The Soldiers' Press: Trench Journals in the First World War

by Graham Seal

Through the first comprehensive investigation and analysis of the English language trench periodicals of the First World War, The Soldiers' Press presents a cultural interpretation of the means and methods through which consent was negotiated between the trenches and the home front.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sophie Errington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collective of primary sources. However there is a lot of repetition, the referencing isn't always consistent and often the argument stops only to be continued chapter later ruining the flow quite a bit.

A good book but could do with more editing.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a while, but this is totally interesting from the point of view of a population produces and creates words and pictures not only for their use and amusement, but also to speak on their condition in a theater of war. Given no leash, what would American, British, French, and Australian soldiers wrote about in the trenches of World War I? The need to be home, sure, but also the need to communicate just how crappy the war actually was, a counterpoint to government propaganda.

Filled with prose and the occasional drawing, I'd actually recommend this for not only WWI buffs, but people who are interested in what unfettered creativity under looming death looked like. The dark humor, the memorable ditties, the slang...all of that. Also, I read intently the chapter on national identity and racial belonging, and while there was talk of the denigrated American Indian and the politics of New Zealand troops who weren't largely white, there was no mention whatsoever of African-descended soldiers or even their appearance in war.