First World War Books

Book SynopsisThe Ottoman Empire was unprepared for the massive conflict of World War I. Lacking the infrastructure and resources necessary to wage a modern war, the empire's statesmen reached beyond the battlefield to sustain their war effort. They placed unprecedented hardships onto the shoulders of the Ottoman people: mass conscription, a state-controlled economy, widespread food shortages, and ethnic cleansing. By war's end, few aspects of Ottoman daily life remained untouched. When the War Came Home reveals the catastrophic impact of this global conflict on ordinary Ottomans. Drawing on a wide range of sources—from petitions, diaries, and newspapers to folk songs and religious texts—Yiğit Akın examines how Ottoman men and women experienced war on the home front as government authorities intervened ever more ruthlessly in their lives. The horrors of war brought home, paired with the empire's growing demands on its people, fundamentally reshaped interactions between Ottoman civilians, the military, and the state writ broadly. Ultimately, Akın argues that even as the empire lost the war on the battlefield, it was the destructiveness of the Ottoman state's wartime policies on the home front that led to the empire's disintegration.Trade Review"When the War Came Home is an authoritative social history among the many recent works on the Ottoman experience of World War I. Based on an imaginative array of sources, Yiğit Akın portrays meticulously and eloquently the upended lives of civilians and soldiers in the morass of the Middle East's fateful war."—Hasan Kayalı, University of California, San Diego"Yiğit Akın's treatment of the Ottoman homefront represents a critical breakthrough in the study of the First World War. Drawing upon highly original and interesting archival sources, as well as previously untapped published material, Akin vividly depicts the many hardships faced by Ottoman civilians during the course of the conflict. The book's artful prose makes it an engaging read for both students and scholars of the war, adding to its critical value for readers well beyond the field of modern Middle Eastern history."—Ryan Gingeras, Naval Postgraduate School"Yiğit Akın has written a pioneering study, examining the long-neglected Ottoman home front during World War I. When the War Came Home illuminates the war's deep social and economic impact on the empire's civilian population."—Mustafa Aksakal, Georgetown University"WW I has long been a topic of interest for Ottoman scholars, but the Ottoman home front has been largely ignored or, at best, unevenly treated. In this book Akın (Tulane Univ.) shows that the length and scale of the war meant that everyone in the Ottoman empire was affected....Akın's research was extensive (he even usedoften-ignored folklore), and it enabled him to provide vivid descriptions ofthose left behind struggling to meet the state's growing material demands, succumbing to starvation and banditry, and becoming increasingly alienated from the state."—R.W. Zens, Choice"Yiğit Akın's book, When the War Came Home: The Ottomans' Great War and the Devastation of an Empire, is a well-researched and sophisticated study of the impact of the Great War on Ottoman politics, society, and culture....Akın's study of the Ottoman civilian experience of the Great War brings to life a rich trove of sources. The book's strong research base, its sophisticated and multidisciplinary analysis, and comparative approach make it a valuable addition to the lively field of Ottoman Great War studies and to the broader scholarship on the history of the Great War."—Najwa Al-Qattan, H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews"Akın's When the War Came Home is an important historical revision that fully portrays the imperial home front for the first time. Moreover, this unique interdisciplinary work reconsiders existing temporal, geographical, and methodological approaches to the study of World War I in the Middle East."––Melanie S. Tanielian, Journal of Interdisciplinary History"Yiğit Akın's fascinating book is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of World War I, the late Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey and is certain to occupy an important place in these fields for many years to come."—Erdem Sönmez, European History QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. From the Balkan Wars to the Great War 2. From the Fields to the Ranks 3. Filling the Ranks, Emptying Homes 4. Feeding the Army, Starving the People 5. In the Home: Wives and Mothers 6. On the Road: Refugees and Deportees Conclusion

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Book SynopsisAt the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where the victorious Allied powers met to reenvision the map of Europe in the aftermath of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson's influence on the remapping of borders was profound. But it was his impact on the modern political structuring of Eastern Europe that would be perhaps his most enduring international legacy: neither Czechoslovakia nor Yugoslavia exist today, but their geopolitical presence persisted across the twentieth century from the end of World War I to the end of the Cold War. They were created in large part thanks to Wilson's advocacy, and in particular, his Fourteen Points speech of January 1918, which hinged in large part on the concept of national self-determination. But despite his deep involvement in the region's geopolitical transformation, President Wilson never set eyes on Eastern Europe, and never traveled to a single one of the eastern lands whose political destiny he so decisively influenced. Eastern Europe, invented in the age of Enlightenment by the travelers and philosophies of Western Europe, was reinvented on the map of the early twentieth century with the crucial intervention of an American president who deeply invested his political and emotional energies in lands that he would never visit. This book traces how Wilson's emerging definition of national self-determination and his practical application of the principle changed over time as negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference unfolded. Larry Wolff exposes the contradictions between Wilson's principles and their implementation in the peace settlement for Eastern Europe, and sheds light on how his decisions were influenced by both personal relationships and his growing awareness of the history of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires.Trade Review"A significant contribution to the historical scholarship on Woodrow Wilson and his role in peacemaking after World War I. Larry Wolff recognizes both the confusion and the clarity in Wilson's endeavor to implement the principle of national self-determination."—Lloyd Ambrosius, author of Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism"The multifaceted author Larry Wolff returns to deal with the theme that he confronted in Inventing Eastern Europe, adding now the key element that concerns what we know about Wilson's commitment to the contradictory political construction that became Central Europe from 1919 to 1989."—Il Sole 24 Ore"Wolff's enthralling account traces the way the president's principles clashed with the messy reality of historical frontiers and political rivalries in the region."—Maria Lipman, Foreign Affairs"[A] meticulously researched and compelling book....Making use of a wide range of original sources, including transcripts of conversations among the leaders of the 'Big Four' at Versailles, this work enriches the understanding of Wilsonian statecraft. Highly recommended."—M J. Birkner, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction: 1. Woodrow Wilson, the Eastern Question, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 2. "This War of Emancipation": The Wilsonian Deliverance of the "Enslaved" Habsburg Peoples 3. Wilsonian Friendship: Personal Sympathy and Geopolitical Transformation 4. National Majorities and National Minorities in Wilsonian Eastern Europe Conclusion: The Dynamics of Wilsonian Mental Mapping

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Book SynopsisAt the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where the victorious Allied powers met to reenvision the map of Europe in the aftermath of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson's influence on the remapping of borders was profound. But it was his impact on the modern political structuring of Eastern Europe that would be perhaps his most enduring international legacy: neither Czechoslovakia nor Yugoslavia exist today, but their geopolitical presence persisted across the twentieth century from the end of World War I to the end of the Cold War. They were created in large part thanks to Wilson's advocacy, and in particular, his Fourteen Points speech of January 1918, which hinged in large part on the concept of national self-determination. But despite his deep involvement in the region's geopolitical transformation, President Wilson never set eyes on Eastern Europe, and never traveled to a single one of the eastern lands whose political destiny he so decisively influenced. Eastern Europe, invented in the age of Enlightenment by the travelers and philosophies of Western Europe, was reinvented on the map of the early twentieth century with the crucial intervention of an American president who deeply invested his political and emotional energies in lands that he would never visit. This book traces how Wilson's emerging definition of national self-determination and his practical application of the principle changed over time as negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference unfolded. Larry Wolff exposes the contradictions between Wilson's principles and their implementation in the peace settlement for Eastern Europe, and sheds light on how his decisions were influenced by both personal relationships and his growing awareness of the history of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires.Trade Review"A significant contribution to the historical scholarship on Woodrow Wilson and his role in peacemaking after World War I. Larry Wolff recognizes both the confusion and the clarity in Wilson's endeavor to implement the principle of national self-determination."—Lloyd Ambrosius, author of Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism"The multifaceted author Larry Wolff returns to deal with the theme that he confronted in Inventing Eastern Europe, adding now the key element that concerns what we know about Wilson's commitment to the contradictory political construction that became Central Europe from 1919 to 1989."—Il Sole 24 Ore"Wolff's enthralling account traces the way the president's principles clashed with the messy reality of historical frontiers and political rivalries in the region."—Maria Lipman, Foreign Affairs"[A] meticulously researched and compelling book....Making use of a wide range of original sources, including transcripts of conversations among the leaders of the 'Big Four' at Versailles, this work enriches the understanding of Wilsonian statecraft. Highly recommended."—M J. Birkner, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction: 1. Woodrow Wilson, the Eastern Question, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 2. "This War of Emancipation": The Wilsonian Deliverance of the "Enslaved" Habsburg Peoples 3. Wilsonian Friendship: Personal Sympathy and Geopolitical Transformation 4. National Majorities and National Minorities in Wilsonian Eastern Europe Conclusion: The Dynamics of Wilsonian Mental Mapping

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Book SynopsisThe noted historian Richard Cobb presents an engaging synthesis of research, combined with highly original observations and analyses of the war years in France. The reader is given access to a unique private chronicle of the relations between occupants and occupés, which provides the "I was there" understanding that is a hallmark of Cobb's well-known ability to humanize history. The author characterizes this work as "an essay in interpretation and imagination, an evocation drawing heavily on literary, or semi-literary, sources and even on autobiography, rather than a straight piece of history. The book is about people, individuals, rather than about institutions and administration." A recognized classic is now back in print.

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Book SynopsisBritish Imperial Air Power examines the air defense of Australia and New Zealand during the interwar period. It also demonstrates the difficulty of applying new military aviation technology to the defense of the global Empire and provides insight into the nature of the political relationship between the Pacific Dominions and Britain. Following World War I, both Dominions sought greater independence in defense and foreign policy. Public aversion to military matters and the economic dislocation resulting from the war and later the Depression left little money that could be provided for their respective air forces. As a result, the Empire's air services spent the entire interwar period attempting to create a strategy in the face of these handicaps. In order to survive, the British Empire's military air forces offered themselves as a practical and economical third option in the defense of Britain's global Empire, intending to replace the Royal Navy and British Army as the traditional pillars of imperial defense.Table of Contents INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: The First Imperial Air Defense Schemes, 1918–1919 CHAPTER 2: The Formation of the Royal Australian Air Force and the First Reassessments of Pacific Defenses, 1920–1921 CHAPTER 3: The Empire's Air Defense: The Geddes Cuts of 1922, and the 1923 Imperial Conference and Their Influence on the Empire's Air Defense, 1922–1923 CHAPTER 4: The Royal Air Force and Postwar Air Transport Defense Planning and the Airmail Scheme, 1919–1939 CHAPTER 5: Airships and the Empire: Defense, Schemes, and Disaster, 1919–1930 CHAPTER 6: Air Defense and the Labour Party: Singapore Naval Base and the 1926 Imperial Conference, 1924–1926 CHAPTER 7: Imperial Air Mobility, the Salmond Report, and Air Marshal Trenchard's Last Salvo, 1927–1929 CHAPTER 8: Depression and Disarmament, 1929–1933 CHAPTER 9: The International Crises and Imperial Rearmament, 1934–1936 CHAPTER 10: The Final Preparations, 1937–1940 EPILOGUE Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn elite team of reporters brought the Great War home each week to ten million readers of the Saturday Evening Post. As America’s largest circulation magazine, the Post hired the nation’s best-known and best-paid writers to cover World War I. The Weekly War provides a history of the unique record Post storytellers created of World War I, the distinct imprint the Post made on the field of war reporting, and the ways in which Americans witnessed their first world war. The Weekly War includes representative articles from across the span of the conflict, and Chris Dubbs and Carolyn Edy complement these works with essays about the history and significance of the magazine, the war, and the writers. By the start of the Great War, the Saturday Evening Post had become the most successful and influential magazine in the United States, a source of entertainment, instruction, and news, as well as a shared experience. World War I served as a four-year experiment in how to report a modern war. The news-gathering strategies and news-controlling practices developed in this war were largely duplicated in World War II and later wars. Over the course of some thousand articles by some of the most prolific writers of the era, the Saturday Evening Post played an important role in the evolution of war reporting during World War I.

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Book SynopsisAs the site of royal coronations, Reims cathedral was a monument to French national history and identity. But after German troops bombed the cathedral during World War I, it took on new meaning. The French reimagined it as a martyr of civilisation, as the rupture between the warring states. The resulting battle of words and images stressed the differences between German "Kultur" and French "civilisation". Artists and intelligentsia caricatured this entrenched cultural dichotomy, influencing portrayals of the two nations in the international press. Ultimately, despite a history of mutual respect, the bombing of the cathedral caused all social, scientific, artistic, and cultural ties between Germany and France to be severed for decades. This book explores the structure's breadth of meaning in symbolic, art historical, and historical arenas, including competing claims over the origins of Gothic art and architecture as national style and issues of monument preservation and restoration. It highlights how vulnerable art is during war and how the destruction of national monuments can set the tone for international conflict. Gaehtgens articulates how these nations began to mend their relationship in the decades after World War II, starting with the courageous vision of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer, and how the cathedral of Reims was eventually transformed into a site of reconciliation and European unification.

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Book SynopsisWhen the United States officially entered World War I in 1917, it was woefully underprepared for chemical warfare, in which the British, French, and Germans had been engaged since 1915. In response, the U.S. Army created an entirely new branch: the Chemical Warfare Service. The army turned to trained chemists and engineers to lead the charge—and called on an array of others, including baseball players, to fill out the ranks.The Gas and Flame Men is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven—Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa “Jeptha” Rixey—are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. The son of a sixth Hall of Famer, player and manager Ned Hanlon, was a young officer killed in action in France with the First Gas Regiment. Prominent chemical soldiers also included veteran Major League catcher and future manager George “Gabby” Street and Boston Braves president and former Harvard football coach Percy D. Haughton.The Gas and Flame Men explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health—and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports. The Gas and Flame Men also addresses historical inaccuracies and misperceptions surrounding Christy Mathewson’s early death from tuberculosis in 1925, long attributed to wartime gas exposure. Trade Review"Historian Leeke . . . offers a meticulous and informative account of the Chemical Warfare Service, an army unit hastily formed when the U.S. entered WWI to catch up to the conflict's extensive reliance on new weapons like flamethrowers and poison gas. . . . [The Gas and Flame Men is] an enjoyable and distinctive blend of war story and sports chronicle. It will appeal especially to baseball history buffs."—Publishers Weekly“Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Eppa Rixey, and Branch Rickey—all members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Gas and Flame Men during the Great War. Jim Leeke knows the connection between baseball and the war better than anybody. He’ll keep you turning pages as he tells their stories, and more.”—Jan Finkel, 2012 recipient of SABR’s Bob Davids Award“Jim Leeke scores again with The Gas and Flame Men, delivering a fascinating account of America’s World War I response to German chemical warfare and the important part a group of Major League Baseball stars and other key sports figures played in it.”—Rick Huhn, author of The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie, and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title That Became a National Obsession“To steal a baseball term, The Gas and Flame Men is an out-of-the-park grand slam. No one knows more than Jim Leeke about the intersection of America’s national pastime and the Great War. A wonderful story you won’t want to put down.”—Mitchell Yockelson, author of Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War ITable of ContentsList of Illustrations 1. Nashville 2. Gabby 3. Frightfulness 4. Winter 5. Good Scout 6. CWS 7. France 8. Summer 9. Final Innings 10. Shipping Out 11. Autumn 12. Coignes 13. Homecomings 14. Saranac Lake 15. Cooperstown Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisPlaces Greenville's experience during World War I within the context of the progressive era to better understand the rise of this New South cityGreenville, South Carolina has become an attractive destination, frequently included in lists of the "Best Small Cities" in America. While Greenville's 21st century Renaissance has been impressive, in "Our Country First, Then Greenville," author Courtney Louise Tollison Hartness explores an earlier period, revealing how Greenville's experience during World War I served to generate massive development in the city and the region. It was this moment that catalyzed Greenville's development into a modern city, setting the stage for the continued growth that persists into the present-day.World War I affected Greenville and its residents in ways both big and small. "Our Country First, Then Greenville" explores Greenville's home-front experience of race relations, dramatic population growth (the number of Greenville residents nearly tripled between 1900 and 1930s), the women's suffrage movement, and the contributions of African Americans and women to Greenville's history. Tollison Hartness studies the influenza pandemic of that time, explores the stories behind the Greenville building boom of the 1910s and 1920s, and shares the rich and scandalous story of Greenville's Confederate Memorial. She argues that Greenville's experience during World War I cannot be separated from Progressive-era civic engagement, and that wartime mobilization catapulted Greenville into the ranks of the New South's important urban centers. This important work features newly discovered photos of Greenville, found in archival collections throughout the country and dating back over 100 years.

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Book SynopsisPlaces Greenville's experience during World War I within the context of the progressive era to better understand the rise of this New South cityGreenville, South Carolina has become an attractive destination, frequently included in lists of the "Best Small Cities" in America. While Greenville's 21st century Renaissance has been impressive, in "Our Country First, Then Greenville," author Courtney Louise Tollison Hartness explores an earlier period, revealing how Greenville's experience during World War I served to generate massive development in the city and the region. It was this moment that catalyzed Greenville's development into a modern city, setting the stage for the continued growth that persists into the present-day.World War I affected Greenville and its residents in ways both big and small. "Our Country First, Then Greenville" explores Greenville's home-front experience of race relations, dramatic population growth (the number of Greenville residents nearly tripled between 1900 and 1930s), the women's suffrage movement, and the contributions of African Americans and women to Greenville's history. Tollison Hartness studies the influenza pandemic of that time, explores the stories behind the Greenville building boom of the 1910s and 1920s, and shares the rich and scandalous story of Greenville's Confederate Memorial. She argues that Greenville's experience during World War I cannot be separated from Progressive-era civic engagement, and that wartime mobilization catapulted Greenville into the ranks of the New South's important urban centers. This important work features newly discovered photos of Greenville, found in archival collections throughout the country and dating back over 100 years.

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Book SynopsisAustralians remember the dead of 25 April 1915 on Anzac Day every year. But do we know the name of a single soldier who died that day? What do we really know about the men supposedly most cherished in the national memory of war?Peter Stanley goes looking for the Lost Boys of Anzac: the men of the very first wave to land at dawn on 25 April 1915 and who died on that day. There were exactly 101 of them. They were the first to volunteer, the first to go into action, and the first of the 60,000 Australians killed in that conflict.Lost Boys of Anzac traces who these men were, where they came from and why they came to volunteer for the AIF in 1914. It follows what happened to them in uniform and, using sources overlooked for nearly a century, uncovers where and how they died, on the ridges and gullies of Gallipoli - where most of them remain to this day. And we see how the Lost Boys were remembered by those who knew and loved them, and how they have since faded from memory.

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Book SynopsisA nation often amends its laws during war, not least to regulate life at home. Yet few historians have considered the impact of law on everyday lives in Australia during the Great War.In this original book, lawyer and historian Catherine Bond breathes life into the laws that were central to the way that people’s daily lives were managed in Australia 1914–18. Riveting and at times shocking, it argues that in First World War Australia, law perpetuated a form of tyranny in the name of victory in war.Bond finds that law was used as a tool against many Australians to discriminate, oppress, censor and deprive them of property, liberty and basic human rights. This legal regime created a deep injustice that, for the most part, has remained undocumented and unacknowledged.The book examines and documents individual experiences under the law, so we meet: The men who wrote the laws A police officer who enforced the law Two men interned under the law Two female protesters who were gaoled under the law A man imprisoned multiple times then deported Three men who were discriminated against by the law Two men who benefitted from the law Many infamous laws were used during this period, including the War Precautions Act (and its myriad regulations) and the Unlawful Associations Act. Engaging and informative, this book holds those who wrote the laws to account, exposing the sheer breadth and impact of this wartime legal regime, some of which is still in force to this day.

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Book SynopsisIn the early hours of 26 February 1918, the British hospital ship Glenart Castle steamed into the Bristol Channel, heading for France to pick up wounded men from the killing fields of the Western Front. Onboard was 32-year-old Australian nurse, Edith Blake. After being torpedoed by a German U-boat, the Glenart Castle took minutes to sink. Of the 182 onboard, 153 perished including all eight nurses. After missing out on joining the Australian Army, in 1915 Edith Blake was one of 130 Australian nurses allocated to the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service by the British government. In very personal letters to her family back home Edith shares her homesickness, frustration with military rules, and the culture shock of Egypt. In Edith Blake's War, her great niece Krista Vane-Tempest traces Edith's story from training in Sydney to her war service in the Middle East and the Mediterranean; her conflicted feelings about nursing German prisoners of war as German aircraft bombed England, to her death in waters where Germany had promised the safe passage of hospital ships.

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Book SynopsisIn late 2023 Australians will vote in a referendum on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to parliament in the constitution. What benefits will the Voice bring? And what was the journey to this point? Everything You Need to Know About the Voice to Parliament, written by co-author of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis,and fellow constitutional expert George Williams is essential reading on the Voice to parliament and government, how our Constitution was drafted, what the 1967 referendum achieved, and the Uluru Statement. It charts the journey of this nationbuilding reform from the earliest stages of Indigenous advocacy and, importantly, explains how the Voice offers change that will benefit the whole nation.

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Book SynopsisThe 19th Battalion was an infantry unit that fought in many of the deadliest battles of the First World War. Hailing from Hamilton, Toronto, and other communities in southern Ontario and beyond, its members were ordinary men facing extraordinary challenges at the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Amiens, and other battlefields on Europe's Western Front. Through his examination of official records and personal accounts, the author presents vivid descriptions and assessments of the rigours of training, the strains of trench warfare, the horrors of battle, and the camaraderie of life behind the front lines. From mobilization in 1914 to the return home in 1919, Campbell reveals the unique experiences of the battalion's officers and men and situates their service within the broader context of the battalion's parent formations - the 4th Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Division of the Canadian Corps. Readers will gain a fuller appreciation of the internal dynamics of an infantry battalion and how it functioned within the larger picture of Canadian operations.Trade Review"Campbell set the bar at its highest in researching and writing this engaging book, making it easily one of the best CEF unit histories ever produced." -- Andrew B. Godefroy, CD, PhD, author of For Freedom and Honour and Great War Commands"Lieutenant R. O. Spreckley, a veteran and historian of the 19th Battalion, warned in the mid-1930s that he could not write an 'intimate' regimental history without knowing what the 'boys did, thought, felt, smelt, and endured' during the war. He was forced to abandon the history. It has taken eighty years, but David Campbell has picked up the torch to write a rigorously scholarly and eminently readable history of the 19th Battalion. He captures the strain and struggle of a battalion at war, linking it to the wider war effort but always reminding the reader of the crucial role of individual Canadians on the Western Front and behind the lines. It Can't Last Forever is essential reading for those interested in the Canadian Corps and the Canadian soldiers who delivered victory in the many hard-fought battles and campaigns of the Great War." -- Tim Cook, C.M., Canadian War Museum"David Campbell writes compellingly of the 19th Battalion at war, putting its story within a broad political and military context while never forgetting the soldier's view on the blood-stained ground. In 1969 Herb Fearman, a decorated officer in the 19th Battalion, was dismayed when a new history of the Canadian Corps omitted his proud regiment. Fearman's unit suffered 60 percent casualties among its 5,000 men and he wanted his battalion understood in terms of both its service and its sacrifice; now, almost 50 years later, Campbell has fulfilled his wish and done so in brilliant fashion. " -- Robert L. Fraser, University of Toronto"...a tragic and beautiful book." -- Holly Doan -- Blacklock's Reporter, 20171201Table of Contents Preface 1. Recruiting and Mobilization: 1914-15 2. Training in England: May-September 1915 3. Life in the Trenches: September-December 1915 4. Waging Trench Warfare: September 1915-March 1916 5. Trial by Fire: Saint-Eloi, April 1916 6. ""Trying the Nerves"": May-July 1916 7. A Daylight Coup and Departing Belgium: 29 July-August 1916 8. Preparing for Battle: 28 August-15 September 1916 9. Fighting at the Somme: 15 September-3 October 1916 10. A ""Most Uneventful Tour"": October 1916-March 1917 11. ""Leaving Nothing to Chance"": 25 March-8 April 1917 12. An ""Easter Gift"" and a Bloody Setback: 9 April-3 June 1917 13. ""The Worst Ever"": June-August 1907 14. ""A Dirty, Dirty Country"": September-November 1917 15. Days of Uncertainty: November 1917-March 1918 16. ""It Was Pretty Lively"": 21 March-June 1918 17. Prelude to Victory: July-7 August 1918 18. The Battle of Amiens and Its Aftermath: 8-18 August 1918 19. Arras: 19-31 August 1918 20. Cambrai and Iwuy: 1 September-13 October 1918 21. Long Road to Mons: 14 October-11 November 1918 22. To the Rhine and Back: 12 November 1918-19 January 1919 23. Going Home: 20 January-25 May 1919 Epilogue Appendices A. Casualties, 19th Battalion, 1915-19 B. Discipline in France and Flanders

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Book SynopsisThe diary of David Watson, who rose through the officer ranks to command one of the four divisions in the Great War, is an exceptional document that details with candid insight the responsibilities of senior command and shows the talent required to rise through the CEF to divisional command.The only published diary of a Canadian who held this rank in the last two (critical) years of the war, it focuses on the evolution of military leadership and associated challenges that Watson (and his peers) faced during the Great War. It recounts how he navigated not only the military battlefield in France and Belgium but also the political battlefield of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and larger British Expeditionary Force. The divisional commanders played a central role in the Corps’ transformation into a first-rate professional army, a transformation that coincided with Watson’s tenure at the 4th Division. Major-General David Watson’s personal accounts offer valuable insights into the innermost workings of the Canadian Corps at various stages during the war and in particular its emergence as an elite fighting force and the pride of a nation.Table of Contents Note on Text Introduction Chapter One: Leaving For France Chapter Two: Initial Shock Chapter Three: Promotions Chapter Four: Divisional Commander Chapter Five: At Vimy Chapter Six: Lens Chapter Seven: Passchendaele Chapter Eight: Preparing for the End Chapter Nine: The Hundred Days Chapter Ten: Belgium and Home

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Book SynopsisBlack Tommies is the first book entirely dedicated to the part played by soldiers of African descent in the British regular army during the First World War. If African colonial troops have been ignored by historians, the existence of any substantial narrative around Black British soldiers enlisting in the United Kingdom during the First World War is equally unknown, even in military circles. Much more material is now coming to light, such as the oral testimony of veterans, and the author has researched widely to gather fresh and original material for this fascinating book from primary documentary sources in archives to private material kept in the metaphorical (and actual) shoe boxes of descendants of black Tommies. Reflecting the global nature of the conflict, Black Tommies takes us on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and North America to the streets of British port cities such as Cardiff, Liverpool and those of North Eastern England. This exciting book also explodes the myth of Second Lieutenant Walter Tull being the first, or only, black officer in the British Army and endeavours to give the narrative of black soldiers a firm basis for future scholars to build upon by tackling an area of British history previously ignored.Trade ReviewReviews 'The book has many strengths, notably the extensive utilization of archival sources and private family letters and images. It also helps to elucidate the operation of social Darwinism in British society and in the military.... I would recommend this book to those interested in such fields as the British Empire, military history, and world history. They will find this book captivating.' Paul Brenard, H-War'This is a well researched and written title on a forgotten part of the Great War and is highly recommended.' Paul Reed, WW1 Centenary'The book has many strengths, notably the extensive utilization of archival sources and private family letters and images....I would recommend this book to those interested in such fields as the British Empire, military history, and world history. They will find this book captivating.' Paul Brenard Chiudza Banda, H-Net Reviews'Costello has produced a well-written, interesting, and pioneering book that will undoubtedly serve as a base for future research on Britain’s black servicemen of the First World War and, one hopes, beyond.' Tim Stapleton, Journal of British Studies‘Costello’s well-researched and engagingly written study shows clearly how, while small in numbers, British born or naturalised black soldiers contributed to the war itself, as well as to life in British ports, and British officers’ perceptions of race during the war years…Costello’s book is engagingly written and will appeal to a wide readership, both inside and outside the academy.’Oliver Coates, Journal of African Military History Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction Chapter One: Whose War? Chapter Two: The Invisible Army-The Search Chapter Three: Black Volunteers-The Empire and Beyond Chapter Four: Black Officers, White Soldiers Chapter Five: The Empire Arrives-Conscription Chapter Six: The Return of the Heroes Epilogue Notes and References

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Book SynopsisBlack Tommies is the first book entirely dedicated to the part played by soldiers of African descent in the British regular army during the First World War. If African colonial troops have been ignored by historians, the existence of any substantial narrative around Black British soldiers enlisting in the United Kingdom during the First World War is equally unknown, even in military circles. Much more material is now coming to light, such as the oral testimony of veterans, and the author has researched widely to gather fresh and original material for this fascinating book from primary documentary sources in archives to private material kept in the metaphorical (and actual) shoe boxes of descendants of black Tommies. Reflecting the global nature of the conflict, Black Tommies takes us on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and North America to the streets of British port cities such as Cardiff, Liverpool and those of North Eastern England. This exciting book also explodes the myth of Second Lieutenant Walter Tull being the first, or only, black officer in the British Army and endeavours to give the narrative of black soldiers a firm basis for future scholars to build upon by tackling an area of British history previously ignored.Trade ReviewReviews 'The book has many strengths, notably the extensive utilization of archival sources and private family letters and images. It also helps to elucidate the operation of social Darwinism in British society and in the military.... I would recommend this book to those interested in such fields as the British Empire, military history, and world history. They will find this book captivating.' Paul Brenard, H-War'This is a well researched and written title on a forgotten part of the Great War and is highly recommended.' Paul Reed, WW1 Centenary'The book has many strengths, notably the extensive utilization of archival sources and private family letters and images....I would recommend this book to those interested in such fields as the British Empire, military history, and world history. They will find this book captivating.' Paul Brenard Chiudza Banda, H-Net Reviews'Costello has produced a well-written, interesting, and pioneering book that will undoubtedly serve as a base for future research on Britain’s black servicemen of the First World War and, one hopes, beyond.' Tim Stapleton, Journal of British Studies‘Costello’s well-researched and engagingly written study shows clearly how, while small in numbers, British born or naturalised black soldiers contributed to the war itself, as well as to life in British ports, and British officers’ perceptions of race during the war years…Costello’s book is engagingly written and will appeal to a wide readership, both inside and outside the academy.’Oliver Coates, Journal of African Military History Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction Chapter One: Whose War? Chapter Two: The Invisible Army-The Search Chapter Three: Black Volunteers-The Empire and Beyond Chapter Four: Black Officers, White Soldiers Chapter Five: The Empire Arrives-Conscription Chapter Six: The Return of the Heroes Epilogue Notes and References

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Book SynopsisCovering the period from the Armistice to 1939, the book examines the experiences of Irish soldiers who had fought in the British army in the First World War on returning home to what became the Irish Free State. At the onset of the War, southern Irishmen volunteered in large numbers and marched off accompanied by cheering crowds and the promise of a hero’s welcome home. In 1916, while its soldiers fought in the British army, Ireland witnessed an insurrection against British rule, the Easter Rising. Ireland’s soldiers returned to a much-changed country, which no longer recognised their motives for fighting and which was at war with the country in whose army they had served. It has long been believed that the returning soldiers were subject to intimidation by the IRA, some killed as a retrospective punishment for their service with the imperial power, and that they formed a marginalised group in Irish society. Using new sources, this enlightening book argues otherwise and examines their successful integration into Irish society in the interwar years and the generous support given to them by the British Government. Far from being British loyalists, many served in the IRA and the Free State army, and became republican supporters.Trade ReviewReviews 'A very timely subject for study based on extremely impressive archival research.' Marie Coleman, Queen's University Belfast'Paul Taylor'sHeroes or Traitors?is an incredibly important book. In the scale of his research he has gone very far beyond the scope and depth of previous studies to produce a volume which will change our view of how First World War veterans fared in the south of Ireland.'Richard Grayson'[Taylor] poses important questions about the role historians and journalists can play in creating a false public consciousness, even a guilt complex, about the past.' Pádraig Yeates, Dublin Review of Books'Taylor's study is to be congratulated for bringing this timely topic to light, and it is no criticism to suggest that his work brings many more questions to the fore. Taylor's work will be considered as the foundation for this future research to build upon.' Michael Robinson, Liverpool Postgraduate Journal of Irish Studies'It has become commonplace to suggest that Irishmen who fought in that war were forgotten and that on return to Ireland many of them were persecuted. Paul Taylor’s Heroes or Traitors is a welcome corrective to that narrative.'Irish Economic and Social History'This is an important contribution to the study of post-World War I Ireland. The author argues strongly that the returning ex-servicemen did not face violence, persecution and social exclusion because of their service, and counters the previously accepted view about the treatment of these men. In so doing Taylor presents a more nuanced understanding of how these men were treated, and his book is a substantial contribution to the debate. It is difficult to argue with his conclusion – they were neither heroes nor traitors.'Patrick McCarthy, Irish Sword'Paul Taylor’s book is the first devoted to following the men who survived the horrors of the fields of France, the trenches of Flanders, or further afield, only to return to an Ireland transformed and in the midst of a new and very different conflict.'Brian Hughes, Journal of Social History Table of Contents Biographical Notes Glossary/Terms Abbreviations INTRODUCTION Ex-Servicemen and their place in Irish History Irish Soldiers: Who were they? PART I TIME OF CONFLICT: 1919 - 1923 1. Violence and Intimidation Records of the Perpetrators Records of the Victims 2. Were Ex-Servicemen Targeted? Patterns of Violence Loyalists and Republicans The Case against Ex-Servicemen being Targeted PART ll BRITAIN: LEGACY OF OBLIGATION 1919 – 1939 3. An Imperial Obligation Employment - The Able Bodied Employment - The Disabled Employment - Transitional Arrangements and Post 1922 Pensions and Health - The Physically Disabled Pensions and Health - The Mentally Disabled Pensions and Health – Ex-Servicemen in the Free State Army Claims and Compensation Emigration Allocation of Land 4. Homes for Heroes Rental Policy and Rent Strikes Supreme Court Rulings and the Struggle to Reassert Authority Treatment of Widows and the Disabled Begrudging Gratitude PART III Ireland: State and Community: 1922 -1939 5. Equal Citizens of the State Attitude of the Government – Relationship with the Trust Attitude of the Government – Reaction to Grievances Attitude of the Government - The Political Context Government and Employment Ex-Servicemen in Politics The Courts and Judiciary The Armed Forces Commemoration and Remembrance 6. Integration into the Community Employment and Housing Discrimination Support and Integration Ex-Servicemen’s Associations Newspapers CONCLUSION Heroes or Traitors? Appendix: Sources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisChallenges the tired orthodoxy that the Church of England had a bad First World War. In telling the story of the Church and its people in Colchester, a garrison town, Robert Beaken enlivens our understanding of the First World War - not only as a clash of mighty forces, but also at a personal and communal level.'The Very Rev. Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster The Church of England is popularly believed to have had a bad First World War. This book challenges that tired orthodoxy. It examines the relationship between parish churches and the Army during the war, using the important garrison town of Colchester as a case study. Colchester in 1914-18 was a microcosm both of English society and of the Church of England, in all their diversity. The presence of the Army also meant that wartime experiences and trends which were noticeable elsewhere in England were sharply felt in Colchester. For the generation of Britons who lived through the Great War, Christianity was an important part of their culture, world view and, in many instances, personal lives. To understand life on the home front during the war, it is vital to understand the part played by Christianity, and particularly by the parishes of the Church of England. With the help of newly discovered archival material, this book reassesses the relations between clergy, soldiers and civilians to show that, contrary to widely-held belief, the clergy and their parishioners responded to the crisis of 1914-18 with courage, common sense and self-sacrifice: their ministry kept much of the population going during the Great War. ROBERT BEAKEN is parish priest of St Mary the Virgin, Great Bardfield,and St Katharine, Little Bardfield, in Essex. He holds a PhD from King's College, London, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of seven works, including Cosmo Lang: Archbishop in War and Crisis(2012).Trade ReviewBeaken.an Anglican priest and a resident of Essex.writes with a denizen's eye for detail and a scientific interest in accuracy..A pleasure to read. * HEYTHROP JOURNAL *A well-researched and written account of how the Church of England carried out its wartime duties. It will be of interest to military, social and family historians to better understand life during that time. * ESSEX SOCIETY FOR FAMILY HISTORY *Beaken's research is immense . . . and his writing is accessible and attractive, a combination that makes for an absorbing read. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *A well-researched and written account... [Beaken] shows a generally excellent and up-to-date sense of the wider historiography of the British home front during World War I. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *Robert Beaken shows how the Church of England typically responded to mass casualties and civilian privations. His careful research demonstrates the response to have been much better than popularly painted. * THE TIMES 'Must-read military books of the year' (The Right Rev. Nigel Stock) *Dr Beaken's dual background as an Essex parish priest and historian, allow him to paint an informed and critical, but generally sympathetic picture of the work of the Anglican clergy and laity during the war. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *If anyone is looking for a way to understand how the Church of England worked for the first half of the twentieth century...this book would be an excellent starting place. * PRAYER BOOK TODAY *An eminently readable work which makes a significant contribution to the on-going reappraisal of the ecclesiastical history of the war while remaining accessible to the interested non-specialist reader. * JOURNAL OF BELIEFS AND VALUES *A captivating account of an extraordinary time in our history. The thoroughness of his research is balanced by warm and endearing personal stories as well as by some wise and helpful reflections on the issues raised. * THE MONTH [The Right Rev. Roger Morris, Bishop of Colchester] *The publishers are to be congratulated on a handsomely produced and clearly printed book, and author and publisher on the excellent illustrations, which admirably complement the text. [A] fine book. * ANGLO-CATHOLIC HISTORY SOCIETY *[Robert Beaken] is to be congratulated for blowing away a myth about the church and the war that has had far too much currency. * CHURCH TIMES *Table of ContentsForeword by Terry Waite CBE The First World War - one hundred years on Colchester Wartime The Clergy The Laity Prayer and Worship The National Mission of Repentance and Hope Thought and Attitudes Armistice, Remembrance, and Aftermath The Church of England and the First World War Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe story of Allied victory in the Holy Land, far from the carnage of the Western Front but a crucial, morale-boosting success under the aggressive and forward-thinking General Allenby. Three battles for the control of the key fortress-city of Gaza took place in 1917 between the `British' force [with units from across the Empire, most notably the ANZACs] and the Turks. The Allies were repulsed twice but on theirthird attempt, under the newly appointed General Allenby, a veteran of the Western Front where he was a vocal critic of Haig's command, finally penetrated Turkish lines, captured southern Palestine and, as instructed by Lloyd George, took Jerusalem in time for Christmas, ending 400 years of Ottoman occupation. This third battle, similar in many ways to the contemporaneous fighting in France, is at the heart of this account, with consideration of intelligence, espionage, air-warfare, and diplomatic and political elements, not to mention the logistical and medical aspects of the campaign, particularly water. The generally overlooked Turkish defence, in the face of vastly superior numbers, is also assessed. Far from laying out and executing a pre-ordained plan, Allenby, who is probably still best remembered as T. E. Lawrence's commanding officer in Arabia, was flexible and adaptable, responding to developmentsas they occurred. JOHN D. GRAINGER is the author of numerous books on military history, ranging from the Roman period to the twentieth century.Trade ReviewAn excellent book. * ISRAEL BOOK REVIEW *First-class history. 10/10. * THE GREAT WAR *Grainger's analysis is informed, critical, readable and supported by a wealth of unpublished and printed primary material. [...] Makes good use of soldiers' experiences bringing to life the human dimension to the fighting in southern Palestine. * JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY *Extremely good value as it is, like all books from this publisher, of high quality. [...] The one book on Palestine in the Great War that I would select. * THE BULLETIN OF THE MILITARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY *At last a brilliant detailed work on Palestine which explains the whole campaign and uses the words of the British, Anzac and Turkish forces who were there. An excellent and very informative read. * ARMCHAIR AUCTIONS *Grainger's analysis of battle tactics, from both British and Turkish perspectives, will captivate military buffs. Recommended. * CHOICE *

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Book SynopsisA rethinking of the factors which led to the American entry into the war. The complicated situation which led to the American entry into the First World War in 1917 is often explained from the perspective of public opinion, US domestic politics, or financial and economic opportunity. This book, however,reasserts the importance of diplomats and diplomacy. Based on extensive original research, the book provides a detailed examination of British, German, and American diplomacy in the period 1914-17. It argues that British and German diplomacy in this period followed the same patterns as had been established in the preceding decades. It goes on to consider key issues which concerned diplomats, including the international legality of Britain's economic blockade of Germany, Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare, peace initiatives, and Germany's attempt to manipulate in its favour the long history of distrust in Mexican-American relations. Overall, the book demonstrates thatdiplomats and diplomacy played a key role, thereby providing a fresh and original approach to this crucially important subject. JUSTIN QUINN OLMSTEAD is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Central Oklahoma.Trade ReviewAmid a wide-ranging body of work on US involvement in World War I, Olmstead's book supplies a fresh angle of exploration, predicated not on a series of individual events but on an underlying network of diplomacy that coursed through international relations. Those interested in US diplomatic history or the factors that influenced the United States to enter World War I will find the book especially relevant. -- H-NET REVIEWSTable of ContentsIntroduction Traditions in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy The United States and Britain's Blockade The Diplomacy of U-Boat Warfare The Peace Option Diplomatic Acquisition via Mexico Epilogue Bibliographical Essay Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe First World War has often suffered from comparison to the Second, in terms of both public interest and the significance ascribed to it by scholars in the shaping of modern Britain. This is especially so for the relationship between the Left and these two wars. For the Left, the Second World War can be seen as a time of triumph: a united stand against fascism followed by a landslide election win and a radical, reforming Labour government. The First World War is more complex. Given the gratuitous cost in lives, the failure of a ‘fit country for heroes to live in’ to materialise, the deep recessions and unemployment of the inter-war years, and the botched peace settlements which served only to precipitate another war, the Left has tended to view the conflict as an unmitigated disaster and unpardonable waste. This has led to a tendency on the Left to see the later conflict as the ‘good’ war, fought against an obvious evil, and the earlier conflict as an imperialist blunder; the result of backroom scheming, secret pacts and a thirst for colonies. This book hopes to move away from a concentration on machinations at the elite levels of the labour movement, on events inside Parliament and intellectual developments; there is a focus on less well-visited material.Trade ReviewReviews 'The first substantial text to concentrate on the importance of the patriotic dimension to the political beliefs of labour leaders, members of parliament, and a variety of ethical socialists and Marxists, thereby filling an important gap in the historiography of the British labour movement by exploring the relationship between socialists and patriotism during the Great War.' Keith Gildart, University of Wolverhampton'This is an important contribution to the ever-fascinating subject of the history of the British left with particular attention to the development of the Labor party. It is also timely as we are in the process of marking the centenary of the First World War and how it affected British society. Swift argues convincingly for its significance not only in dramatically changing the nature of the British left but also for sowing the seeds for the post–Second World War welfare state. [...] There is an impressive use of primary sources, both personal and institutional, most notably the records of the War Emergency: Workers National Committee. There are wonderfully detailed accounts of activity in support of the war in constituencies, as well as other war-related events involving the working class and local leaders.' Peter Stansky,Journal of British Studies'Through extensive use of the papers of the War Emergency Workers’ National Committee (WNC) and other trade union papers and journals, Swift offers a fresh look at pressing local concerns about such issues as food and fuel prices, pensions, and housing. He argues persuasively that during the war, the Labour Party gained a broad range of members, adopted a positive view of the role of the British state, and successfully made the case that its vision of the British economy, society, and politics was compatible with the nation’s values, laying the foundation for its achievements after WW II. Summing up: Recommended' A. H. Plunkett, CHOICE‘The study is at its best when it examines the nature of the Labour movement’s war effort, as in the work of the Workers’ National Committee – collecting information, exposing abuses, airing grievances, lobbying the government, demonstrating the value of the Labour Party at local level, keeping the various components of the party working together.’Socialist History'[Smith provides] a useful synopsis of this scholarship for historians not already familiar with it. Where Smith differs from much of this scholarship and where his greatest contribution lies, is in his examination of how Labour's experience of World War I contributed intimately to this transformation of British politics.' Jonathan Weier, Labour/Le Travail'Swift provides an important counter-narartive. [...] Unlike so much of the literature, [Swift] focuses on what the labour movement held in common, rather than on internal differences.' Duncan Bowie, The ChartistTable of ContentsList of Tables and GraphsList of IllustrationsAbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1 ‘If this is to be a jingo, then I am a jingo’ – Labour Patriotism before 19142 ‘I’d sooner blackleg my union than blackleg my country’ – Labour Patriotism, 1914–18 August 1914 The Workers’ National Committee and Labour Support for the War Who Were the Labour Patriots? Workers and Trade Unions Anti-Germanism Labour Heroes3 ‘Middle-class peace men?’– Labour and the Anti-War Agitation Conscription, 1916–18 Wartime Strikes, 1915–18 The Anti-War Movement, 1915–18 The Leeds and Stockholm Conferences4 ‘Our Platform is Broad Enough and our Movement Big Enough’ – The War and Recruits to Labour The Conversion of Liberal and Conservative Elites Labour, Soldiers, and Ex-Servicemen The War and the Appeal to the New Electorate5 ‘The experiments are not found wanting’ – Labour and the Wartime State The Wartime Growth of the British State Labour and the Workers during the War The Impact of the War on the Relationship between the British Left and the State6 ‘The greatest democratic force British politics have known’ – Labour Cohesion and the War The Trade Unions and the Labour Party Labour and Women’s Organisations The Co-operative Movement and Labour Socialist Societies and the Labour Party The Rise and Decline of the Ultra-PatriotsConclusionBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisIn a time of great need for Britain, a small coterie of influential businessmen gained access to secret information on industrial mobilisation as advisers to the Principal Supply Officers Committee. They provided the state with priceless advice, but, as “insiders” utilised their access to information to build a business empire at a fraction of the normal costs. Outsiders, in contrast, lacked influence and were forced together into a defensive “ring” – or cartel – which effectively fixed prices for British warships. By the 1930s, the cartel grew into one of the most sophisticated profiteering groups of its day. This book examines the relationship between the private naval armaments industry, businessmen, and the British government defence planners between the wars. It reassesses the concept of the military-industrial complex through the impact of disarmament upon private industry, the role of leading industrialists in supply and procurement policy, and the successes and failings of government organisation. It blends together political, naval, and business history in new ways, and, by situating the business activities of industrialists alongside their work as government advisors, sheds new light on the operation of the British state. This is the story of how these men profited while effectively saving the National Government from itself.

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Book SynopsisDuring the First World War approximately 210,000 Irish men and a much smaller, but significant, number of Irish women served in the British armed forces. All were volunteers and a very high proportion were from Catholic and Nationalist communities. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of Irish recruitment between 1914 and 1918 for the island of Ireland as a whole. It makes extensive use of previously neglected internal British army recruiting returns held at The National Archives, Kew, along with other valuable archival and newspaper sources.There has been a tendency to discount the importance of political factors in Irish recruitment, but this book demonstrates that recruitment campaigns organised under the auspices of the Irish National Volunteers and Ulster Volunteer Force were the earliest and some of the most effective campaigns run throughout the war. The British government conspicuously failed to create an effective recruiting organisation or to mobilise civic society in Ireland. While the military mobilisation which occurred between 1914 and 1918 was the largest in Irish history, British officials persistently characterised it as inadequate, threatening to introduce conscription in 1918.This book also reflects on the disparity of sacrifice between North-East Ulster and the rest of Ireland, urban and rural Ireland, and Ireland and Great Britain.Trade ReviewReviews'This is a tremendously important and academically rigorous book, which will come to be seen as a seminal text in the study of Ireland's First World War. It punctures a number of myths about recruitment, and also has significant relevance to wider studies of the Irish Revolution.'Professor Richard S. Grayson, Goldsmiths, University of London'The book offers a fertile breeding ground for further studies. It represents a valuable historiographical contribution through its engagement with nationalist and unionist responses to the war effort.'Emmanuel Destenay, Journal of British Studies‘This is a fine piece of scholarship. It significantly advances our understanding of recruiting in Ireland in 1914–18, and sheds light on the wider British war effort as well.' Gary Sheffield, English Historical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction1. ‘Gone for a Soldier’: Irish Recruitment to the British Armed Forces, 1903-19142. ‘They could only look for a moderate success’: Recruiting in the South and West of Ireland3. For Empire, Ulster or Ireland? Recruiting in Ulster4. Bureaucracy, Propaganda and the Conscription Crisis5. ‘The only privilege we have’: Wartime Officer Appointment6. A Divided Kingdom: Comparisons of British and Irish RecruitingConclusion

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Book SynopsisIn a time of great need for Britain, a small coterie of influential businessmen gained access to secret information on industrial mobilisation as advisers to the Principal Supply Officers Committee. They provided the state with priceless advice, but, as “insiders” utilised their access to information to build a business empire at a fraction of the normal costs. Outsiders, in contrast, lacked influence and were forced together into a defensive “ring” – or cartel – which effectively fixed prices for British warships. By the 1930s, the cartel grew into one of the most sophisticated profiteering groups of its day. This book examines the relationship between the private naval armaments industry, businessmen, and the British government defence planners between the wars. It reassesses the concept of the military-industrial complex through the impact of disarmament upon private industry, the role of leading industrialists in supply and procurement policy, and the successes and failings of government organisation. It blends together political, naval, and business history in new ways, and, by situating the business activities of industrialists alongside their work as government advisors, sheds new light on the operation of the British state. This is the story of how these men profited while effectively saving the National Government from itself.

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Book SynopsisRecent discussion, academic publications and many of the national exhibitions relating to the Great War at sea have focussed on capital ships, Jutland and perhaps U-boats. Very little has been published about the crucial role played by fishermen, fishing vessels and coastal communities all round the British Isles. Yet fishermen and armed fishing craft were continually on the maritime front line throughout the conflict; they formed the backbone of the Auxiliary Patrol and were in constant action against-U-boats or engaged on unrelenting minesweeping duties. Approximately 3000 fishing vessels were requisitioned and armed by the Admiralty and more than 39,000 fishermen joined the Trawler Section of the Royal Naval Reserve. The class and cultural gap between working fishermen and many RN officers was enormous. This book examines the multifaceted role that fishermen and the fish trade played throughout the conflict. It examines the reasons why, in an age of dreadnoughts and other high-tech military equipment, so many fishermen and fishing vessels were called upon to play such a crucial role in the littoral war against mines and U-boats, not only around the British Isles but also off the coasts of various other theatres of war. It will analyse the nature of the fishing industry’s war-time involvement and also the contribution that non-belligerent fishing vessels continued to play in maintaining the beleaguered nation’s food supplies.Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter One: Fish and Naval Forces: The Edwardian BackgroundChapter Two: 1914: The Early Months of the WarChapter Three: The Trawler Reserve and Minesweeping: January 1915 to December 1917Chapter Four: Offensive ActionsChapter Five: Fighting OverseasChapter Six: Fishing During the Great WarChapter Seven: 1918: Mine Sweeping and Anti-Submarine Operations during the Final YearChapter Eight: The AftermathEpilogue: Contribution and Cost

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Book SynopsisDuring the First World War approximately 210,000 Irish men and a much smaller, but significant, number of Irish women served in the British armed forces. All were volunteers and a very high proportion were from Catholic and Nationalist communities. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of Irish recruitment between 1914 and 1918 for the island of Ireland as a whole. It makes extensive use of previously neglected internal British army recruiting returns held at The National Archives, Kew, along with other valuable archival and newspaper sources.There has been a tendency to discount the importance of political factors in Irish recruitment, but this book demonstrates that recruitment campaigns organised under the auspices of the Irish National Volunteers and Ulster Volunteer Force were the earliest and some of the most effective campaigns run throughout the war. The British government conspicuously failed to create an effective recruiting organisation or to mobilise civic society in Ireland. While the military mobilisation which occurred between 1914 and 1918 was the largest in Irish history, British officials persistently characterised it as inadequate, threatening to introduce conscription in 1918.This book also reflects on the disparity of sacrifice between North-East Ulster and the rest of Ireland, urban and rural Ireland, and Ireland and Great Britain.Trade ReviewReviews'This is a tremendously important and academically rigorous book, which will come to be seen as a seminal text in the study of Ireland's First World War. It punctures a number of myths about recruitment, and also has significant relevance to wider studies of the Irish Revolution.'Professor Richard S. Grayson, Goldsmiths, University of London'The book offers a fertile breeding ground for further studies. It represents a valuable historiographical contribution through its engagement with nationalist and unionist responses to the war effort.'Emmanuel Destenay, Journal of British Studies‘This is a fine piece of scholarship. It significantly advances our understanding of recruiting in Ireland in 1914–18, and sheds light on the wider British war effort as well.' Gary Sheffield, English Historical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction1. ‘Gone for a Soldier’: Irish Recruitment to the British Armed Forces, 1903-19142. ‘They could only look for a moderate success’: Recruiting in the South and West of Ireland3. For Empire, Ulster or Ireland? Recruiting in Ulster4. Bureaucracy, Propaganda and the Conscription Crisis5. ‘The only privilege we have’: Wartime Officer Appointment6. A Divided Kingdom: Comparisons of British and Irish RecruitingConclusion

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Book SynopsisThe diary of an officer in the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers covering 1914-19 and four theatres of war. Noël Drury (1884-1975) was from a middle-class Dublin Protestant family and served most of the First World War as an officer in the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the 10th (Irish) Division. The division was the first of Ireland's wartime volunteer formations to be posted overseas, arriving at Gallipoli in August 1915 in the Suvla Bay landings. Drury and his battalion experienced several key phases of the Gallipoli campaign before being redeployed to Salonika in October 1915. Drury was away from his battalion for a year in 1916-17 suffering from malaria, but rejoined in Palestine towards the end of 1917. From there his battalion was sent to the Western Front in the summer of 1918 to take part in the Hundred Days Offensive. Drury's diaries describe training, daily life, contrasting theatres of the war, and show what it meant to be an Irish officer in the British army.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Volunteering and Training, September 1914-July 1915 2 The Voyage to the Dardanelles, July-August 1915 3 Gallipoli: Landing at Suvla Bay and the Next Ten Days, 7-17 August 1915 4 Gallipoli: Digging In, 18 August-October 1915 5 The Serbian Front and the Battle of Kosturino, October-December 1915 6 The Salonika Front and Hospital, December 1915-September 1917 7 Egypt and Palestine, September-December 1917 8 Defending Jerusalem and the Battle of Tell 'Asur, December 1917-July 1918 9 France, July-11 November 1918 10 Armistice, 12 November 1918-11 March 1919 Appendices Biographies Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe First World War changed the dynamics of the European intellectual landscape in terms of international collaboration, the development of disciplines and new institutional visions. The conflict not only destroyed much of Europe's material cultural heritage, it also damaged the 19th-century humanist conception of the function of thought and problematised the position of the thinker in society. What is the intellectuals task in a time of destruction and death? This book spotlights the ways in which the war redrew the map of knowledge production and changed traditional paradigms, fundamentally altering the approach to intellectual work. Thinking became more democratic and specialised, with a range of voices tackling specific problems created by the war, but now more conspicuously related to particular causes. The focus on the viewpoints of the 1914-1918 intellectual cadre throws into perspective the ways in which the war changed the contents, methods and organisation of intellectual work. Part One looks at the war as an object of study; Part Two explores the methodological challenges the war entailed; and Part Three sheds light on the ways in which the conflict and its aftermath redrew the map of collaborative intellectual networks. The case-studies come from different disciplines and cover a range of contexts, from German engineering to British wartime periodicals. Revisiting the early 20th-century intellectual situation not only enriches our understanding of the dynamics of the Great War, it also assists in repositioning the role of the intellectual in the 21st century.

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Book SynopsisThe Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was created shortly after the outbreak of war. The idea of the unit's founder, Philip J. Baker, was that it would provide young Friends (Quakers) with the opportunity to serve their country without sacrificing their pacifist principles. The first volunteers went to Belgium on 31 October 1914, under the auspices of the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The FAU made a sustained contribution to the military medical services of the Allied nations, establishing military hospitals, running ambulance convoys, and staffing hospital ships and ambulance trains, treating and transporting wounded men. Determined to bring succour to all those in need, the FAU also assisted civilians trapped in the war zone and living in desperate circumstances. Nowhere was this more acute than in the besieged and battered town of Ypres where thousands sheltered in the underground passage-ways of the towns ancient fortifications -- a subterranean population, 'hopeless, often lightless,' wrote Geoffrey Young, the Units young field commander, living on what they might and breeding disease. The Unit provided hospitals for the treatment of civilians, and worked intensively in the containment and treatment of the typhoid epidemic that swept the region, locating sufferers, providing them with medical care, and inoculating people against the disease. It played a major role in the purification of the town's contaminated drinking water, distributed milk for infants and food and clothing to the sick and needy. It helped found orphanages, made provision for schooling and organised gainful employment for refugees until, finally, it became responsible for the definitive evacuations of the civilian population.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War saw almost 100,000 German Jews wear the uniform of the Imperial army; some 12,000 of these soldiers lost their lives in battle. Over the last century, public memory of their sacrifice has been very gradually subsumed into the much greater catastrophe of the Holocaust. This book focuses on the multifaceted ways in which these Jewish soldiers have variously been remembered and forgotten from 1914 through until the late 1970s. During and immediately after the conflict, Germany’s Jewish population were active participants in a memory culture that honoured the war dead as national heroes. With the decline of the Weimar Republic and the National Socialists’ rise to power, however, the public commemoration of the Jewish soldiers gradually faded, as Germany’s Jewish communities were systematically destroyed by the Nazi regime. It was only in the late 1950s that both Jews and other Germans began to rediscover and to re-remember this largely neglected group. By examining Germany’s complex and continually evolving memory culture, this book opens up a new approach to the study of both German and German-Jewish history. In doing so, it draws out a narrative of entangled and overlapping relations between Jews and non-Jews during the short twentieth century. The Jewish / non-Jewish relationship, the book argues, did not end on the battlefields of the First World War, but ran much deeper to extend through into the era of the Cold War.Trade ReviewA fine addition to our understanding of German Jewish history in the period of the First World War and in its aftermath, full of clearly written and interesting detail and impressive research. Jay WinterGrady’s book presents many illuminating examples and carefully chosen quotations. The six chapters are clearly structured and draw upon a broad base of original source material, including newspapers, personal memoirs, and official documents from communal archives. Matthias Hambrock, The American Historical Review, vol 117, no 5In his study, Grady has provided a commendable contribution to the history of the Jewish war veterans in Germany, in particular during the interwar years. He illustrates the opinions of both non-Jewish Germans towards their Jewish fellow-citizens as well as Jewish interpretations of their own position in contemporary German history. Klaus-Peter Friedrich, Zeitschrift fur Geschichtswissenschaft, 61 Jahrgan, Heft 4This is a thought-provoking book. Many readers will remember their fathers’ participation in the First World War and the medals they earned and wore with pride. Alas, although they had hoped that these medals would protect them once the Nazis came to power, this was not to be. I should add that this book is written entirely with West Germany in mind. In East Germany (the DDR), where culpability for the Nazi crimes was never acknowledged, it would have been a very different story.Leslie Baruch Brent, Association of Jewish Refugees, Volume 12, No. 2Table of Contents List of Abbreviations List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Dying: War, Mutilation and Mass Death, 1914-1918 2. Mourning: Defeat, Revolution and Memorialisation, 1918-1923 3. Commemorating: War Veterans, Ritual and Remembrance, 1923-1929 4. Forgetting: Nazism, Front Fighters and Destruction, 1929-1945 5. Discovering: War Victims, War Crimes and Reconstruction, 1945-1960 6. Embracing: The Growth of Holocaust Awareness and Acknowledgement of the Jewish Soldiers, 1960-1980 Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn the midst of the First World War concern arose as to the virtues of pursuing intoxication at a time of national emergency. As the military front was supposedly let down by drinkers and shirkers at home, attention quickly turned to British drinking practices. Britain, it seemed, was under the duress of a widespread addiction to boozing. When prohibition was deemed too extreme to contemplate, and nationalisation too impractical, the government created an organisation known as the Central Control Board (CCB). This body soon set about reforming the drinking habits of a nation. Loved by a few, but disliked by most, this group was responsible for the most radical and unique experiment in alcohol control ever conducted in Britain. The story of the CCB, how and why it was formed, its history and its legacy upon the British war effort are told within Pubs and Patriots: The Drink Crisis in Britain during World War One.Trade ReviewA well-written, interesting and authoritative account, based upon some strong historical research ... [that] adds to our understanding both of the drink question in the twentieth century and of our knowledge of the First World War. John GreenawayOne feels certain that comprehensive, richly detailed, and tightly focused works such as Duncan’s Pubs and Patriots will one day enable somebody to accomplish that long awaited feat. Peter Hynd, Histoire sociale / Social HistoryTable of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1. A Tale of Temperance and Drink 1870–1914 2. Vodka, Absinthe and Drunkenness on Britain’s Streets in 1914: A Tale of Fear and Exaggeration? 3. Best Laid Plans? Lloyd George and the Drink Question 4. Restrictive or Constructive? The Early Stages of the Central Control Board 5. The Carlisle Experiment: Lord D’Abernon’s ‘Model Farm’ 6. ‘Helping our weaker sisters to go straight’: Women and Drink during the War 7. Reforming the Working Man 8. State Purchase and the Waning of the Central Control Board Conclusion: The End of the Central Control Board Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe First World War has been described as the first total war, a conflict in which a country’s people and resources were harnessed towards final victory. During 2014-18 Historic England set out to uncover and study the physical remains left across England by the First World War. The range of what was discovered is astonishing, reflecting how the home front became as important as the battlefront. It was the place to train and equip new armies, to manufacture armaments, to treat the wounded and to grow more food. As millions of men joined the armed forces, women entered the workforce in munitions factories, as tram and bus conductresses and as farm workers. Archaeological remains can be found of practice trench lines, munitions works, government factories, army and PoW camps, airfields and airship stations. But England was also drawn into the fighting as German warships and submarines bombarded coastal towns, and Zeppelin airships and later bomber aircraft brought death from the sky. The threat of invasion saw the construction of defences down the east and south coasts. Ships and smaller vessels were lost to mines, torpedoes and gunfire, and on the sea bed work is beginning to explore the wrecks from this almost forgotten battlefield. A century later many traces of this great endeavour survive. This new book brings together these discoveries and helps to mark the contribution and sacrifice not only of those who served in the armed forces, but also of those who provided support, in myriad ways, on the home front. Trade Review'In this superbly produced book, experts from Historic England have used a variety of tools to locate, identify and document physical evidence of the conflict. The result is remarkable and represents a definitive guide to most of what is left. Beautifully reproduced photographs are accompanied by explanatory text to provide a full explanation of each site and context... This book stands out as truly exceptional.' Phil Curme, The Western Front Association'This is an outstanding and distinguished centennial contribution to World War I studies, of which the editors, contributors and the publishers... can all be justifiably proud. Handsomely and profusely illustrated, it portrays in immense detail the hugely significant but all-too-often overlooked homeland background to a war.' Geoffrey Stell, Industrial Archaeology ReviewTable of Contents1. Introduction - Sir Hew Strachan 2. The army - Peter Kendall 3. The naval war - Serena Cant and Mark Dunkley 4. Defending the coast - Paul Pattison and Roger J C Thomas 5. The aerial war - Jeremy Lake 6. The workshop of the world goes to war - Wayne Cocroft 7. Civic and civilian architecture - Katie Carmichael 8. Feeding the nation - Paul Stamper 9. Back to Blighty: British war hospitals, 1914–18 – Kathryn A Morrison 10. Remembering the dead - Roger Bowdler 11. Epilogue - Wayne Cocroft and Paul Stamper

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Book SynopsisIn the long and absorbing history of Britain's railways and the men and women who have worked on them, the most challenging years were those of the two world wars. Neither of these wars could have been won without the railways. Transportation of everything that was grown, made or mined, as well as soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians was largely the task of the railways. Yet the contribution of railways, and railway men and women in wartime has often been overlooked. This book pays tribute to the way the railways and their staff responded to the demand that they do more with fewer resources. They were called upon to cope with the extraordinary change in the character and volume of passenger and goods traffic, to endure dangerously long hours, and to overcome fear. Small wayside stations could be transformed into a frenzy of activity by the location of a camp or supply depot on its doorstep. Disruption through bomb damage could turn the shift of locomotive crew or guard into an indefinite wait for relief. The railway companies built many and various memorials to honour their fallen workers - these monuments, created and designed by high-calibre sculptors and architects, are included within the book's gazetteer. The book inevitably includes many statistics as well as dates, but it is impossible to comprehend the magnitude of the railway's contribution to the wars without them. The focus is on the railways of Britain, but sketches of the overseas theatres give some idea of the work of railway construction and operating companies, which were largely made up of railwaymen.Trade ReviewReviews'Books about the railways' work in the World Wars usually deal with just one of them: this covers both, yet it encompasses remarkable detail [...] Despite this volume's relatively small size, it conveys brilliantly the sacrifices made by our railways in text and well-chosen illustrations: warmly recommended.' Philip Scowcroft, Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical SocietyTable of ContentsTo follow

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Book SynopsisWhy did Asquith take Britain to war in 1914? What did educated young men believe their role should be? What was it like to fly over the Somme battlefield? How could a trench on the front line be ‘the safest place’? These compelling eye-witness accounts convey what it was really like to experience the first two years of the war up until the fall of Asquith’s government, without the benefit of hindsight or the accumulated wisdom of a hundred years of discussion and writing. Using the rich manuscript resources of the Bodleian Libraries, the book features key extracts from letters and diaries of members of the Cabinet, academic and literary figures, student soldiers and a village rector. The letters of politicians reveal the strain of war leadership and throw light on the downfall of Asquith in 1916, while the experiences of the young Harold Macmillan in the trenches, vividly described in letters home, marked the beginning of his road to Downing Street. It was forbidden to record Cabinet discussions, but Lewis Harcourt’s unauthorised diary provides a window on Asquith’s government, complete with character sketches of some of the leading players, including Winston Churchill. Meanwhile, in one Essex village, the local rector compiled a diary to record the impact of war on his community. These fascinating contemporary papers paint a highly personal and immediate picture of the war as it happened. Fear, anger, death and sorrow are always present, but so too are idealism, excitement, humour, boredom and even beauty.

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Book SynopsisFountain-Pens - The Super-Pen for Our Super-Men Ladies! Learn To Drive! Your Country Needs Women Drivers! Do you drink German water? When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, companies wasted no time in seizing the commercial opportunities presented by the conflict. There was no radio or television. The only way in which the British public could get war news was through newspapers and magazines, many of which recorded rising readerships. Advertising became a new science of sales, growing increasingly sophisticated both in visual terms and in its psychological approach. This collection of pictorial advertisements from the Great War reveals how advertisers were given the opportunity to create new markets for their products and how advertising reflected social change during the course of the conflict. It covers a wide range of products, including trench coats, motor-cycles, gramophones, cigarettes and invalid carriages, all bringing an insight into the preoccupations, aspirations and necessities of life between 1914 and 1918. Many advertisements were aimed at women, be it for guard-dogs to protect them while their husbands were away, or soap and skin cream for ‘beauty on duty’. At the same time, men’s tailoring evolved to suit new conditions. Aquascutum advertised ‘Officers’ Waterproof Trench Coats’ and one officer, writing in the Times in December 1914, advised others to leave their swords behind but to take their Burberry coat. Sandwiched between the formality of the Victorian era and the hedonism of the 1920s, these charged images provide unexpected sources of historical information, affording an intimate glimpse into the emotional life of the nation during the First World War.

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Book SynopsisThis revised guide to the Canadian battlefields of the First World War in France and Belgium offers a brief, critical history of the war and of Canada's contribution, drawing attention to the best recent books on the subject. It focuses on the Ypres Salient, Passchendaele, Vimy, and the "Hundred Days" battles and considers lesser-known battlefields as well. Battle maps, contemporary maps, photographs, war art, and tourist information enhance the reader experience. In addition to its new look, this second edition features new photographs, maps, and a more-detailed history section. A new "Walking the Battlefields" feature allows visitors to follow the path of Canadian troops as they fought at Ypres, the St. Eloi Craters, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Bourlon Wood through detailed maps and unit-level text. The tour sections and references have also been updated to reflect recent developments in writing about the Great War in Canada. The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) at Wilfrid Laurier University exists to foster research, education, and discussion of historical and contemporary conflict. This publication was generously funded by John and Pattie Cleghorn.Table of ContentsTable of Contents for Canadian Battlefields of the First World War: A Visitor's Guide by Terry Copp, Mark Humphries, Nick Lachance, Caitlin McWilliams, and Matt Symes Preface to the Second Edition HISTORY Canada at War England and France 1915 Flanders Fields 1915-1916 Festubert adn Givenchy St. Eloi Craters 1916 Mount Sorrel 1916 The Somme Vimy and the Arras Offensive Passchendaele 1917 Cambrai 1917 The German Spring Offensive 1918 The Battle of Amiens The Hundred Days: Arras to Mons 1918 TOUR Notes on Battlefield Touring Touring Flanders Walking the Battlefields: Kitchener's Wood Touring the Somme Walking the Battlefields: Desire Trench Touring Vimy Walking the Battlefields: 3rd Division at Vimy Ridge Touring Passchendaele Touring Amiens Touring Arras and Cambrai Walking the Battlefields: Bourlon Wood Touring Valenciennes to Mons APPENDICES Official First World War Canadian Memorials Online Resources and Image Credits

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Book SynopsisIn August 1918 a Massachusetts-born woman named Margaret Hall boarded a transport ship in New York City that would take her across the Atlantic to work with the American Red Cross in France, then in the devastating grips of the First World War. Working at a canteen at a railroad junction close to the Western Front, Hall aided soldiers from both Allied and Axis nations. While there she was regularly forced to seek shelter from German bombardments. After the Armistice, Hall explored the destruction of the surrounding region; her diary entries, letters, and photos reveal a world of ruins and human remains.After Hall returned to the United States, she wrote a memoir that she shared privately with friends and family. Published here for the first time, Hall’s words offer a first-hand account of life on the Western Front in those last months of the war and its immediate aftermath. Balancing her deeply held convictions about the horror of this conflict with both wry humor and a sense of urgency, Hall’s narrative gives the reader an unusually immediate and individualized testimony, one that rivals those of similar but better-known war memoirs, such as those by Vera Brittain and Edith Wharton.The book features dozens of Hall’s striking and never-before-published photographs, including of the movement of troops through town, women working just behind the front lines, and the landscape left when the war was “over.” The pairing of Hall’s remarkable images with her vivid reporting results in an invaluable, and uniquely personal, account of one of the most cataclysmic events in history.

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Book SynopsisIn this heartfelt memoir, Maria Wallisfurth recounts the lives of her deaf parents in Germany from the turn of the twentieth century through World War II. Her mother, Maria Giefer, was born in 1897 and her father, Wilhelm Sistermann, was born in 1896. The author captures the seasonal rhythms and family life of her mother's youth in rural Germany, a time filled as much with hardship as it is with love. When she is old enough, she moves to the nearby city of Aachen to attend a school for deaf children, where she learns to lipread and speak. After her schooling is complete, she returns home to work on the family farm and experiences the privations and fear that accompany World War I. She later goes back to Aachen, where she joins a deaf club and falls in love with Wilhelm, a painter and photographer who was raised in the city. Amidst high unemployment, food shortages, and rapid inflation, the two are married in 1925 and two years later the author is born. Under the Nazi regime, Maria and Wilhelm are ordered to undergo forced sterilization. Although their deafness is not hereditary and they submit applications of protest, they are compelled to comply with the law. Despite their dissimilar backgrounds and the political circumstances that roiled their lives, the author's parents showed great love for each other and their only daughter. The Stories They Told Me is a richly detailed document of time and place and a rare account of deaf lives during this era.

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Book SynopsisGerman Ways of War deploys theories of space, mobility, and affect to investigate how war films realize their political projects. Analyzing films across the decades, from the 1910s to 2000s, German Ways of War addresses an important lacuna in media studies: while scholars have tended to focus on the similarities between cinematic looking and weaponized targeting -- between shooting a camera and discharging a gun – this book argues that war films negotiate spaces throughout that frame their violence in ways more revealing than their battle scenes. Beyond that well-known intersection of visuality and violence, German Ways of War explores how the genre frames violence within spatio-affective operations. The production of novel spaces and evocation of new affects transform war films, including the genre’s manipulation of mobility, landscape, territory, scales, and topological networks. Such effects amount to what author Jaimey Fisher terms the films’ “affective geographies” that interweave narrative-generated affects, spatial depictions, and political processes. Trade Review"German Ways of War is an engaging text that charts out a captivating genre history that extends far beyond its immediate scope of German War films. The book is written as a fascinating account to how warfare changed in the twentieth century. . . The project is meticulously researched and provides invaluable political, historical, and legal documentation regarding war and peace policies in Germany." -- Nora M. Alter * author of Projecting History: German Nonfiction Cinema 1967-2000 *"This original study of exemplary German features probes essential dimensions of war cinema that have received little scholarly attention, its geopolitical determinations, spatial imaginaries, and affective geographies. A major contribution to film history and media studies, German Ways of War offers a comprehensive analysis of the numerous countenances and different functions this generic possibility has assumed in exemplary German productions from World War I to the postmillennial era.” -- Eric Rentschler * author of The Use and Abuse of Cinema: German Legacies from the Weimar Era to the Present *"German Ways of War is an engaging text that charts out a captivating genre history that extends far beyond its immediate scope of German War films. The book is written as a fascinating account to how warfare changed in the twentieth century. . . The project is meticulously researched and provides invaluable political, historical, and legal documentation regarding war and peace policies in Germany." -- Nora M. Alter * author of Projecting History: German Nonfiction Cinema 1967-2000 *"This original study of exemplary German features probes essential dimensions of war cinema that have received little scholarly attention, its geopolitical determinations, spatial imaginaries, and affective geographies. A major contribution to film history and media studies, German Ways of War offers a comprehensive analysis of the numerous countenances and different functions this generic possibility has assumed in exemplary German productions from World War I to the postmillennial era.” -- Eric Rentschler * author of The Use and Abuse of Cinema: German Legacies from the Weimar Era to the Present *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements1. Introduction: The Affective Geographies and Generic Transformations of German War Films, 1910s-2000s2. Land into Landscape, Landscape into Territory: Transformations of Space in German War Cinema, 1914-1918 (The Diary of Dr. Hart, Sword and Hearth, Inexpiable)3. “Landscapes of Death” and Memories of the Human: Distance, Scale, and the Double Map in the First “War-Sound-Film” (Westfront 1918, Kameradschaft)4. Combat Films and their Aerial Spaces under the Nazi Regime (Medal of Honor, Squadron Lützow, Above Everything in the World)5. Out of the War Mode: Demobilizing the War Genre in the Postwar Rubble-Film (Request Concert [1940], The Great Love, Ways into Twilight, The Sons of Mr. Gaspary, Birds of Migration)6. War in the Reconstructive 1950s: Genre, Espionage, and Cold-War Subjectivities in the 1950s War Film (Canaris, Fox of Paris, Rommel Calls Cairo)7. Conclusion: Affective Geographies of the Fading Genre (Das Boot, Downfall)NotesBibliography Index

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Book SynopsisRussia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest chapter in a series of events that have their origins in World War One. The difficult existential questions that emerged before and during this conflict still remain unresolved. Contrary to the claim that wars are not supposed to happen in Europe or that we live in the era of the End of History, the experience of Ukraine highlights the salience of the spell of the past. The failure of the West to take its past seriously has left it confused and unprepared to deal with the current crisis. Unexpectedly fashionable claims about the irrelevance of borders and of nation states have been exposed as shallow myths. The author argues that the West’s self-inflicted condition of historical amnesia has encouraged it to disregard the salience of geo-political realities. Suddenly the once fashionable claims that made up the virtues of globalisation appear threadbare. This problem, which was already evident during the global Covid pandemic has reached a crisis point in the battlefield of Ukraine. History has had its revenge on a culture that believes that what happened in the past no longer matters. The Road To Ukraine: How the West Lost Its Way argues that overcoming the state of historical amnesia is the precondition for the restoration of global solidarity.

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Book SynopsisThough when people discuss World War I, they usually center on the fighting in Europe, it truly was a global war. This book examines the role of East Asia in the conflict. It looks at how East Asian commentators saw and interpreted the war, both in Europe and elsewhere, and what lessons they drew from the experience for their own societies. What influence did World War I have on East Asian visions of the world order? Presenting scholarship by a number of East Asian authors in English for the first time, the book greatly expands our understanding of World War I and its effects.

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Book SynopsisTraces of Modernism surveys the competing social and political visions that marked the transition from the nineteenth century to the twentieth, and the complex relationships and connections between these visions. A host of international contributors consider an extensive range of philosophical and artistic ideologies—from Bauhaus and Italian futurism to plans for totalitarian state-building—that bloomed in the wake of the World War One and the ensuing worldwide revolutions. These ideologies developed amid the uneasy backdrop of new kinds of international cooperation that were periodically punctuated by sharp bursts of fervid nationalism. At the center of each essay in Traces of Modernism stands the image of the machine, a metaphor for technological innovation and new systems of order that stood unfortunately ready for corruption by forces of authoritarianism.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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