the small group of outstanding airmen whose exploits captured the publics imagination. Their fame, though, tends to distract attention from the ordinary unremembered airmen who formed the body of the air force throughout the war years. Ian Sumner tells their story too, as well as describing in a sequence of memorable photographs the less well-known branches of the service the bomber and reconnaissance pilots and the variety of primitive warplanes they flew.

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Book SynopsisDuring the First World War, Italy was on the side of their British Allies and their fight was against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, bordering on Austria. In October 1917, the Austro-Hungarians managed to push the Italians back during the battle of Caporetto. With the danger signs obvious, both Britain and France sent reinforcements. Britain s Royal Flying Corps sent three squadrons of Sopwith Camel fighters, plus one RE8 reconnaissance squadron, and these Camel squadrons fought gallantly over the plains and mountainous regions of north-east Italy, sharing the air battle with aircraft of the Italian Air Force. Despite the difference in landscape between France and Italy, the Camel pilots employed the same air-fighting tactics and assisted in ground support missions that proved just as destructive in Italy as they had in France. Accompanied by a large selection of photographs of the men and the machines that saw action in this conflict, this book is a welcome addition to Pen and Sword s Images of War series.

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Book SynopsisThe young men who flew and fought during the First World War had no idea what was awaiting them. The rise of science and nationalism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries came to a head in 1914\. The 'technology shock' that coalesced at the Western Front was not envisaged by any of the leadership. These men did the best they could and gave their full measure but it wasn't enough. Each suffered from their experiences, some better than others. Each knew it was a defining moment in their lives never to be repeated. And many felt that the dynamic context of aerial combat was something that, after the war, they still longed for, despite the attendant horrors. The medical and psychiatric profession evolved symbiotically with the war. Like the patients they were charged with treating, doctors were unprepared for what awaited them. Doctors argued over best practice for treatment. Of course, the military wanted these men to return to duty as quickly as possible; with mounting casualties, each country needed every man. Aviation psychiatry arose as a new subset of the field, attempting to treat psychological symptoms previously unseen in combatants. The unique conditions of combat flying produced a whole new type of neurosis. Terms such as Aero-neurosis were coined to provide the necessary label yet, like shell shock, they were inadequate when it came to describing the full and complete shock to the psyche. We are fortunate that many of these fliers chose to write. They kept diaries and letters about their experiences after the war and they are, of course, an invaluable record. But perhaps more importantly, they were also a means for many of them to heal. Mark C. Wilkins finds the psychology undergirding historical events fascinating and of chief interest to him as an historian. He has included expert medical testimony and excerpts where relevant in a fascinating book that explores the legacies of aerial combat, illustrating the ways in which pilots had to amalgamate their suffering and experiences into their post-war lives. Their attempts to do so can perhaps be seen as an extension of their heroism.

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Book SynopsisFollowing on from their pioneering account of the Saxon army in the First World War -Fighting the Kaiser's War - Andrew Lucas and J rgen Schmieschek have compiled this remarkable sequel which covers Saxony's war in Flanders in much greater detail. Once again they draw on vivid extracts from personal accounts and letters as well as regimental and documents from the Saxon archives, and they illustrate their powerful study with hundreds of previously unpublished personal photos which show every aspect of wartime experience in the front line and the rear areas. The role of the Saxon army in the three battles of Ypres is recorded in graphic detail, and rare photographs offer fresh perspectives on famous wartime locations on the Western Front including Ploegsteert Wood, the Menin Road, Bellewaarde, Wytschaete and Passchendaele. The historic photographs - and the insights provided by the accompanying text - give us a fascinating inside view of the Saxon soldiers and their relations with the local population who were obliged to host them. The quality of the evocative personal material - text and images - collected by Andrew Lucas and J rgen Schmieschek makes this exceptional work a major contribution to the literature on the German forces on the Western Front.

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Book SynopsisThe Royal Flying Corps was formed by Royal Warrant on 13 April 1912, and came into being a month later when the Air Battalion was absorbed into the Military Wing of the new Corps in May. In the days following the outbreak of war in 1914, the programme for mobilization of the RFC was, in the main, successfully carried out. The first aircraft set out across the Channel on the morning of 13 August, taking off from Dover at 06.25 hours. The first pilot to land in France was Lieutenant H.D. Harvey-Kelly of No.2 Squadron. In due course, all four of the initial RFC squadrons deployed to the Western Front were ready for operations. They represented, noted the Official Historian of the RFC, the first organized national [air] force to fly to a war overseas'. As the Great War raged, the developments in military aviation were profound, not only in terms of aerial warfare but, as this book reveals, the uniforms and equipment the aircrew used. All the objects that a Royal Flying Corps pilot or airman was issued with for sorties over the Western Front during the First World War are explored in this book in high-definition colour photographs, detailing everything from the differing flying clothing, to headgear, personal weapons, gloves, goggles and early life preservers. Each item is fully described, and its purpose and use explained. Fly with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and Sopwith Camels over the trenches and see what the RFC aircrew wore as they took on their German foe in what were the formative years of military aviation.

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Book SynopsisThe defeat that Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock suffered at Coronel in 1914 at the hands of Maximilian Graf von Spee, one of Germany's most brilliant naval commanders, was the most humiliating blow to British naval prestige since the eighteenth century and a defeat that had to be avenged immediately. On 8 December 1914, the German squadron steamed towards Port Stanley, unaware that in the harbour lay two great British battle-cruisers, the 'Invincible' and 'Inflexible'. Realizing this, Spee had no option but to turn and flee. Hour by hour during that long day, the British ships closed in until, eventually, Spee was forced to confront the enemy. With extraordinary courage, and against hopeless odds, the German cruisers fought to the bitter end. At five-thirty that afternoon, the last ship slowly turned and rolled to the bottom. Cradock and Britain had been avenged.

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Book SynopsisThe Armchair General team has done it again. An absorbing read for Christmas.'Peter Caddick-AdamsBrilliant and immersive.'Harry SidebottomThe second book in the Armchair General series, where YOU choose the fate of the First World War________________________________HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. WILL IT BE YOU?TAKE THE HOTSEATAssume the role of real historic decision-makers: general, leaders, soldiers and intelligence officers of the Allied Forces during World War I.EXAMINE THE INTELLIGENCEExplore eight key moments from the First World War, using real contemporaneous intelligence: including the July Crisis, the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian Revolution.CONSIDER THE SCENARIO & MAKE YOUR DECISIONFrom battlefields to the Royal Courts, each tactical and strategic decision you make leads to a different outcome.

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Book SynopsisScapa Flow was one of the world's great naval bases and the scene of many of the major events of twentieth-century naval history. During both World Wars, the Royal Navy made Scapa the home for its capital ships, and thousands of servicemen and women were posted to Orkney. From here the Grand Fleet sailed for Jutland in 1916, from here the escorts for the Russian convoys set off, and it was in this beautiful, bleak anchorage that the German High Seas fleet committed the greatest act of suicide ever seen at sea – 'The Grand Scuttle' – before being later raised and scrapped in the most astonishing feat of maritime salvage in history. It was also in Scapa that the last photographs of Kitchener were taken as he boarded HMS Hampshire, shortly before she was sunk by mine off Marwick Head. Scapa is also the grave of many who fought for their country in both World Wars. In its silent waters lie the wrecks of the battleship Vanguard, blown apart by an explosion in 1917, and the Royal Oak, sunk by U-47 in a spectacular raid at the beginning of World War II . Here the first Luftwaffe raids on Britain occured, here too Italian prisoners-of-war built both the spectacular Churchill causeways and the exquisite chapel on the island of Lamb Holm. In this book, illustrated with over 130 archive photographs, James Miller traces the story of this remarkable place, weaving together history, eyewitness accounts and personal experience to capture the life and spirit of Scapa Flow when it was home to thousands of service personnel and the most powerful fleet in the world.Trade Review'a fascinating book, in which every reader will find something she/he never knew' * Scots Magazine * 'an interesting insight into life in a naval base during two world wars' * Broadly Boats *

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Book Synopsis‘ Well written and persuasive … objective and well-rounded… .this scholarly rehabilitation should be the standard biography’ **** Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday ‘ A true judgment of him must lie somewhere between hero and zero, and in this detailed biography Gary Sheffield shows himself well qualified to make it … a balanced portrait’ Sunday Times ‘ Solid scholarship and admirable advocacy’ Sunday Telegraph Douglas Haig is the single most controversial general in British history. In 1918, after his armies had won the First World War, he was feted as a saviour. But within twenty years his reputation was in ruins, and it has never recovered. In this fascinating biography, Professor Gary Sheffield reassesses Haig’ s reputation, assessing his critical role in preparing the army for war.

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Book SynopsisThe letters of 2nd Lt. Victor George Ursell 1913 -1917 and War Diary of the 8th Kingâ??s Shropshire Light Infantry. With a Mathematics scholarship to Oxford in 1912 the hopes and aspirations of Victorâ??s parents and teachers are riding high, but his exuberance, vitality, sporting ability and his engagement to what the family refer to as his â??Russian Princessâ?? Lena, are thrown into jeopardy by the unfolding horror of war. His fiancÃe has to return to Moscow and Victor enlists, commencing a journey that will take him to France, Salonika, Malta, England and back to France again. If any story illustrates the loss, both personal and national during the First World War it can be found in these letters.

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Book SynopsisOswald Boelcke was Germanys first ace in World War One with a total of forty victories. His character, inspirational leadership, organisational genius, development of air-to-air tactics and impact on aerial doctrine are all reasons why Boelcke remains an important figure in the history of air warfare. Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering tactics, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The fact that he was the Red Barons mentor, instructor, squadron commander and friend demonstrates the influence he had upon the German air force. He was one of the first pilots to be awarded the famous Pour le Mérite commonly recognised as the Blue Max. All of this was achieved after overcoming medical obstacles in his childhood and later life with a willpower and determination. Boelcke even gained the admiration of his enemies. After his tragic death in a midair collision, the Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath on his funeral, and several of his victims sent another wreath from their German prison camp. His name and legacy of leadership and inspiration live on, as seen in the Luftwaffes designation of the Tactical Air Force Wing 31 Boelcke. In this definitive biography RG Head explores why Oswald Boelcke deserves consideration as the most important fighter pilot of the 20th century and beyond; but also for setting the standard in military aviation flying. This book will appeal to enthusiasts of the German air force, military aviation in general and World War One in particular.

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed author Andrew Thomas has chosen fifty fascinating cameos of individual actions or incidents across a wide variety of major and minor campaigns and scenarios ranging from the First World War to the present day. Each selection is accompanied by relevant, often rare, photographs. So, from the Battle of Mons in 1914 through shooting down a Zeppelin over Teeside, to WW2 Timor Ace ‘Butch’ Gordon in his Beaufighter in 1943 and a nightmare for Halifaxes over Nuremburg in 1944, to SAAF fighters over Angola in September 1985 and army support tasks in Mali in 2021, with many more in between, the author’s hand-picked personal choices make for gripping reading. A must for all those interested in the war in the air throughout history.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War was one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history and produced horrors undreamed of by the young men who cheerfully volunteered for a war that was supposed to be over by Christmas. Whether in the patriotic enthusiasm of Rupert Brooke, the disillusionment of Charles Hamilton Sorley, or the bitter denunciations of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, the war produced an astonishing outpouring of powerful poetry. Edited by author and editor Marcus Clapham, the major poets are all represented in this beautiful Macmillan Collector’s Library anthology, Poetry of the First World War, alongside many others whose voices are less well known, and their verse is accompanied by contemporary motifs.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisArguably the greatest of all published memoirs of the Great War, Old Soldiers Never Die is Private Frank Richards' classic account of the war from the standpoint of the regular soldier, and a moving tribute to the army that died on the Western Front in 1914.Trade Review'...the greatest account of trench warfare...' --Phil Carradice, BBC

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Book Synopsis'The scene was tragically macabre: the image of desolation, the flames spared nothing. As for our young men, a few minutes ago, so alert, so self-confident, all now lying dead on the bare deck, blackened burned skeletons, twisted in all directions, no trace of any clothing, the fire having devoured all.' Vice Admiral P. E. Guéprette recalls the damage to the French ship Suffen during a naval battle in 1915. One of the most famous battles in history, Gallipoli forced Churchill from office, established Turkey's iconic founder Mustafa Kemal ('Ataturk') and marked Australia's emergence as a nation in its own right. It had begun as a bold move led by the British to ultimately capture Constantinople, but this definitive new history explains that from the initial landings - which ended with so much blood in the sea it could be seen from aircraft overhead - to the desperate attacks of early summer and the battle of attrition that followed, it was a lunacy that was never going to succeed. Drawing on unpublished personal accounts by individuals at all levels and from all sides - not only from Britain, Australia and New Zealand, but unusually from Turkey and France too - Peter Hart combines his trademark eye for vivid personal stories with a strong narrative to bring a modern view of this military disaster to a popular audience.Trade ReviewA marvellous book ... vivid and compelling * Economist *All good history books should be an assault on myth, and in Gallipoli Peter Hart mounts a supremely effective attack * Mail on Sunday *An impressive and timely reminder of the futility of war * Morning Star *[A] stirring account * Irish Examiner *Superb... a serious and important work on Gallipoli. It is researched in fine detail and written in Peter Hart's increasingly excellent style. If you are interested in this campaign, or the Great War, or just appreciate a well written book, then this is for you. -- David McLoughlin * Press Association *An account filled with insight and poignancy -- Craig Gibson * TLS *

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Book SynopsisExpert and stunning illustrations show in painstaking detail the uniforms and their developments for all the major nations involved in World War I.

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Book SynopsisRare photographs from SS sources illustrating the armored formations which took part in this titanic struggle. Includes rare images of the Panther in action.

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Book SynopsisRare first hand account of German soldier and doctor.

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Book SynopsisThe Missing of the Somme has become a classic meditation upon war and remembrance. It weaves a network of myth and memory, photos and films, poetry and sculptures, graveyards and ceremonies that illuminate our understanding of, and relationship to, the Great War.Trade ReviewThe great Great War book of our time * * Observer * *Articulates a response to the Great War which many feel, but no one has analysed so scrupulously * * Spectator * *A penetrating meditation upon war and remembrance * * Daily Telegraph * *Dyer is excellent on the different ambitions and effects of municipal memorials, and on photographs and paintings -- Sebastian Faulks * * Mail on Sunday * *A gentle, patient, loving book. It is about mourning and memory, about how the Great War has been represented - and our sense of it shaped and defined - by different artistic media * * Guardian * *

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Book SynopsisOn September 1, 1910, France became the last great naval power to lay down a dreadnought battleship, the Courbet. The ensuing Courbet and Bretagne-class dreadnoughts had a relatively quiet World War I, spending most of it at anchor off the entrance to the Adriatic, keeping watch over the Austro-Hungarian fleet. The constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty prevented new battleships being built until the 1930s, with the innovative Dunkerque-class and excellent Richelieu-class of battleships designed to counter new German designs. After the fall of France in 1940, the dreadnoughts and fast battleships of the Marine Nationale had the unique experience of firing against German, Italian, British, and American targets during the war. This authoritative study examines these fascinating ships, using detailed colour plates and historical photographs, taking them from their inception before World War I, through their service in World War II including the scutt

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Book SynopsisAustria-Hungary did not have an overseas empire; its empire lay within its own boundaries and the primary purpose of its navy until the beginning of the twentieth century was the defense of its coastline. As its merchant marine dramatically grew, admirals believed that the navy should take a more proactive policy of defense. The 1890s saw the beginning of a series of naval building programs that would create a well-balanced modern fleet. Cruisers were constructed for the protection of overseas trade and for “showing the flag” but the decisive projection of Austria-Hungary's commitment to control the Adriatic was the construction of a force of modern battleships. Despite the naval arms race throughout Europe at the time, the navy had difficulty obtaining funds for new ships. The difficulties experienced in battleship funding and construction mirrored the political difficulties and ethnic rivalries within the empire. Nevertheless by August of 1914, the Austro-Hungarian had a fleet of battleships. This book details the five classes of Austro-Hungarian battleships in service during World War I.Table of ContentsIntroduction · Monarch Class · Habsburg Class · Erzherzog Karl Class · Radetzky Class · Tegetthoff Class · Ersatz Monarch Class · Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIN THE PAST, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front - Battles of the Hindenburg Line - Canal du Nord is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all: parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

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Book SynopsisWho were the senior generals who took France through the First World War, and why do we know so little about them? They commanded the largest force on the Western Front through both humiliating defeats and forgotten victories; they won international respect and adoration, but also led their army to infamous mutiny. Nevertheless, the French and their allies, under a French Supreme Allied Commander, would eventually achieve final victory over Imperial Germany. It is extraordinary that this remarkable group of men has been so neglected in histories on the war. Previous studies are outdated and havent tapped the wealth of primary source material in Frances military archives. It is this gap in the literature and in the understanding of the conflict that this thought-provoking and original volume is designed to address. It takes a collective biographical approach to the leading French soldiers who ran the war on the Western Front.

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Book SynopsisBy the autumn of 1916, advances in Britain's air defence capability had all but ended the Zeppelin menace, which had haunted the nation for almost two years. However, an emerging complacency regarding the aerial threat was immediately shattered by the introduction in 1917 of the Grosskampfflugzeug, better known as the Gotha bomber. Whereas Zeppelin airships had attacked individually and stealthily under the cover of darkness, the German Army now had a squadron of bomber aeroplanes capable of brazenly attacking London and south-east England in broad daylight, thereby unleashing a new wave of terror on the British population. Britain, having downgraded its aerial defences after the apparent defeat of the Zeppelins, was forced to rethink. The improvements instigated compelled the German raiders to change their tactics too, as each side strived to gain the upper hand. And all the time the German Navy Zeppelins, whose campaign had not been abandoned entirely, continued to strike when oppo

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Book Synopsis''Superb ... likely to become a classic'' ObserverIn the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent''s politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse - a war in which the killing of civilians was central and which culminated in the Holocaust.To Hell and Back tells this story with humanity, flair and originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise - with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times - and what this means for us.Trade ReviewA great achievement ... There could hardly be a more judicious guide to this bloody terrain ... a stark lesson in man's capacity for evil -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Sunday Times *A triumph ... one of a tiny handful of historians whose books will still be read in 100 years -- Laurence Rees * The Mail on Sunday *Chilling epic-size history ... should be required reading -- Harold Evans * The New York Times *The story of how the Old World plunged toward hell for 30 years ... There is no man better qualified than Kershaw to take us through the dark valleys of the world wars and the two sombre intervening decades ... fair-minded, deeply researched and highly readable -- Brendan Simms * Wall Street Journal *We are in the hands of a master historian -- Nigel Jones * Spectator *Few authors would have the ability, and perhaps the determination, to take on the history of both world wars and the connecting decades at this level of sophistication, depth and breadth -- Robert Tombs * The Times *Authoritative -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Telegraph *Kershaw leads his readers through this complex history in a clear and compelling manner -- Joanna Bourke * Prospect *

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Book SynopsisPaths out of the Apocalypse fundamentally rethinks some key debates in the scholarship on early 20th-century Central Europe, the First World War, violence, nationalism and modern European comparative social and cultural history, considering the population of the hinterland as an active subject that decisively shaped the outcomes of the war.Trade ReviewMethodically, the book stands out as an ambitious interlacing of perspectives...consult this volume as a material-rich and stimulating special research on the history of violence in three historical areas of the dual monarchy. * Markus Pöhlmann, Journal of History *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I 1: Uncle Rudolf 2: Degenerates 3: Seeking the truth 4: Mental illness in court 5: Poverty in court 6: Improvising in court 7: Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes 8: Cannibals, poachers, and deserters 9: Crime or politics 10: That the president may long govern 11: Ominous eagles PART II 12: Youths outside the house 13: Prostitutes and workers 14: Appeasement in the public square 15: Fat ones, rich ones, Jews, and gendarmes 16: The Russian hunter 17: Disintegrating societies 18: The wild west or a new republic? 19: The victors and the vanquished 20: A slapped factory owner 21: Gallows and committess 22: The wild east 23: Blackshirts Conclusion

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Book SynopsisAn incisive biography of E.E. Cummings' early life, including his First World War ambulance service and subsequent imprisonment, inspirations for his inventive poetry

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