A Brief History of The First World War

by Jon E. Lewis

The First World War in vivid, personal detail, in the voices of those who lived it Even 100 years on from the First World War it haunts us still. No other conflict has revealed so dramatically the senselessness of war, and none has shaped the modern world to the same extent, from its impact on the Russian Revolution and the rise of Hitler to the final break-up of the British Empire and the supremacy of America. These compelling eyewitness accounts - over 180 of them - of the War to End All Wars cover every facet of the war, from the Flanders trenches to the staffrooms of the Imperial German Army, from T. E. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') in the desert to German figher ace the Red Baron in the air, and from English Land Girls to German U-boat crews in the North Atlantic. There are contributions from all combatant nations, including the UK, USA, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Australia, Russia, Serbia, and India and the book includes a detailed timeline and maps.

Genres: History, World War I, Military Fiction, Unfinished

528 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2014

About the author

Jon E. Lewis is a historian and writer, whose books on history and military history are sold worldwide. He is also editor of many The Mammoth Book of anthologies, including the bestselling On the Edge and Endurance and Adventure.

He holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in history. His work has appeared in New Statesman, the Independent, Time Out and the Guardian. He lives in Herefordshire with his partner and children.

From: Constable & Robinson

Reviews

[Wolf (Alpha)]

This was great! If you like historical books, definitely read this one. This goes into different viewpoints of soldiers. When I read this, I could imagine being there. The descriptions were great. Definitely will be reading more by this author hopefully. It was cool to see the views that the soldiers had.

[Tim Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

It does exactly what it says on the tin, or in this case on the front cover. You're getting WW1 at the individual level which is something that is sometimes missing from the history books. The accounts of the PBI are harrowing, and it's all entirely grim. It's an excellent book.

[Wan Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

11:00 a.m., the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleven month 1918.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

While far from brief, this book looks at the Great War through diary entries, letters, essays, and even poetry, written by the people who actually lived through it. There are surreal accounts of the early zeppelin bombing raids on London, worthy of a steampunk novel; there is a harrowing account of a Englishwoman's escape from a sinking Lusitania; and there are numerous accounts of the hellish life in the trenches.

The war literally wiped out an entire generation of young English poets, and samples of their work is scattered throughout. Drab reading, but interesting from an historical standpoint is a rather windy essay by the Butcher of the Somme himself, Gen. Douglas Haig, who heaps praise on mounted cavalry while devoting mere sentences to the value of tanks and machine guns. One hopes that a special place in hell is reserved for such incompetents.

This would have benefited from some pbotos, ideally of at least a few of people appearing in the book, to put faces with the words. Too heavily weighted in favor of the British, I would have liked more from French, Germans, and Russians in particular. And I for one, would have liked an account of the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow. But still, there is enough here to make it a worthy read for anyone interested in the Great War.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lengthy series of eyewitness accounts of events from the First World War, arranged into annual sections for each of the years 1914-1919, with separate sections for different events in the year. The format is, therefore, very much like the ‘Lost Voices’ series, differing mainly in the greater emphasis placed on excerpts from various books or memoirs – for example there are numerous excerpts from TE Lawrences ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’. Excerpts like that don’t have the potential for unedited spontaneity that random eyewitness accounts have, but nevertheless they make interesting reading, often coming from books long out of print or at the least difficult to get. The various accounts are, at times, thought provoking – for example Sir Douglas Haig’s 1919 London Gazette article ‘Features of the War’ which seemed to be trying to explain away a lot of arguably disastrous decisions at the front.

[Alfredo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es la historia "breve" más larga que he leído. Uno puede leer este libro y terminar sin ni una idea de como se desarrolló la Gran Guerra, pero por cierto no fue escrito para eso sino para ponerte en los zapatos y detrás de los ojos de los protagonistas, desde presidentes, mariscales a soldados rasos y enfermeras.

[John Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting having eye witness accounts from all sides of the conflict from all levels of the military and even some civilian commentary. These snippets are a quick peak into an individual's experience from a few hours to a few days. Sometimes get commentary of the same event at the same time from opposing sides.