First World War Books

Book SynopsisFrom the young airmen who took their frail machines high above the trenches of World War I and fought their foes in single combat there emerged a renowned company of brilliant aces - among them Ball, Bishop, McCudden, Collishaw and Mannock - whose legendary feats have echoed down half a century. But behind the elite there were, in the Royal Flying Corps, many hundreds of other airmen who flew their hazardous daily sorties in outdated planes without ever achieving fame. Here is the story of one of these unknown flyers - a story based on letters written on the day, hot on the event, which tells of a young pilot's progress from fledgling to seasoned fighter. His descriptions of air fighting, sometimes against the Richtofen Circus, of breathless dog-fights between Sopwith Pup and Albatros, are among the most vivid and immediate to come out of World War I. Gould Lee brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless acount. Rising to the rank of air vice-marshal, Gould Lee never forgot the RFC's needless sacrifices - and in a trio of trenchant appendices he examines, with the mature judgement of a senior officer of the RAF and a graduate of the Staff and Imperial Defence Colleges, the failure of the Army High Command to provide both efficient aeroplanes until mid-1917 and parachutes throughout the war, and General Trenchard's persistence in a costly and largely ineffective conception of the air offensive.Trade Review`Gould Lee brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless account.' Britain at War; `Make no mistake; what we have here is a classic which gives a genuinely warm and detailed look at the life of a pilot on a typical fighter squadron during the violent days following Bloody April and into the last year of the war.' War History Online; `His wartime exploits still resonate in the stirring, first-hand narratives contained in this nicely illustrated book.' Over the Front; `An excellent work. 10/10.' The Great War; `This new edition deserves a special place in the bookcase of any self-respecting WWI aviation enthusiast.' WINDSOCK Worldwide; `Fascinating insight to the life of a fighter pilot. This is one of the classic pieces of aviation literature.' Cross & Cockade International

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Book SynopsisIWM holds one of the most significant collections of British art anywhere in the world - a collection whose artists and artworks have uniquely shaped our understanding of war. Visions of War charts the manifold engagement between artists, art movements and a century-plus of conflict since 1914. Its richly illustrated pages uncover the intricate and changing history of IWM's art collection, from its inception during the First World War to its consideration of the causes, course and consequences of conflict today. It illuminates some of the museums's most powerful stories, from the provocative, heartfelt statement of William Orpen's To the Unknown British Soldier in France to the frontline challenges for contemporary war artists, including Steve McQueen. This book brings together iconic and previously unseen works to tell the authoritative story of modern war art. Artists featured include Paul Nash, C R W Nevinson, David Bomberg, Anna Airy, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert, Wyndham Lewis, Eric Ravilious, Laura Knight, Henry Moore, Evelyn Dunbar, Linda Kitson, Peter Kennard, Gilbert & George, Colin Self, William Crozier and Rosalind Nashashibi.

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Book SynopsisOther Ranks is a First World War classic, first published in 1931 but quickly lost in the wave of war memoirs and novels. It is the fictionalised account of William Tilsley's war experiences through the eyes of ordinary soldier Dick Bradshaw in the 55th West Lancashire Division. This authentic memoir of life and death on the front line begins with Bradshaw’s “C” Company leaving the depot at Etaples and heading for their first engagement at the front on the Somme in the Autumn of 1916. Over the next fourteen months it follows the chores behind the line and unwelcome stints on the front line through to his wounding during the Third battle of Ypres in 1917 and subsequent return to Blighty. As well as criticism of the conduct of the war, there is description of the desolation of the landscape and continual conditions of the trenches as experienced by the Poor Bloody Infantry (PBI); wet, cold, frost bite, trench foot, shelling and general life in trenches with continual risk of collapse. War is not a chivalrous experience and his narrative does not hold back in his thoughts and feelings concerning soldiers behind the lines out of the reach of the guns and those at the top. This new edition follows research by Gaye Magnall and is accompanied by introductions from relatives of the three main characters, O'Neill, Magnall and WVT's great nephew, David Tilsley.Trade Review‘Mr. Blunden remarks that Mr. Tilsley “misses nothing.” He has, indeed, a very keen eye. Mr. Tisley’s description of an attack on the Somme is as vivid as anything of the sort that has been written’ Times Literary Supplement, 16 April 1931 ‘An unvarnished account…he gives us modestly the prose of the matter; of mud, stench, lice, fatigue, cold, fear, danger and death’ The Guardian, 18 March 1931 ‘This re-publication of W V Tilsley’s Other Ranks, a book at the pinnacle of the mountain of other ranks writing about the Great War after 88 years came as both surprise and pleasure. Although frequently, and unfairly, described as a forgotten book, it is one with a great reputation’ Stand To!

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Book SynopsisThree generations, one family, connected by an historic secret. 1917 – Private Daniel Dawkins fights at Messines Ridge and Passchendaele. He writes home to his true-love Joyce, but reveals little of his extreme bravery, his kindness, his loyalty to his comrades and the horrors they experience on the Western Front. 1920 – Captain Peter Harding is tasked with a secret mission to assist in the selection of a body dug up from the battlefields of Flanders to be buried in Westminster Abbey as the 'Unknown Warrior'. Events take place on that expedition that come to haunt him for the rest of his life. 2011 – Sarah Harding discovers Daniel’s letters and Peter’s diaries. Together with historian James Marchant she pieces together the hidden truth behind the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and must decide what to do with it. Values are challenged and characters are tested in this gripping novel which asks ‘what if the identity of the Unknown Soldier was discovered - and should that secret ever be revealed?’Trade Review"The blending of fact and fiction makes for a compelling narrative that educates as well as entertains. The level of reality in the depiction of army life and the quality of research that has gone in to The Name Beneath The Stone is exemplary" Linda's Book Bag "This breathtaking book is an absolute must read, I really can't recommend The Name Beneath The Stone highly enough; I'd give it 888,246 stars if I could, one for every military fatality of World War I. Every once in a while a book comes along that renders me speechless and The Name Beneath The Stone did just that. Stunning and imaginative, it took my breath away. Absolutely outstanding and perfect in every way; this is a book I will be recommending for many years to come." The Book Magnet "Relationships, morals, revelations and secrets are at the forefront of The Name Beneath The Stone: Secret of the Unknown Warrior and with it comes quite a complicated plot to get your teeth into, but somehow with a skilful approach, Newcome administers a developmental breakthrough showcasing a strong assurance of characters, both in lead roles and behind the scenes." Page Turners Nook "What I loved was the human aspect of the storyline. ...This was an enthralling and emotional book and one I’m very glad to have had the pleasure of reading." “I highly recommend this one to lovers of historical fiction” Secret Library Book Blog “The Name Beneath the Stone is an incredibly well research and beautifully written novel. It holds important historical significance and is highly recommended.” The Welsh Librarian “The Name Beneath The Stone is a remarkable story that’s insightful, thought provoking, poignant filled with raw, authentic images and scenes.” Kraftireader "this book title and blurb really caught my eye and it proved to be a beautifully written and thoughtfully researched novel. I had assumed it would be a non-fiction book but it is in fact a novel with a carefully crafted, complex weaving of a fictional family history and fact." Mrs Average on Books "This is the first I have read from Robert Newcome, it definitely won’t be the last, his writing is strong, informative and engaging, I was completely transfixed with his clear and vibrant narrative." Chicks, Rogues and Scandals "I found the sheer humanity of this sophisticated and meaningful book touching and significant, and I found the moral questions of the nature of historical investigation fascinating. I recommend it as a great read and it deserves a lot of attention." Northern Reader "I’ve read a lot of novels set during World War I, but none of them has moved me or challenged my thinking as much as Robert Newcome’s The Name Beneath the Stone. It is so well written and cleverly plotted that the ending, the final twist in the tale, left my thoughts and emotions in turmoil." A Darn Good Read

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Book SynopsisExplore the Eastern Front battle that resulted in one of the greatest defeats of World War I, in which an entire Russian army was annihilated by German arms.Tannenberg is a major battle that deserves a fully illustrated treatment all of its own, and for the first time this book brings the epic Eastern Front clash to life in visual detail. No other book on this topic walks you through the action like this one, using detailed maps to provide unit locations and movements and help explain key command decisions, while period photographs and colour battlescenes put soldiering back at the core of the events by revealing the military material culture of the opposing sides. Michael McNally guides you through the initial border engagements and the battles of Gumbinnen and Stallupönen, before moving on to explore the massive, often confused running battle of Tannenberg in easy to follow and concise detail. This work helps you understand how the Germans managed to maul Samsonov's Second ArmTrade Reviewgives a good feel for the strategic choices and command-quality on both sides -- Chris Jarvis * Miniature Wargames *If you have never thought about this theatre of operations in WWI, this work will make you reconsider your opinion and wish to read more on the subject. -- John Norris * Gunmart *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN Alliance and misalliances Girding for war Stavka plans CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS Russian German OPPOSING FORCES Russian German Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS Russian German THE CAMPAIGN Der Russeneinfall –the Russian invasion Invasion Stallupönen: 17 August Gumbinnen: 20 August A change of strategy Man of the moment Samsonov’s progress Der Alte Hase – the old hand Lahna and Orlau: 23–24 August See the elephant: Usdau and Bischofsburg, 25–26 August The sound of the guns: Usdau, 27 August Turning the flank: 27 August Interlude at Osterode A day of decision: 28 August The beginnings of collapse: 28–29 August Days of decision: 29–30 August AFTERMATH GAZETEER OF PLACE NAMES SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisAt the turn of the twentieth century, European colonial powers scrambled in Africa for trade, land and political advantage. When the First World War broke out, they were forced to contend with one another not just in trenches on the Western Front, but in East Africa's swamps and savannahs. In that unforgiving landscape, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought as equals with their African troops against the Allies, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age.​ 'African Kaiser' is the fascinating tale of a forgotten guerrilla campaign: of rhino charges and artillery duels with scavenged naval guns; of hunted German battleships hidden up unmapped river deltas; of a desperate army in the wilderness, cut off from the world, enduring starvation, malaria, and dysentery; and of the remarkable intercontinental voyage of Zeppelin L59, whose improbable 4,000 mile journey to the Equator and back made aviation history. But mostly, it is the incredible true story of General von Lettow-Vorbeck, the only undefeated German commander of the Great War.Trade Review'If all military histories were as thrilling and well written as African Kaiser, I might give up reading fiction and literary bio­graphy. ... Gaudi writes with the flair of a latter-day Macaulay. He sets his scenes carefully and describes naval and military action like a novelist. His sentences are models of clarity and vivacity, sometimes further enlivened with wry authorial comments.' -- Washington Post'African Kaiser is an entertaining and insightful read. Gaudi is superb on what made von Lettow such a formidable exponent of irregular warfare and on the reasons why his African soldiers would have followed him to the ends of the earth.' -- Literary Review'Robert Gaudi combines a researcher's meticulous precision with a novelist's consummate storytelling skill to piece together a thousand shards of forgotten history into this astonishing and irresistible confection.' -- Madison Smartt Bell

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of World War Z, the extraordinary story of the legendary black regiment of World War I - the Harlem HellfightersTrade Review'The Harlem Hellfighters brings to life a long forgotten piece of American history. Bravo, Max Brooks, bravo' Spike Lee

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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 Scarpe & Drocourt- Queant Line_, 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 SynopsisLetters from the Trenches provides an accessible, unique perspective on the experiences of soldiers and their families for the First World War centenary.

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Book SynopsisTo maintain morale amongst soldiers in the wretched trenches of World War I, the French army provided regular rations of wine and other alcohol that became a defining feature of French soldiers’ experience. A Thirst for Wine and War explores the French army’s strategic distribution of alcohol as a method of emotional and behavioural control.Trade Review“This book not only contributes substantially to the history of intoxicants and their consumption, but it also extends well beyond these topics to expand our understanding of the histories of France, of the Great War, and of war more generally. It is hard to see the events of the First World War in France in quite the same way after reading this work.” Richard S. Fogarty, University at Albany, SUNY and author of Race and War in France: Colonial Subjects in the French Army, 1914–1918

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Book SynopsisEdward Thomas was perhaps the most beguiling and influential of First World War poets. Now All Roads Lead to France is an account of his final five years, centred on his extraordinary friendship with Robert Frost and Thomas''s fatal decision to fight in the war.The book also evokes an astonishingly creative moment in English literature, when London was a battleground for new, ambitious kinds of writing. A generation that included W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, Robert Frost and Rupert Brooke were ''making it new'' - vehemently and pugnaciously. These larger-than-life characters surround a central figure, tormented by his work and his marriage. But as his friendship with Frost blossomed, Thomas wrote poem after poem, and his emotional affliction began to lift. In 1914 the two friends formed the ideas that would produce some of the most remarkable verse of the twentieth century. Their writing was far more than just war poetry, but it was World War I that put an ocean b

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Book SynopsisPresents a thematic history of the world from 1780 to the onset of the First World War which reveals that the world was far more 'globalised' at this time than is commonly thought. This book considers various themes of the nineteenth-century world, including the rise of the modern state, industrialization and liberalism.Trade Review"With its dazzling erudition and its vast scope, The Birth of the Modern World is a masterpiece of distance-annihilating synthesis…At a stroke, all other general histories of the nineteenth century have become parochial…I cannot think of any living historian who could match this feat. The rest of us must simply applaud." Niall Ferguson, University of Oxford "Bayly's work is awe-inspiring in its breadth and authority. To write a history of this kind, the author must possess a command of his sources... outstanding lucidity and a capacity to organise immensely complex and disparate material; above all, perhaps, a sense of proportion and the ability to balance striking detail against swooping vision. All these Bayly enjoys in abundance. Readers will enjoy an invigorating and enriching experience." The Telegraph "A truly global history, a work of great richness and jaw-dropping erudition that ranges effortlessly across the continents, laying out a complex, multifaceted picture of modernity. A brilliantly told global story." The Sunday Times "A remarkable achievement. As an accomplished and innovative historian, Bayly has the rare ability not just to indicate the need for a 'global approach to historical change' but also to deliver, with scrupulous regard for the complexity of his subject. Empire and genocide, nationalism and modernity - these are grand themes enough for many a work of history, but they do not exhaust the range of Bayly's ambition and erudition. It is a tribute to Bayly's skill that his discussion can be read with as much profit by those who are familiar with the historical debates he engages with as by those previously innocent of them." Times Literary Supplement "Chris Bayly's erudite and engrossing account of the global birthpangs of modernity is not only a landmark contribution to historical literature but, indirectly and without a hint of overt engagement, a pertinent addition to contemporary debates about globalisation and the world order. This is a book that historians, foreign policy elites and protagonists on both sides of the debate need to read.... Bayly has produced the most compelling and significant historical synthesis to appear for many years." London Review of Books "An enormously important book in its approach to global history, it is also a riveting account of modern warfare, empire, nationalism and religion. Bayly holds the reader's attention across a history of kingdoms ... In turn, what he delivers is a fascinating challenge to contemporary understandings of globalisation, religious belief and the threads of Empire." The Times "Christopher Bayly’s book will be essential reading for anyone seeking an historical angle on globalisation, and in particular on its impact on the world before 1914…No book I have ever read combines Bayly’s level of knowledge, clarity and insight on this vast and hugely important theme." Dominic Lieven, London School of Economics and Political Science "The impact of this book will be as broad as its originality, currency, and force." Linda Colley, Princeton University "This brilliant history of the 19th century offers remarkably lucid, supple analyses of the concepts around which this story revolves: modernity, nationalism, imperialism, the state, industrialisation. Bayly not only deftly summarises a startling range of complex previous literature, as well as integrating it effectively into his bigger picture, but also pushes many of those theoretical debates forward." Stephen Howe "This book, by one of the foremost scholars of modern Indian history, is a sprawling smorgasbord ... a challenging and thought-provoking piece of world history." Journal of World History Winner of the Wolfson History Prize 2004 Winner of the H-Soz-u-Kult Book Prize (World and International History) "[A] magisterial synthesis" Journal of Modern History "This is a brilliant book. Bayly's analytical approach merits high praise and the wealth of information he presents is admirable." IberoamericanaTable of ContentsList Of Illustrations. List Of Tables And Maps. Series Editor’s Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. The Organization Of The Book. Problem One: ‘Prime Movers’ And The Economic Factor. Problem Two: Global History And Post-Modernism. Problem Three: The Continuing ‘Riddle Of The Modern’. Conforming To Standards In Bodily Practice. Building Out From The Body: Communications And Complexity. Afterword. Part I: The End of The Old Regime:. 1. Old Regimes And ‘Archaic Globalisation’:. Peasants And Lords. The Politics Of Difference. Powers On The Fringes Of States. Harbingers Of New Political Formations. The Pre-History Of ‘Globalisation’. ‘Archaic’ And Early Modern Globalisation. Prospect. 2. Passages From The Old Regimes To Modernity:. The ‘Last Great Domestication’ And ‘Industrious Revolutions’. New Patterns Of Afro-Asian Material Culture, Production And Trade. The Internal And External Limits Of Afro-Asian ‘Industrious Revolutions.’. Trade, Finance And Innovation: European Competitive Advantages. The Activist, Patriotic State Evolves. Critical Publics. The Development Of Asian And African Ecumenes. Conclusion: ‘Backwardness’, Lags And Conjunctures. 3. Convergent Revolutions, 1780–1820:. Contemporaries Ponder The World Crisis. A Summary Anatomy Of The World Crisis, C. 1720–1820. Sapping The Legitimacy Of The State: From France To China. The Ideological Origins Of The Modern State. Nationalities Versus States And Empires. The Third Revolution: Polite And Commercial Peoples Worldwide. Prospect. Part II: The Modern World In Genesis:. 4. Between World Revolutions, C. 1815–1860. Assessing The ‘Wreck Of Nations’. British Maritime Supremacy, World Trade And Agrarian Recovery. Emigration: A Safety Valve. The Losers In The ‘New World Order’, C. 1815–65. Problems Of Hybrid Legitimacy – Whose State Was It?. The State Gains Strength – But Not Enough. Wars Of Legitimacy In Asia: A Summary Account. Economic And Ideological Roots Of The Asian Revolutions. The Years Of Hunger And Rebellion In Europe, 1848–51. The American Civil War As A Global Event. Convergence Or Difference?. Reviewing The Argument. 5. Industrialisation And The New City:. Historians, Industrialisation And Cities. The Progress Of Industrialisation. Cities As Centres Of Production And Consumption. The Urban Impact Of The Global Crisis, 1780–1820. Race And Class In The New City. Working Class Politics. World-Wide Urban Cultures And Their Critics. Conclusion. 6. Nation, Empire And Ethnicity: C. 1860–1900:. ‘Theories’ Of Nationalism. When Was Nationalism?. Whose Nationalism?. Perpetuating Nationalisms: Memories, National Associations And Print. From Community To Nation: The Eurasian Empires. Where We Stand With Nationalism. Peoples Without States; Persecution Or Assimilation?. Imperialism And Its History In The Late Nineteenth Century. Dimension Of The ‘New Imperialism’. A World Of Nation States?. The Persistence Of Old Patterns Of Globalisation. From Globalisation To Inter-Nationalim. Inter-Nationalism In Action. Conclusion. Part III: State And Society In The Age of Imperialism:. 7. Myths And Technologies Of The Modern State. Dimensions Of The Modern State. The State And The Historians. Problems Of Defining The State. The Modern State Takes Root; Geographical Dimensions. Claims To Justice And Symbols Of Power. The State’s Resources. The State’s Obligations To Society. Tools Of The State. State, Economy And Nation. A Balance Sheet: What Had The State Achieved?. 8. The Theory And Practice Of Liberalism, Rationalism, Socialism And Science. Contextualising ‘Intellectual’ History. The Corruption Of The Righteous Republic: A Classic Theme. Righteous Republics World-Wide. The Advent Of Liberalism And The Market: Western Exceptionalism?. Liberalism And Land Reform: Radical Theory And Conservative Practice. Free Trade Or National Political Economy. Representing The Peoples. Secularism And Positivism: Trans-National Affinities. The Reception Of Socialism And Its Local Resonances. Science In Global Context. Professionalisation At World Level. Conclusion. 9. Empires Of Religion:. Religion In The Eyes Of Contemporaries. The View Of Recent Historians. The Rise Of New-Style Religion. Modes Of Religious Domination, Their Agents And Their Limitations. Formalising Religious Authority, Creating ‘Imperial Religions’. Formalising Doctrines And Rites. The Expansion Of ‘Imperial Religions’ On Their Inner And Outer Frontiers. Pilrimage And Globalisation. Printing And The Propagation Of Religion. Religious Building. Religion And The Nation. Conclusion: The Spirits Of The Age. 10. The World Of The Arts And The Imagination:. Arts And Politics. Hybridity And Uniformity In Art Across The Globe. Levelling Forces: The Market, The Everyday And The Museum. The Arts Of The Emerging Nation And Empire 1760–1850. Arts And The People 1850–1914. Outside The West: Adaptation And Dependency. Architecture: A Mirror Of The City. Towards World Literature. Conclusion: Arts And Societies. Prospect. Part IV: Change, Decay And Crisis:. 11. The Reconstitution Of Social Hierarchies:. Change And The Historians. Gender And Subordination In The ‘Liberal Age’. Slavery’s Indian Summer. The Peasant And Rural Labourer As Bond Serf. The Peasant That ‘Got Away’. Why Rural Subordination Survived. The Transformation Of ‘Gentries’. Challenges To The Gentry. Routes To Survival: State Service And Commerce. Men Of ‘Fewer Board Acres’ In Europe. Surviving Supremacies. Continuity Or Change?. 12. The Destruction Of ‘Native Peoples’ And Ecological Depredation:. What Is Meant By Native Peoples?. Europeans And Native Peoples Before C. 1820. Native Peoples In The Age Of Hiatus?. The White Deluge 1840–1890. The Deluge In Practice: New Zealand, South Africa And The U.S.A. Ruling Savage Natures: Recovery And Marginalisation. 13. Conclusion: The Great Acceleration: C.1890–1914:. Predicting ‘Things To Come’. The Agricultural Depression, Inter-Nationalism And The New Imperialism. The Strange Death Of Inter-National Liberalism. Summing Up: Globalisation And Crisis 1780–1914. Global Interconnections 1780–1914. What Were The Motors Of Change?. Power In Global And Inter-National Networks. Contested Uniformity And Universal Complexity Revisited. August 1914. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisJohn Singer Sargent's Gassed is one of IWM's most iconic and best-loved objects. Truly monumental in scale, it is also the largest painting in the museum's collection and has been on near-constant display since it was first exhibited in 1919. A favourite among visitors and the most requested image by researchers and publishers, the work endures as a lasting symbol of modern art in public service, and of the transformative conflict from which it came. In the following pages IWM's Head of Art Rebecca Newell traces the origins of this large and powerful painting in the final months of the First World War and celebrates the vibrancy and visual power of the work, revealed once again during recent conservation. John Singer Sargent's Gassed reflects on the challenges of creating and displaying a canvas of such size and the dramatic impact the work has had on generations of visitors to IWM. Finally, the book considers the painting's enduring legacy in the context of art inspired by conflict - a legacy now secured for future generations.

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Book SynopsisIn 1917 the soldiers of the Canadian Corps would prove themselves the equal of any fighting on the Western Front, while on the other side of the wire, the men of the Royal Bavarian Army won a distinguished reputation in combat. Employing the latest weapons and pioneering tactics, these two forces would clash in three notable encounters: the Canadian storming of Vimy Ridge, the back-and-forth engagement at Fresnoy and at the sodden, bloody battle of Passchendaele. Featuring carefully chosen archive photographs and specially commissioned artwork, this study assesses these three hard-fought battles in 1917 on the Western Front, and offers a new take on the evolving nature of infantry combat in World War I.

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Book SynopsisA major new history of the most infamous battle of the First World War, as described by the men who fought it.

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Book SynopsisAs commander of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command and responsible for the air defence of London and South-East England, Keith Park took charge of the day-to-day direction of the battle. In spotlighting his thoughts and actions during the crisis, Vincent Orange reveals a man whose unfailing energy, courage and cool resourcefulness won not only supreme praise from Churchill but the lasting respect and admiration of all who served under him. However, few officers in any of the services packed more action into their lives, and this book covers the whole of his career youth in New Zealand, success as an ace fighter pilot in World War I, postings to South America and Egypt, Battle of Britain, Command of the RAF in Malta 1942/43, and finally Allied Air Commander-in-Chief of SE Asia under Mountbatten in 1945. His contribution to victory and peace was immense and this biography does much to shed light on the Big Wing controversy of 1940 and give insight into the war in Burma, 1945, and how the huge problems remaining after the wars sudden end were dealt with. Drawn largely from unpublished sources and interviews with people who knew Park, and illustrated with maps and photographs, this is an authoritative biography of one of the worlds greatest unsung heroes.

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Book SynopsisHow the age of the great WWI aces came to an end in the skies over the Western FrontTrade ReviewCasts fresh light on the broader canvas of the war * Daily Telegraph *a fascinating account of the rise and fall of the men who pioneered aerial combat...first-hand recollections bring the subject to life * Northern Echo *A timely book...this is a requiem for the brave men involved * Big Issue in the North *casts fresh light on the broader canvas of the war * DAILY TELEGRAPH *a fascinating account of the rise and fall of the men who pioneered aerial combat...first-hand recollections bring the subject to life * NORTHERN ECHO *A timely book...this is a requiem for the brave men involved * BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH *

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Book SynopsisThe book was inspired by the author's discovery that her great-uncle, a traumatised ex-soldier, committed a shocking murder in 1922. Suzie has examined the wider social history behind her great uncle's story and those of many others like him.

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Book SynopsisOn 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet - interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice - began to founder, taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72 ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of Wagnerian proportions. This much is well-known, but even a century after the Grand Scuttle' many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the fleet's commander, acting under orders or was it his own initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international ramifications? This new book analyses all these issues, beginning with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the conditions under which it was interned are described in detail. Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process. Using much new material from German sources and a host of eye-witness testimonies, the circumstances of the scuttling itself are meticulously reconstructed, while the aftermath for all parties is clearly laid out. The story concludes with the biggest salvage operation in history' and a chapter on the significance of the scuttling to the post-war balance of naval power. Published to coincide with the centenary, this book is an important reassessment of the last great action of the First World War.

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Book SynopsisFor many years the Holts have provided tourers to the battlefields with excellent mapping for the Ypres Salient and the Somme. This map of the Verdun/Meuse area fills one of the many gaps in the coverage of the Western Front. This map of the Verdun battlefield is in the same style, using a colour coded system to distinguish the different types of features. It includes some 300 locations of memorials, cemeteries, significant remnants of the battle terrain, remaining fortifications, trenches, the destroyed villages and other vestiges of the war. On the reverse there is a cut out and enlarged section of the Verdun battlefield in particular - the most visited part of the area, which provides greater detail. This section includes the Ossuary at Douamont, Forts Douamont, Vaux and Souville and many more features. The front line at key stages of the battle in 1916 is clearly indicated GPS references are given for the more signifiant sites. Roads and major tracks are shown, with restrictions in access as known at the date of publication. The map extends from the eastern fringes of the Argonne Forest to the west and encompasses the whole of the 1916 Verdun battlefield to the east. This means that several places of interest to the student of the American army's offensive in late 1918 are shown. The map is tri-lingual - in English, French and German - so far as is practicable given the constraints of space. The map is of a manageable size, both in a vehicle and when being used outside.

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Book SynopsisAt Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, there occurred an event unique in naval history. The German High Seas Fleet, one of the most formidable ever built was deliberately sent to the bottom of the sea at the British Grand Fleet's principal anchorage at Orkney by its own officers and men.The Grand Scuttle became a folk legend in both Germany and Britain. However, few people are aware that Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter became the only man in history to sink his own navy because of a misleading report in a British newspaper; that the Royal Navy guessed his intention but could do nothing to thwart it; that the sinking produced the last casualties and the last prisoners of the war; and that fragments of the Kaiser's fleet are probably on the moon.This is the remarkable story of the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. It contains previously unused German archive material, eye-witness accounts and the recollections of survivors, as well as many contemporary photos which capture the awesome spectacle of the finest ships of the time being deliberately sunk by their own crew.

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Book SynopsisBetween 1914 and 1918, military, press and amateur photographers produced thousands of pictures. Either classified in military archives specially created with this purpose in 1915, collected in personal albums or circulated in illustrated magazines, photographs were supposed to tell the story of the war. Picturing the Western Front argues that photographic practices also shaped combatants and civilians’ war experiences. Doing photography (taking pictures, posing for them, exhibiting, cataloguing and looking at them) allowed combatants and civilians to make sense of what they were living through. Photography mattered because it enabled combatants and civilians to record events, establish or reinforce bonds with one another, represent bodies, place people and events in imaginative geographies and making things visible, while making others, such as suicide, invisible. Photographic practices became, thus, frames of experience.Trade Review'Likely to mark a significant turning point in how photographs are used and viewed as historical sources. [...] Dr Pichel has opened up a new dynamic way of thinking about photography in terms of emotion, relationships and the rituals of photographic practices.'James Downs, Photographica World Magazine (April 2022) -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Recording. The photographic archive of the war2. Feeling. Private, Official and Press Photography as Emotional Practices3. Embodying. The multiple meanings of the body of the combatant, the mutilated and the dead4. Placing. Imaginative geographies, photography and the sense of place5. Making visible and invisibleConclusionsBibliographyList of primary sourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERBest Books of the Year, GuardianThe poignant story of the visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War''s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgeryFrom the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: mankind''s military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. The war''s new weaponry, from tanks to shrapnel, enabled slaughter on an industrial scale, and given the nature of trench warfare, thousands of soldiers sustained facial injuries. Medical advances meant that more survived their wounds than ever before, yet disfigured soldiers did not receive the hero''s welcome they deserved.In The Facemaker, award-winning historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the astonishing story of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to restoring the faces - and the identities - of a brutalized generation. Gillies, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after encountering the human wreckage on the front. Returning to Britain, he established one of the world''s first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction in Sidcup, south-east England. There, Gillies assembled a unique group of doctors, nurses and artists whose task was to recreate what had been torn apart. At a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him a monster to a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits.Meticulously researched and grippingly told, The Facemaker places Gillies''s ingenious surgical innovations alongside the poignant stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine and art can merge, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror.Trade ReviewIn this fascinating book, Fitzharris reminds us there is nothing superficial about plastic surgery's ability to heal minds as well as bodies. Five stars -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Scholarly yet deeply moving... This is a fascinating book about a remarkable man, and of how teamwork is such an important part of good surgery. Despite the grim subject matter, it is a deeply moving and uplifting story -- Henry Marsh * New Statesman *Careful... sensitive... [Fitzharris] has successfully pieced together the story of a team of doctors, hospital workers and patients "battling" together during the First World War to modernize reconstructive plastic surgery... Fitzharris constructs a variegated and tender account of the First World War, its brutality and its narratives of human redemption... Tenderness and pathos pervade the personal stories of surgery and recovery, as well as Fitzharris's engagement with the ethics of facial difference and display -- Christine Slobogin * TLS *The Facemaker is an engaging biography of a masterful surgeon as well as a heartening account of medical progress * Economist *Meticulously researched... Five stars -- Catharine Arnold * Telegraph *Sometimes distressing, sometimes thrilling, The Facemaker had me gripped; it is elegantly written and endlessly fascinating. Employing just the right balance between diligent research and ingenious reanimation, Fitzharris brings to life a neglected slice of medical history, telling both Gillies' story as well as that of many of the men whose faces - and lives - he saved -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *Engrossing... Fitzharris presents an intensely moving and hugely enjoyable story about a remarkable medical pioneer and the men he remade -- Wendy Moore * Guardian *A skilled storyteller, Fitzharris takes the reader back to the front, making them trudge and slide through mud filled with missing limbs to find the people who stagger into Gillies's casebooks... Properly contextualised, these faces become not objects of horror or surgery, as they have been all too often used, but pathways into understanding what it is to lose a face, and with it, not only the ability to eat, drink and breathe, but also social acceptance and love -- Fay Bound Alberti * The Lancet *With rich, glossy strokes The Facemaker restores a sense of immediacy to the daily struggles facing Gillies and his colleagues as they improvised under constant pressure -- James Riding * The Times *Out of war's most awful wounds, out of gore and terror and pain, Lindsey Fitzharris has - like Sir Harold Gillies himself - crafted something inspiring and downright miraculous. I cannot imagine the sweat and sleuthing and doggedness that went into gathering the details and building the narratives of these men's struggles. This book is riveting. It is gruesome but it is also uplifting. For as much as there is blood and bone and pus in these pages, there is heart. As Fitzharris shows us, the scalpel is mightier than the grenade, and the pen is mightiest of all. What a triumph this book is -- Mary RoachLike Harold Gillies himself, Lindsey Fitzharris has taken something we might think of as grim and transformed it into something beautiful. Gillies will be an unsung hero no more -- Sam KeanWow, what a book. Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park -- Erik Larson, author of THE SPLENDID AND THE VILEHere is that rare thing: a little-known story of the Great War, featuring a pioneering surgeon every bit as daring as the soldiers he saved. Beautifully written, illuminating, and bursting with fascinating detail, The Facemaker is a groundbreaking work that deserves its own genre: medical noir. You won't be able to put it down -- Karen Abbott, author of THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARKI was an admirer of Fitzharris's award-winning first book, The Butchering Art, about Joseph Lister. This is her absorbing account of another surgeon: Harold Gillies, who established one of the world's first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction -- Editor's pick * The Bookseller *Equal parts devastating and inspiring. The horrors of war are laid bare here, but the stories of each of the soldiers, doctors, nurses, and artists are incredibly poignant and fascinating. I couldn't put it down -- Jenny LawsonAn extraordinary story about a remarkable man whose work, determination and skill changed countless lives -- Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADSGraphic yet inspiring, engaging... [Fitzharris] delivers a consistently vivid account... An excellent biography of a genuine miracle worker -- Starred review * Kirkus *Wonderful... It was written with a clarity that I loved - although the book is packed with fascinating information, it read as easily as a novel... It is really inspiring and beautifully written -- Lucy Nathan * Bookbrunch *A fascinating portrait of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies and the soldiers whose faces he rebuilt during WWI... Meticulously researched and compulsively readable, this exceptional history showcases how compassion and innovation can help mitigate the terrible wounds of war * Starred Review, Publishers Weekly *Sometimes, you just know. From the moment I read The Facemaker's excellent prologue, I knew I had a book on my hands... Fitzharris is a gifted storyteller and delights in just about the right amount of detail -- Matthew Shipsey * Irish Times *Informative... A powerful portrait of a gifted man -- Oliver-James Campbell * New Scientist *The Facemaker conveys the emotional, physical and psychical effects of having an injured and altered face, directly from those who had to deal with them... Powerful -- Sharrona Pearl * Washington Post *In The Facemaker, Fitzharris rescues another vital yet largely forgotten figure from history. Blending scrupulous research with a novelist's eye, the author charts Gillies's extraordinary contribution to reconstructive surgery and weaves in touching accounts of the soldiers he treated. Stark and occasionally unsettling, the book reveals Gillies as both a craftsman and an artist, and underlines how by restoring the faces of the maimed Gillies was also restoring their lives and identities -- Brendan Daly * Business Post *Vividly thrilling * Nature *

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Book SynopsisCreative genius, war artist, adventurer, lover. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe Aberdeenshire-born painter and printmaker James McBey (1883-1959). McBey was a Scottish superstar amongst the creative spirits that fuelled the Etching Revival of the late nineteenth century and Etching Boom of the early twentieth century, and in an historical context, was the acknowledged heir to Whistler and Rembrandt. But after his death in Tangier, Morocco, in 1959, his renown as one of Britain’s most accomplished artists – who took the art world by storm – faded from public consciousness. Born illegitimately in the tiny parish of Foveran, Aberdeenshire, in the late Victorian era, he was brought up by his blind mother and elderly grandmother amid the rigid Presbyterian confines of Scotland’s north-east. Tragedy, dreary work as a bank clerk and a craving for success on his own terms all precipitated his leaving Aberdeen to live the life of an artist in London where he quickly became one of the most-talked about creatives of his generation. At the heart of this biography – the first ever to be published on McBey – is his time as a war artist in the Middle East during the Great War – where he would meet and paint T. E. Lawrence – his many love affairs, marriage to the beautiful American, Marguerite Loeb, and his enduring passion for Morocco. Drawing on his many diaries and letters and artistic creations, this is the story of one man who – clever, kind, intrepid, dashing, insecure and flawed – triumphed against the odds. Trade Review'Rather than accepting McBey's diary descriptions of his affairs, Soussi spent a lot of time researching the women behind the names.' -- Nan Spowart * Scottish Sunday National *Author Alasdair Soussi has vividly conveyed the myriad strands in McBey’s life in his new biography Shadows and Light, which invites the reader into a magical and mesmerising critique of the man whose talents were employed during the Great War and thereafter in his beloved Morocco. There’s no dearth of intrigue or romantic interest and Alasdair doesn’t pretend his subject was a saint. -- Neil Drysdale * Press and Journal *

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Book SynopsisOn 31st October 1917, as the day''s light faded, the Australian Light Horse charged against their enemy. Eight hundred men and horses galloped four miles across open country, towards the artillery, rifles and machine guns of the Turks occupying the seemingly unassailable town of Beersheba. What happened in the next hour changed the course of history.This brave battle and the extraordinary adventures that led to it are brought vividly to life by Australia''s greatest storyteller, Peter FitzSimons. It is an epic tale of farm boys, drovers, bank clerks, dentists, poets and scoundrels transported to fight a war half a world away, and is full of incredible characters: from Major Banjo Paterson to Lawrence of Arabia; the brilliant writer Trooper Ion Idriess and the humble General Harry Chauvel; the tearaway Test fast bowler ''Tibby'' Cotter and the infamous warhorse, Bill the Bastard. All have their part to play in the enthralling, sprawling drama of the Australian Light Horse.

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Book SynopsisThe author recounts his, and Hitler's, journey to the front line.

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Book SynopsisA vivid and original account of warfare in the Middle Ages and the cruelty and atrocity that accompanied it.Sean McGlynn investigates the reality of medieval warfare. For all the talk of chivalry, medieval warfare routinely involved acts which we would consider war crimes. Lands laid waste, civilians slaughtered, prisoners massacred: this was standard fare justified by tradition and practical military necessity. It was unbelievably barbaric, but seldom uncontrolled. Such acts of atrocity were calculated, hideous cruelties inflicted in order to achieve a specific end. Sean McGlynn examines the battles of Acre and Agincourt, sieges like Béziers, Lincoln, Jerusalem and Limoges as well as the infamous chevauchées of the Hundred Years War that devastated great swathes of France. He reveals how these grisly affairs form the origin of accepted ''rules of war'', codes of conduct that are today being enforced in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.Trade ReviewGory, but compelling reading * NORTHERN ECHO *a much needed corrective to the view that chivalry definied medieval fighting * CONTEMPORARY REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed author Max Arthur specialises in first hand recollections of historical events. Previous titles include The Manchester United Air Crash; Above All Courage; Northern Ireland Soldiers Talking; Men of the Red Beret;, There Shall Be Wings: The RAF 1918 to the Present; The True Glory: The Royal Navy 1914 to Present.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and immensely moving book -- Stephen FryThis extraordinary book is crammed with details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence * Daily Telegraph *The words of the soldiers are as fresh as if they were written yesterday ... extraordinary * Mail on Sunday *These stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating * The Times *The stories of these now long-dead vets simply jump off the page * FHM *

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Book SynopsisAt the start of World War One, German warships controlled Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa. The British had no naval craft at all upon ''Tanganjikasee'', as the Germans called it. This mattered: it was the longest lake in the world and of great strategic advantage. In June 1915, a force of 28 men was despatched from Britain on a vast journey. Their orders were to take control of the lake. To reach it, they had to haul two motorboats with the unlikely names of Mimi and Toutou through the wilds of the Congo.The 28 were a strange bunch -- one was addicted to Worcester sauce, another was a former racing driver -- but the strangest of all of them was their skirt-wearing, tattoo-covered commander, Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. Whatever it took, even if it meant becoming the god of a local tribe, he was determined to cover himself in glory. But the Germans had a surprise in store for Spicer-Simson, in the shape of their secret ''supership'' the Graf von Gotzen . . .<Trade ReviewAnother delightful tale sieved from the flotsam of African military history from a writer who is fast creating a niche of his own * Arena *Foden has brought to life one of the strangest episodes of the first world war'... a real romp through the desert of darkness and extremely funny * Sunday Times *Giles Foden writes with wit ... give it a read * Literary Review *Foden has brought to life one of the strangest episodes of the first world war'... a real romp through the desert of darkness and extremely funny * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn Millions Like Us Virginia Nicholson tells the story of the women''s Second World War, through a host of individual women''s experiences. We tend to see the Second World War as a man''s war, featuring Spitfire crews and brave deeds on the Normandy beaches. But in conditions of Total War millions of women - in the Services and on the Home Front - demonstrated that they were cleverer, more broad-minded and altogether more complex than anyone had ever guessed. Millions Like Us tells the story of how these women loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared; how they re-made their world in peacetime. And how they would never be the same again ...''Vividly entertaining, uplifting and humbling, Millions Like Us deserves to be a bestseller'' Bel Mooney, The Daily Mail''Passionate, fascinating, profoundly sympathetic'' Artemis Cooper, Evening Standard Virginia Nicholson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and grew up in

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Book SynopsisSigned on June 28, 1919 between Germany and the principal Allied powers, the Treaty of Versailles formally ended World War I. Problematic from the very beginning, even its contemporaries saw the treaty as a mediocre compromise, creating a precarious order in Europe and abroad and destined to fall short of ensuring lasting peace. At the time, observers read the treaty through competing lenses: a desire for peace after five years of disastrous war, demands for vengeance against Germany, the uncertain future of colonialism, and, most alarmingly, the emerging threat of Bolshevism. A century after its signing, we can look back at how those developments evolved through the twentieth century, evaluating the treaty and its consequences with unprecedented depth of perspective.The author of several award-winning books, Michael S. Neiberg provides a lucid and authoritative account of the Treaty of Versailles, explaining the enormous challenges facing those who tried to put the world back together after the global destruction of the World War I. Rather than assessing winners and losers, this compelling book analyzes the many subtle factors that influenced the treaty and the dominant, at times ambiguous role of the Big Four leaders: Woodrow Wilson of the United States, David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, and Georges Clémenceau of France.The Treaty of Versailles was not solely responsible for the catastrophic war that crippled Europe and the world just two decades later, but it played a critical role. As Neiberg reminds us, to understand decolonization, World War II, the Cold War, and even the complex world we inhabit today, there is no better place to begin than with World War I and the treaty that tried, and perhaps failed, to end it.Table of ContentsPreface 1. From war to armistice to peace conference 2. The big three (or maybe four) 3. Ideals versus interests 4. Drafting the treaty 5. To bed, sick of life 6. War to end war? References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisVivid, succinct, and highly accessible, this first volume (of two) begins with the origins and consequences of the medieval myth of the 'Reich,' which was to experience a fateful renaissance in the twentieth century, and ends with the collapse of the first German democracy.Trade Review...destined to become a must-have for both scholars and students of German history. Combining skilful and fluent narrative with insightful analysis, his history of modern Germany presents the reader with a vivid and detailed picture of the German nation. * Journal of the Historical Association *...this book has much to offer. * Róisín Healy, European History Quarterly *Germany: The Long Road West 1789-1933 is a magnificent examination of a country which, along with Russia, possesses a history that is arguably the most complicated in Europe. This book will be an immense asset to academics, students and, indeed, anyone with a serious interest in German history. * Marcus Papadopoulos, Tribune *[an] excellent book * Contemporary Review *magisterial...Winkler's magnum opus. * TLS *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Legacy of a Millennium 2: Hampered by Progress 1789DS1830 3: Liberalism in Crisis 1830DS1850 4: Unity before Liberty 1850DS1871 5: The Transformation of Nationalism 1871DS1890 6: World Policy and World War 1890DS1918 7: The Impaired Republic 1918DS1933 Looking Ahead

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Book SynopsisThe belligerent country that literally started the First World War, the Habsburg Empire suffered grievously during the global conflict. At the end of the war, it was estimated that 1.2 million soldiers, out of 8 million men and 100,000 women mobilized from an empire of 52 million, perished in service. Among those who lived, the wounded, the disabled, and their dependents constituted at least several million people whose survival was endangered both during and after the war. How did the Habsburg Empire confront the scale of the casualties brought about by the First World War? What care and support were offered to disabled soldiers and dead soldiers'' surviving dependents? Victims'' State offers the first integrated account of how the Austrian half of the empire and the successor Austrian Republic responded to the needs of citizen-soldiers and their families from the nineteenth century to the interwar years. Ke-Chin Hsia traces the policies, ideas, and administrative practices developed Trade ReviewAn exciting new interpretation of welfare practices in Habsburg Central Europe that spans the Imperial and Republican periods. Hsia's pioneering arguments demonstrate that innovative welfare practices rarely came solely from the state but developed as much from claims by socially diverse groups of actors and interest groups from below. Readers may be surprised to learn that in the multinational Habsburg empire, when it came to popular demands for welfare programs, nationalist concerns apparently took a back seat to more pressing social, economic, and regional interests. * Pieter M. Judson, European University Institute *An impressive, original study of the neglected history of the emergence of the Austrian welfare state out of World War I and its centrality to the transition from the elite Habsburg Empire to the cohesive, democratic Austrian Republic, permanently transforming its politics and culture, an experience more similar to other European states than is usually recognized. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, it is a major contribution to the history of Austria and of European welfare states. * Pat Thane, author of The Foundations of the Welfare State *This meticulously researched study offers a new and compelling interpretation of wartime and postwar politics. Centering social welfare as an integral part of total war, Ke-Chin Hsia reconceptualizes links between imperial Austria and the postwar republic. He reveals continuities in late Habsburg and early republican welfare policies without defaulting to the nationalities prism. As such, the book is a pioneering 'next generation' work that extends the recent historiographical re-examination of the significance of 1918 in Austrian history. * Maureen Healy, author of Vienna and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire *Ke-Chin Hsia's excellent book energetically addresses these strands of scholarship, as he explores the ebbs and flows of the making and unmaking of Austria's welfare mechanisms vis-à-vis war victims. [This study] is an ideal example of this tight and mutually informing and reinforcing relationship between state and society, as he pays attention to the war victims' own leverage in welfare reform-making. * Doina Anca Cretu, CEU Review of Books *Without a doubt, Hsia's book pushes for further reflection on the story of welfare,...the book lives up to the promise outlined in the title and in its introduction. * Doina Anca Cretu, CEU Review of Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Government Poverty and Incentive Pensions in the Nineteenth Century Chapter 2 The Emergence of the War Welfare Field from Peace to War Chapter 3 A Social Offensive on the Home Front Chapter 4 The Last-Ditch Effort to Save the Monarchy Chapter 5 War Victims as a New Power Factor Chapter 6 A Republic with "the Correct National and Social Sensibilities" Chapter 7 "The Public's Interest in Invalids Has Waned" Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA vibrant new history of twentieth-century Europe - covering everything from war and politics to social, cultural, and economic developments in a period of convulsive and dramatic change.Trade ReviewThis epic account of Europe in the 20th century grabs the reader with snappy chapters packed with telling detaila nd articulate assessment. * Christopher Hirst, The Independent *Table of Contents1. Europe at 1914 ; 2. Europe at War 1914-1917 ; 3. Revolutionary Europe 1917-1921 ; 4. Recovery of the Bourgeiosie 1921-1929 ; 5. Depression and Terror 1929-1936 ; 6. Europe in the 1930s ; 7. Spiral into War 1936-1939 ; 8. Hitler Triumphant 1939-1942 ; 9. Life and Death in Wartime ; 10. End of Hitler's Europe 1942-1945 ; 11. Europe Partitioned 1945-1949 ; 12. West European Recovery 1949-1958 ; 13. Stalin and His Heirs 1949-1964 ; 14. Consensus and Dissent in Western Europe 1958-1973 ; 15. Europe in the 1960s ; 16. Strife in Communist Europe 1964-1985 ; 17. Stress in Liberal Europe 1973-1989 ; 18. The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe 1985-1991 ; 19. After the Fall 1991-2007 ; 20. Europe in the New Millennium ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of how widespread belief in fortune-telling, prophecies, spirits, magic, and protective talismans gripped the battlefields and home fronts of Europe during the First World War.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition This is a rich and thought-provoking study of how the First World War ensured the widespread continuation of a popular belief in magic - even in the 'modernity' of the post-1914 age - and why this is important to our understanding of life during and after the conflict. * Catriona Pennell, BBC History Magazine *A marvellous book ... even readers who know Davies' impressive writing on witchcraft, cunning folk and ghosts will find a new glint of ambition here. * Simon Young, Times Higher Education *A Supernatural War provides a nuanced and learned exposition of its subject ... Such a broad approach suggests that this book will remain the definitive work for a long time to come. * Graham Seal, Literary Review *A fascinating account of how the first modern industrialised global war revitalised traditional superstitions, and infused supernatural power into all kinds of objects. * Nick Saunders, Military History Matters *Davies is one of the undisputed leaders in his field. A Supernatural War is impossible to describe without simply rattling off a list of highlights ... a fascinating deep dive that offers tantalising glimpses of a very different world. * All About History *A fascinating insight into supernatural beliefs and practices prevalent during the First World War. * Paradigm Explorer *Owen Davies will provide you with a comprehensive overview of wartime weirdness. * David Clarke, Fortean Times01/03/2019 *A detailed and fascinating study. * David V Barrett, Catholic Herald *Riotous and engaging. * Tony Jasper, Methodist Recorder *Fascinating. * Leon Burakowski, Shrewsbury Chronicle *Owen Davies's book seems to me to be arranged in a [...] logical and reader-friendly manner, with individual chapters dealing with particular topics such as prophecies of the war, lucky charms and superstitions, and a review of how churches and religious figures regarded the stories that were emerging from the battlefields. * John Rimmer, Magonia Review *It is not often that you run across a piece of writing which is both unusual and packed with detail that even a military historian like myself has never encountered. Owen Davies' A Supernatural War does just that. * Sebastian Phillips, Concatenation *Owen Davies notes that great conflicts invariably generate an upsurge of belief in the mystical, visionary and occult. In A Supernatural War Davies surveys, in remarkable detail, the range of such beliefs, from cheap pamphlets prophesying the coming war to the legend of the medieval archers known as the Angels of Mons to the lucky charms worn by Italian soldiers. * Michael Dirda, Washington Post *This is another wonderful book from the leading expert in the history of magic between 1740 and 1940. Readers will never look at the First World War in the same way again. * Ronald Hutton, author of The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft *Table of Contents1: Introduction: A War Full of Wonder 2: Prophetic Times 3: Visions, Spirits, and Psychics 4: Telling Fortunes, Telling Tales 5: Battlefield Luck 6: Trench Faith and Protection Epilogue Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER''A timely re-appraisal . . . a masterpiece'' General Lord Richard DannattThe Third Battle of Ypres was a ''lost victory'' for the British Army in 1917. Between July and November 1917, in a small corner of Belgium, more than 500,000 men were killed or maimed, gassed or drowned - and many of the bodies were never found. The Ypres offensive represents the modern impression of the First World War: splintered trees, water-filled craters, muddy shell-holes.The climax was one of the worst battles of both world wars: Passchendaele. The village fell eventually, only for the whole offensive to be called off. But, as Nick Lloyd shows, notably through previously overlooked German archive material, it is striking how close the British came to forcing the German Army to make a major retreat in Belgium in October 1917. Far from being a pointless and futile waste of men, the battle was a startling illustration ofTrade ReviewA timely re-appraisal . . . a masterpiece -- General Lord Richard DannattSweeps aside mythology and provides a rational explanation and cool description of what took place -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *Nick Lloyd has unearthed a mass of new material for this harrowing account of one of the most infamous engagements of the Great War -- Ian Thomson * The Guardian *Meticulously researched . . . A harrowing and important history -- PD Smith * The Guardian *With clean, clear and often eviscerating writing, Nick Lloyd compels us to re-evaluate Passchendaele and all that word conjures -- Paul Gross, director and star of the film 'Passchendaele'Rigorously researched . . . one of the great features of this excellent book, absent from too many less rigorous histories of events in the First World War, is a clear account of how things were on the German side, and how the British attack not only gained ground, but devastated German morale . . . Lloyd's research is superb; the book is well-illustrated with photographs and maps; he brings the battle and its political context vividly to life . . . this is in almost every respect a model of what a work of military history should be, and is now perhaps the definitive account of this phase of the war on the Western Front -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph *I thought it both precise and compassionate - a properly definitive history, with clear sightlines from the strategic planning, to the horror of the battle itself from both sides, through to its consequences for the war as it entered its complex final phase -- Dr Emily MayhewA fresh and thorough examination of the events of July to November 1917 is definitely needed. Dr Nick Lloyd has achieved this in his book Passchendaele: A New History, an account that is both scholarly and gripping. -- Glyn Harper, Professor of War Studies, Massey UniversityConfirms his position among the best young scholars of WWI in this comprehensively researched, convincingly presented analysis of the still-controversial 1917 battle of Passchendaele . . .Lloyd's thesis is controversial, but his scholarship makes it impossible to dismiss * Publishers Weekly *His narrative of the campaign is superb and written with clarity and dispassion. He teaches military history at King's College London and has done his research thoroughly in German and Allied archives. It is fascinating to know the preoccupations, hopes and plans of the Kaiser ("The English must be made to grovel") and his generals, and to hear the voices of German frontline soldiers -- Lawrence James * The Times *'An eloquent retelling of one of the First World War's most mismanaged battles. Lloyd movingly recounts the ordeal of German and British infantry in the mud and blood of Passchendaele -- Professor Alexander WatsonDid Passchendaele mark the moment when German morale collapsed on the Western Front? Nick Lloyd makes a compelling case . . . both as narrative and analysis, this book is masterly -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *Masterly . . . He argues convincingly -- Allan Mallinson * The Times Literary Supplement *

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