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1914
Until hostilities opened in early August, 1914, humanity had never borne witness to a conflagration the likes of the Great War. Political alliances, pitting empire against empire, saw Europe plunged into a horrific and savage conflict that drew in millions of young men from all walks of life, on all sides.
In '1914', follow the stories of nine such men, those they fight with, and some they meet along the way, as all struggle to survive the slaughter of the Great War's first months.
In '1914', follow the stories of nine such men, those they fight with, and some they meet along the way, as all struggle to survive the slaughter of the Great War's first months.
650 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2014
17 people are currently reading
645 people want to read
About the author
Charles B. Smith
3 books14 followersCharles B. Smith was born, raised, and still lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He has a wife, two cats, a house, and sometimes, brevity is a good thing. For more information visit him at http://www.charles-b-smith.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 5, 2014
I read this book while on vacation. It was short and concise. It was a very realistic novel about World War I.
August 20, 2014
Anyone who likes history should read this. A good read cover to cover.
February 24, 2016
Well, it was a difficult book to get into. I had to persevere a bit but in the end, it was well worth it. It took some time to get invested in the characters. Smith introduces 8 different vignettes -- Percy & Arthur, Henstch, Vogel, Vernon, Denis, Berthold, Gordon, Sebastian -- and that took a fair bit of time. He did a great job representing the reality of the experience for these fighting men and their families on both fronts. The interconnection between the story lines are subtle and well done.
However, there were a few too many history lessons for me to wade through in the first third of the book including in-depth descriptions of uniforms, weaponry and troop movements. I found the descriptions cumbersome. I wanted to understand and tried to understand by my brain just doesn't compute that way so, I found myself skimming a lot of it because I struggled to keep the very complex information clear in my head. With each character, there was another history lesson about the battlefield strategies and troop movements associated with that character. I did commiserate with the characters in the story on both fronts who were fighting without really understanding the strategies any more than I did... not sure if that was the plan but I felt a lot of tension because I didn't understand why troops were capturing and then abandoning precious ground anymore than they did. Call me simple if you want but it was a lot of history to take in while I was getting acquainted with the men...
Three suggestions: 1) The research I did to assist me indicated that the complexity of the battlefield movements were difficult to manage without a map -- there was so much ground gained and lost and regained during the Great War. There are a lot of maps available online and they were useful so I would recommend doing a bit of research if you need visual aids -- it helped put the character stories in context better than the verbal descriptions did.
2) The use of the "mother tongue" to identify the military ranks for each country gave the story another element of authenticity but, a legend with the ranking officers, ranks, command structure for each nation would have been helpful as a reference.
3) Photos? A few photos of soldiers in uniform from each country would also make for a good reference too.
All in all, the research and detail is remarkable and were that my thing, I would have rated this a 5 star but for me it was a bit too much detail initially. By the end of the book, the history lessons were fewer and farther between and I had a few resources at the ready to clarify the history so I was enthralled by October 1914... I was rooting for all of them and ultimately for humanity to win out. When the book ended, I was quite looking forward to 1915: A Novel.
However, there were a few too many history lessons for me to wade through in the first third of the book including in-depth descriptions of uniforms, weaponry and troop movements. I found the descriptions cumbersome. I wanted to understand and tried to understand by my brain just doesn't compute that way so, I found myself skimming a lot of it because I struggled to keep the very complex information clear in my head. With each character, there was another history lesson about the battlefield strategies and troop movements associated with that character. I did commiserate with the characters in the story on both fronts who were fighting without really understanding the strategies any more than I did... not sure if that was the plan but I felt a lot of tension because I didn't understand why troops were capturing and then abandoning precious ground anymore than they did. Call me simple if you want but it was a lot of history to take in while I was getting acquainted with the men...
Three suggestions: 1) The research I did to assist me indicated that the complexity of the battlefield movements were difficult to manage without a map -- there was so much ground gained and lost and regained during the Great War. There are a lot of maps available online and they were useful so I would recommend doing a bit of research if you need visual aids -- it helped put the character stories in context better than the verbal descriptions did.
2) The use of the "mother tongue" to identify the military ranks for each country gave the story another element of authenticity but, a legend with the ranking officers, ranks, command structure for each nation would have been helpful as a reference.
3) Photos? A few photos of soldiers in uniform from each country would also make for a good reference too.
All in all, the research and detail is remarkable and were that my thing, I would have rated this a 5 star but for me it was a bit too much detail initially. By the end of the book, the history lessons were fewer and farther between and I had a few resources at the ready to clarify the history so I was enthralled by October 1914... I was rooting for all of them and ultimately for humanity to win out. When the book ended, I was quite looking forward to 1915: A Novel.
April 24, 2016
Long book. Most epics are – it's kind of the definition of the genre. BUT worth the read.
1914 saw the start of World War I, the supposed “war to end all wars” (until the next one occurred). A lot of countries were involved, some immediately, some later. Charles B. Smith gives us a glimpse into the title of year through the eyes of the French, the English, the Germans, and one of the first Americans to cross over to the fighting.
I admit that I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, being totally unfamiliar with the author (other than realizing that he took on an incredible challenge for his first published novel). BUT … Mr. Smith managed to balance the historical facts and morals of the era against characters that we were bound to come to respect, admire, and even love (and in a few intentional cases, loathe).
At the end of the book, Mr. Smith offers up a sequel if the interest is there – this reader / reviewer definitely votes “YES!”
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars. The author caught and kept my interest AND left me with some things that I will remember long after I've put it down to read other books.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book in a random draw. A prompt and honest (and hopefully favorable) review was probably desired, but no such commitment was sought nor given. And since I've had the book for around 2 years before finishing it, that's probably a good thing.
1914 saw the start of World War I, the supposed “war to end all wars” (until the next one occurred). A lot of countries were involved, some immediately, some later. Charles B. Smith gives us a glimpse into the title of year through the eyes of the French, the English, the Germans, and one of the first Americans to cross over to the fighting.
I admit that I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, being totally unfamiliar with the author (other than realizing that he took on an incredible challenge for his first published novel). BUT … Mr. Smith managed to balance the historical facts and morals of the era against characters that we were bound to come to respect, admire, and even love (and in a few intentional cases, loathe).
At the end of the book, Mr. Smith offers up a sequel if the interest is there – this reader / reviewer definitely votes “YES!”
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars. The author caught and kept my interest AND left me with some things that I will remember long after I've put it down to read other books.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book in a random draw. A prompt and honest (and hopefully favorable) review was probably desired, but no such commitment was sought nor given. And since I've had the book for around 2 years before finishing it, that's probably a good thing.
January 31, 2015
It was a bit slow to get into, but I enjoyed the book. At the same time, I think you'll likely need to be on a WWI kick to get into it. He's done a lot of research, which often leads to a lot of detail and even occasionally pausing to define what things are, as you might in a textbook. What I liked, though, was the juxtaposition of different characters who at times are in the same place, and how their experiences are so similar--based largely on misery--even though they're enemies. He also does a nice job of showing what life in the trenches was like. The end was very good.
Given its scope, which is the first year of the war, it is also entirely open-ended. There is no plot per se, it's just the war, and so the character development and story just stop.
The characters are British, French, and German. I'd be curious to know why there was no Russian.
Given its scope, which is the first year of the war, it is also entirely open-ended. There is no plot per se, it's just the war, and so the character development and story just stop.
The characters are British, French, and German. I'd be curious to know why there was no Russian.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews