Imperial War Museum: The First World War in Photographs

by Richard Holmes

Military history is now a best-selling publishing category, and in recent years there has been a spate of enormously successful books, films and television programmes devoted to it. "The First World War in Photographs" showcases 400 of the best images from the Imperial War Museum's superb photographic archive, many never before published. Written by leading military historian Richard Holmes, the book presents the photographs in year-by-year chapters, covering all the great battles of the war and every theatre of operations. Dramatic, hard hitting and intensely moving, this book is a unique visual testament to the many millions of men and women who lost their lives in the war.

Genres: World War I, Photography, Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

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Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).

He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this beautiful, hardback book, at a book farm. I flicked through the pages, and decided that I just had to have it. I think it is difficult to put a star rating on a book such as this one. This book, contains photographs of what was, World War I. As well as interesting narration from Richard Holmes, we have many photographs, many were horrific to view, but that has no real significance, in comparison to the real horrors of war, and what the individuals involved had to endure. There was a photograph, of men sitting in what looked like a trench, but was actually a hole made by shelling, having a shave. That, was very shocking to me. Then again, I think books such as these, are excellent at showing and teaching us, just how bloody, reckless, and inhumane a war can be.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this many, many years ago during a BORDERS sale. It's definitely been hanging around my shelves for a long time.

It's a beautiful book. I love the way it's put together. I'm not sure I got much out of it regarding the actual events of the war, but the photos definitely convey the mood. It was hard to follow the events because he'd drop all these random names and not even say which side of the battle they were on. Just so-and-so moved his troops this direction. If I were an expert on WWI history I'm sure it would've made more sense.

I have a couple more books to read on World War One which I'm excited about.

[Rolf Yngve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth finding. Outstanding selection of photos, many iconic, excellent summary text by Richard Holmes.

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting imagery of the chaos and destruction that was WW1.