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The Great War: A Photographic Narrative
On the occasion of the centenary of World War I in August 2014--an unprecedented, spectacular pictorial history of the first global war in 380 black-and-white photographs, many never seen before, from Imperial War Museums in London.
This monumental, dramatic photographic narrative captures the war from the early arms race that developed around the massing of prewar battleship fleets to the final moments of the conflict with the sinking of the German fleet in Scapa. The photographs span the many battlefronts throughout the from the British Isles to the south Atlantic, across Europe and the Ottoman Empire, Sudan and East Africa, Jerusalem and Damascus. Here are soldiers from across the globe, vast battleships, dirigibles overhead, the streets of London, the first battle of Ypres, German submarines at sea, the beaches of Gallipoli, the battle of Jutland, the battle of the Somme trenches, and much, much more.
This monumental, dramatic photographic narrative captures the war from the early arms race that developed around the massing of prewar battleship fleets to the final moments of the conflict with the sinking of the German fleet in Scapa. The photographs span the many battlefronts throughout the from the British Isles to the south Atlantic, across Europe and the Ottoman Empire, Sudan and East Africa, Jerusalem and Damascus. Here are soldiers from across the globe, vast battleships, dirigibles overhead, the streets of London, the first battle of Ypres, German submarines at sea, the beaches of Gallipoli, the battle of Jutland, the battle of the Somme trenches, and much, much more.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 26, 2014
Gorgeous, heart-rending photos of the Great War, beautifully reproduced. Understandably British-centric, given its IWM provenance. A wonderful book to peruse this centenary year, but the $100 sticker price had me take a trip to the library.
August 8, 2024
The photographers of WWI were masters of their craft.
October 5, 2020
Really great collection of photographs, most of which I hadn't seen before. All the pictures get a caption, but otherwise there's very little writing in the book. Most of the focus is on the British and also the Western Front, but we do get some other images from areas such as Mesopotamia and Macedonia, as well as some of the colonial troops, Canadians, French, Germans and Australians (though these are a minority). The pictures are great quality and clear; I think some excellent examples were chosen. There were some pages that were blank which didn't make sense to me, but other than that this was a very nice book to flip through.
April 29, 2019
It was good with some great pictures and write up and such. It was interesting as this collection was mainly just on the British, French, German and a small amount of Russians in it. I think there were 4-5 pictures that had Americans in it. Considering we really won the war when we entered I figured there would be more pictures of Americans.
February 4, 2021
A stunning visual record of the First World War. The collection was well curated and had its own narrative flow.
February 21, 2014
The quintessential coffee-table book: huge, thick, heavy, glossy. If you’re looking for a gift for your favorite armchair general, look no farther.
Its being a product of research at the Imperial War Museums means that there are those inevitable “iconic” illustrations, but they’re in the minority. If you opened it on the first of January and turned over a leaf every day, you’d run out of year before you ran out of photos. I think my favorite is the one (Q 11538) of a German soldier giving a light to a wounded British soldier: there’s just something about their hands….
In addition to the period photos, there are contemporary color shots of relics, such as the uniform jacket worn by the Archduke on that fatal day in Sarajevo. The captions are informative in themselves, and we get occasional brief essays. There are also timelines scattered throughout, but they include information that’s different to your typical timeline. Every excursion into the book is a learning experience.
The SRP is high-end, but if you shop around, you may find it deeply marked down, as I did. It’s still the most expensive book I’ve ever bought, but the size of the photos means that many small details are visible, and that’s important to me, as a novelist. It was a good investment.
Its being a product of research at the Imperial War Museums means that there are those inevitable “iconic” illustrations, but they’re in the minority. If you opened it on the first of January and turned over a leaf every day, you’d run out of year before you ran out of photos. I think my favorite is the one (Q 11538) of a German soldier giving a light to a wounded British soldier: there’s just something about their hands….
In addition to the period photos, there are contemporary color shots of relics, such as the uniform jacket worn by the Archduke on that fatal day in Sarajevo. The captions are informative in themselves, and we get occasional brief essays. There are also timelines scattered throughout, but they include information that’s different to your typical timeline. Every excursion into the book is a learning experience.
The SRP is high-end, but if you shop around, you may find it deeply marked down, as I did. It’s still the most expensive book I’ve ever bought, but the size of the photos means that many small details are visible, and that’s important to me, as a novelist. It was a good investment.
March 24, 2014
1914 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. 'The War to End All Wars" was like no conflict before, embracing many nations worldwide and resulting in horrifying casualties. THE GREAT WAR, A PHOTOGRAPHIC NARRATIVE commemorates that epic struggle, offering up almost 400 photographs depicting all aspects of the war. The pix depict a myriad of scenes - soldiers on the march, in trenches and in hospitals; battleground scenes; ruined villages; airplanes on the ground and airborne; ships at sea, etc. Holborn and Roberts' book is a comprehensive, compelling visual guide to that terrible conflict.
Mike O. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
January 31, 2014
Of course, it's not a history and really just barely a "narrative" as the subtitle would have it, although each section is preceded by a few pages listing the most important events of the war for that time period. But, an impressive collection of photographs that will help to flesh-out readings of actual histories. Very heavy on the British experience, as expected given the source (the Imperial War Museums) so one hopes that the centenary of the war may bring similar works, especially from the French and German points of view, that are available in the US.
December 31, 2014
This is a great pictorial history, with a lot of unfamiliar images from the First World War. My major quibble would be that the Eastern Front is almost completely absent, as is the Italian Front. It probably would have worked better as a 'Western Front' presentation.
January 30, 2014
Excellent, but I was expecting something more comprehensive.
February 22, 2014
These beautiful photographs do tell the horrific story of WWI from the arms race, to the Russian Revolution, and ending with the silence of November 11th.
February 22, 2014
A gorgeous, surface level, look at The Great War that is so often forgotten.
April 18, 2014
Wonderful pictures. What a nightmare and yet the participants manage to smile and look cheerful. Those pictures are the most heart-wrenching of all.
July 11, 2014
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in WWI. Extremely interesting photographs with some text.
January 4, 2014
A beautiful picture book. Images drawn from the collection of the Imperial War Museums.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews