First World War

by H.P. Willmott

A dramatic account of "The Great War" that combines emotive photography with personal accounts which evoke both the futility and the spirit of World War I. Considering every aspect of the conflict - sea, land and on the home front - this book provides a vivid analysis of the causes and forces behind the most destructive and costliest war ever witnessed

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, War, Military History, Military Fiction, Reference

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Hedley Paul Willmott (H.P. Willmott) was a widely published military historian, author, former Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has written extensively on modern naval and military history.
He had retired and lived till his death in Surrey, England.

(source: http://www.goodreads.com/author/edit/... & http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/Books/...)

Reviews

[Sebastien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am endlessly fascinated by WWI. This book has a ton of information, and lots of well-chosen photos. Nice lay-out.

[Maggie Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think i read 98% of this…maybe skipped a couple pages but i’m still counting it

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, this is a very good introduction to the first world war. It is certainly worth the read. It is very thorough, and the pictures and quotes throughout really serve to give you an idea of what was going on. It did, however, have the problem of getting lost in the details. I am not familiar enough with either military tactics or the geography of France for the detailed descriptions of each major battle to mean much to me. I would have liked to know, for example, why the Eastern Front was so much more mobile than the Western, or why, in 1918, the Germans were suddenly able to advance miles in one day over the Somme battlefield, while the British had (in 1916) sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives over the course of nearly six months to gain that much. Perhaps because of the complicated nature of the answers, the book did not really give satisfactory answers to such questions. For this reason, I find that I understand little more about WHY World War I was fought the way it was than I did before. However, the descriptions of Europe before and after the war are excellent, and it includes every theatre of the war, not just the more prominent ones.

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up in one of the Smithsonian museums (the 2009 edition), thinking they probably wouldn't be offering it if it were too cheesy, and because of the wonderful selection of well-reproduced photographs and illustrations. I had rather low expectations for the text, which was secondary for me. This being the hundredth anniversary of the last year of the War, I decided to read it, ten pages a day, to refresh my memory.

I was pleasantly surprised. I found a few typos, but I wasn't finding obvious errors. Willmott tries not to be too editorial in his opinions of the commanders and political figures, but he lays the evidence down pretty clearly. Kings, Emperors, and Prime Ministers get very little coverage. He is rather generous to Woodrow Wilson, noting that Germany and Austria-Hungary grasped the offered 14 Points when they agreed to the Armistice, but Wilson immediately added extortionate demands. The book is good at explaining that Germany and its allies were unravelling completely and suddenly, so that the details of the process hardly mattered. What I'd complain about is that it is insufficiently clear that the 14 Points ended up being meaningless in the actual negotiations and surrenders.

The selection of topics and illustrations is impressively efficient and wide-ranging. I also like the inclusion of several pages of information on war memorials and museums around the world. If you want a sense of the War and its period, this is a sound choice.

[Adam Balshan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars [History]
(W 2.85, U 3.5, T 2.88, L 4.75)
Exact rating: 3.50

5 stars for the color, charts, pics, timelines, and maps: this is exactly how an excellent visual history should look. Minus 1/4 for text blocs chopped up by sidebars. The macro-pacing and syntax were not great. But great as a coffee table book or something for the average person to pick up and read a few pages of.

If you want to have an in-depth look at WWI, it is good for that, too.

[The Nutmeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yayayay I finished it!! It was so long. And chock full of pictures. And information. And overwhelming. But I HATH FINISHED IT and I am glad I persevered to the end, because it was definitely worth the overview of my least-favorite/favorite war.

[Shyamali Mandal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Ralph Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Print is small making reading difficult. Extremely detailed as to maps and troop movements.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually loved this book. Super great account of the war, from the causes all the way through to the effects, very detailed, but not ridiculously so. Simple, but super informative and interesting

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read but -1 star for SO many typos

[Risto · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent illustrated overview on the Big War. Covers basics of backgrounds, events and aftermath. Enjoyed every page! Can recommend to anyone interested in WW1.

[Adam Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 / 5 for DK's World War 1 by HP Willmott

A visual guide/history of World War 1, it's beginnings and a thorough explanation of how each country became involved and how all of the key battles transpired.

Loads of great quality photographs, handy infographics for each battle, and well-constructed timelines for various aspects of the war.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I've found this is a great book describing the battles and events of World War I. It opens with a good summation of the events leading to the outbreak of war and then leads into descriptions of the battles and good/bad decisions made from all sides - each one explained in chronological order and in good concise detail. Plus it's got a lot of great insights into the equipment each army used down to the uniforms and standard issued armaments and a myriad of other details plus great maps and diagrams and descriptions of the battle laid out in graphic detail. The maps aren't necessarily the best - they can be quite confusing at times - but they still give the book much more depth than your ordinary text book which usually assumes you either know the terrain or have your own map book next to you. And each page is filled with period context pictures filling in all the gaps in your imagination. So far it's been a great read.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up when I heard a story about Harry Patch, the last veteran of WWI, and realized that I only knew the basics about the war. Sadly, he passed away before I finished the book (it was not a quick read - think textbook with extra pictures). The book was a good overview of all theaters of the conflict and major political events. Someone who is not familiar with history will likely find this book too deep and someone very familiar with WWI will likely find it too simplistic, but it was at a good level for someone in between. Personally, I appreciated all the pictures, though I would have liked more maps to space out the chronology of the battles. A good pick if you'd like to learn more about WWI, but not something you'd likely recommend to your friends as a "must read" (unless they wanted to know more about WWI, of course).

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Von diesem Buch hätte sich mein Geschichtslehrer mal eine Scheibe abschneiden können. Ich kann mich noch an endlose öde Stunden erinnern, in denen es um die Gründe für den Kriegsausbruch ging und später dann um den Abschluss des Vertrags von Versailles. Doch was während der vier Kriegsjahre passiert ist, darüber haben wir kaum gesprochen.
Ich bin jedenfalls sehr froh, dass ich mich für den Dorling Kindersley Bildband entschieden habe und nicht nur ein kleines Buch aus der Beck'schen Reihe genommen habe. Es ist wirklich gut geschrieben und durch die Menge an Bildmaterial sehr anschaulich. Im Großen und Ganzen ist es chronologisch aufgebaut und dann noch einmal kapitelweise in die einzelnen Kriegsschauplätzen aufgeteilt. Zusätzliche Infokästen informieren über wichtige Personen.
Ich kann dieses Buch jedem empfehlen, der sich für Geschichte interessiert.

[Gary Brecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owning this book is like having access to a museum. Photos, maps, and illustrations accompany an excellent narrative on the major events and battles of the Great War. This book does more than simply recount the battles. It informs us of the cultural changes that resulted as a consequence of the 4-year conflict. For example, the role of women, the effects on civilian populations due to the naval blockade, the disastrous appearance of the Spanish flu, and other tangential matters are touched upon. For those interested in world history this book is a “must have.”

[Kristinn Valdimarsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Þessi bók er góð sem inngangsrit fyrir þá sem hafa litla þekkingu á WWI og einnig má nota hana sem handbók því henni er skipt niður í skýr tímabil og í henni eru nokkuð góð kort (þó þau séu einföld). Meira gagn gerir hún hins vegar ekki því þó textinn flæði vel þá er aldrei farið djúpt í neina atburði. Líkt og með aðrar bækur frá DK sem ég hef lesið þá er bókin skemmtilega uppsett og myndræn nokkuð sem gerir hana aðlaðandi fyrir lestrarhesta.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written with excellent graphic design. I'm putting it right up there with Keegan's book as the best single-volume summary of WWI. No one book can cover everything or go into enough depth on any discrete topic when covering an event as vast and complex as the Great War, but this book is quite good at covering most topics of importance at a meaningful depth.

I bought this book from a close out bargain table at B&N. I wish I'd bought several copies to give to friends.

[Kerry Johanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read a book about WWI because I really knew nothing about it. This was well done and had many fascinating pictures but like another reviewer I don't have enough understanding of military manuevers to understand the details about any of that. There were a number of other things I learned that were also fascinating that were affected by the war.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book from a visual standpoint. In true DK Publishing fashion, the photographs and graphics take center stage making this a very visually appealing read. It is not a quintessential reference book, but rather a good introduction to WWI that shows some of the small details that are overlooked in typical reference books.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was very thorough, which wasn't always a good thing but I guess if you don't want to know about certain things you can just skip that section. A great book to get a little knowledge on a war that nobody seems to know anything about.

[Badger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a little wary of books in this format, but after reading an Amazon review of this, I ordered it together with the WW2 volume by Willmott and very glad I did too. Both are superb overviews and certainly not a trace of 'dumbing-down'. So much more to read now, so little time and money!

[Mark Tuminello · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have said, this is a great intro/summary of the events leading up to and during the first world war. What I think is missing is more of the human element. I suppose Dan Carlin has ruined me for dryer books like this.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good illustrated overview of WWI, with more about the theaters outside Europe proper than surveys used to consider. Also some on politics and culture as well as military technology. Good starting point or reminder for those who haven't looked at this conflagration in a while.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical of DK books, good graphics that sometimes overwhelm the text, which is adequate senior-high level textbook style, not inspiring, but sturdy. Some proofreading goofs discourage trust in the veracity of the data at some points.

[Brendan Jure · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't much to say about this.

It's your standard DK book full of graphics, short summaries and cool battle maps.

Bought this at a school book fair as a kid (probably 12) and probably read it a good few times then. Decided to read it while on Christmas break for a quick read.

[Eric Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well designed, a little museum.

[Kleon Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really cool book with tons and tons of information about World War I, it goes to detail to standard uniforms and accounts of attles and tons of pictures in every page.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, high level overview of WWI. Not much depth but good for general information. Lots of maps and photos.

[R.G. Ziemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent - comprehensive, detailed, great maps and photos, sidebars on related subjects.