American Heritage History of World War I

by S.L.A. Marshall

Photographs and text provide a vivid record of events in Europe from the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand to the Treaty of Versailles

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

714 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

S.L.A. Marshall (full name, Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall) served in World War I and then embarked in a career in journalism. In World War II, he was chief combat historian in the Central Pacific (1943) and chief historian for the European Theater of Operations (1945). He authored some 30 books about warfare, including Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, The River and the Gauntlet and Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allow me to give some background before my actual review. I love background. Helps to put things into context which I believe is necessary at times.

American Heritage was a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering American History for mainstream audiences that ran from 1947 - 2007. It was not intended to be an academic periodical aimed at professors, professional historians and university students. In addition to the magazine the company would also publish books that focused on certain subjects and they often got well known historians to write them. The American Heritage History of World War I by S.L.A. Marshall is one of those books.

Several historians who would go onto mainstream success worked at one time for American Heritage. Among the many Notable staff and contributors were Barbara Tuchman, Stephen Ambrose, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and David McCullough. Not surprisingly the above named individuals have been the target of rather catty reviewers over the years. A quick once-over of their respective works here (Goodreads) and elsewhere will show that there are many who attack their books with vitriol.An outstanding example comes from Sean Wilentz. Reviewing David McCullough's book on John Adams in The New Republic, Wilentz claimed that McCullough and film maker Ken Burns followed the American Heritage style: "popular history as passive nostalgic spectacle" marching "under the banner of 'narrative'". Ouch.

Well ,as I wrote at the beginning of this review, the magazine was not aimed at academics. It was a business and it's focus was on providing a high quality product that the lay reader would actually want to spend money on. I have a B.A. in history and in the years before I became a university student I read several of the AH books. They were excellent for a twelve and fourteen year old boy who had a love of history, but wasn't ready to jump into the deep end. Overviews and general histories suited me at that time. The American Heritage products served as appetizers that pointed me in other directions and helped me to dig deeper into the subject matter. That isn't a bad thing. For the reader who wasn't that focused American Heritage served to expand their knowledge and round them out. Again not a bad thing ,despite what some of the more haughty historians of the world might think.

The American Heritage History of World War One was written by S.L.A. Marshall. One of the more controversial military historians of the Twentieth Century. However at the time of this book's publication his research was unchallenged (at least in the public eye) and his works sold well. He was a natural selection. The book is an overview of World War One. It covers the four years in a surprisingly short 380 odd pages and is loaded with illustrations and photographs. It isn't a dedicated military history and therefore is lacking in maps that detail the battlefield movements of the various participants. As other reviews have noted there are also errors sprinkled throughout the book and Marshall is very free with his editorializing. Marshall was always outspoken and by the time he wrote this book he had a lot of clout. Combine that with the fact that he had been commissioned to write the book (he was a celebrity historian and his name had cachet) probably stymied the editorial process somewhat. One thing that you can't say about S.L.A. Marshall was that he was an easygoing and affable personality. I'm sure he was involved with putting it together and had a powerful voice in terms of the editing.

As history goes this book isn't anything groundbreaking. It wasn't groundbreaking in 1964 when it was first published. However it can still serve as a useful introduction for the average American with a mild interest about a war that so many (Americans not Europeans) know so little about. If one were to combine this book with John Keegan's more recent book The First World War one would find one's self have a good start on knowing more about a war that is still effecting us in 2015.

This book has a place in my modest library and I'm pleased to have found a copy. It might not please those who consider themselves to belong to the Intelligentsia, but I like it.

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long run of fiction reading I've taken up a couple of non-fiction reads and this is one of them. My copy is a paperback from 1964 with the same cover image as the hardbound I selected. Like most people I know a LOT more about WWII than WWI. More movies, for one thing. There's a much more famous book about this subject(The Guns of August), but this is the rescued book I had on my shelves. Pretty interesting so far.

And so ... it gets less interesting as the dramatic beginnings yield to the slowing down towards eventual stalemate. The details pile up along with the dreadful casualty figures. This war featured much more infantry combat/pitched battles along extended fronts than WWII. The last gasp of the old way of war, I guess you might say. WWI was notable for it's warfare hardware innovations. Gas warfare(hasn't come up yet), machine guns, bigger, better artillery, air combat, tanks(a British innovation I do believe) and more. Also notable for the continued widespread use of cavalry(not much - if any - of that in WWII only 25 years later on) and the relative dearth of naval combat, especially when compared to WWII.

Things on the Western battlefield settle down to stalemate after the dismaying(to say the least) carnage at Ypres. I seem to remember this being referenced in "Upstairs Downstairs." The Tommies called it "Wipers." In the East there's still a bit more action taking place and the war extends to western Asia/Turkey. The name "Gallipoli" rings a bell. I'm sure the author will spend some time there. I saw the Mel Gibson Australian film of that title and read about it in a Leon Uris book ... "Redemption"?

'Bout halfway through. The body count is staggering.

The endgame is nearing as the story moves from 1917 into 1918. The Yanks are coming to the Western Front and the Reds have dropped out on the Eastern Front. Soon(not soon enough) it'll be all over - until twenty years later, of course.

Nearing the end - of the book AND the Great War(The War to End All Wars? Maybe not). The arrival of hundreds of thousands of Doughboys has made all the difference, and Ludendorff has seen the light/darkness ahead. The ending will be kind of abrupt after the years of slaughter. Not many pages left.

And now done with this informative book. It IS packed to the limit with information about battles, politics, etc, but not so much to make it a tough read. Borderline, but do-able.

[Geoff Habiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, basic history or World War 1. There is not much new or revealing to it, which is understandable since the book was originally published in 1964, but it does a good job of covering the basics of the war, the events that caused the war in the first place, the important battles, the thinking of the generals involved, and the conclusion of the war. It briefly touches on the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles. What I found most interesting was the way that S.L.A. Marshall let some of his own personal opinions slip into the narrative, especially when discussing the more foolish decisions that we made by the generals and politicians. I don't know if that was a factor of when he wrote the book or is reflective of his own thoughts, but it made for some interesting sections. Overall it is a good narrative, easy to read and follow, even when the facts are being thrown around.

[Douglas Milewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Heritage History of World War I (1964) by S.L.A. Marshall lays out World War I in grim detail, reserves no judgements when warranted, and offers no tonic.

The history is an easy read, assuming that a four year long human catastrophe can be called easy. Optimistically, the war could be called an organized generational genocide, but pessimists would sure use harsher language.

The history is a survey work, delving into details where needed, but mostly focusing on the big arcs and the worldwide theatre. Like all war histories, it's rife with names and locations, enough to leave you dizzy and desperate for an atlas. Marshall generally does a excellent job in taking all those dizzying fact and creating although sometimes overly details narrative.

One place where the narrative bogs down is in the description of the armies. If you aren't into the military aspects of history, the movements of Division III and Corps V will make your eyes glaze over. It's just too much to take in at times, often obscuring the narrative of the battle rather than informing it. It's here that Marshall shows military dinkage, where mastery of details overwhelms situational understanding.

With all the military minutia, if I hadn't been learning about modern army organization recently, I would have been completely lost.

The history itself won't stand against any more detailed history, nor any narrower one, but that's no nock against it. From the beginning, the work understands the limits of its narrative, consistently knowing when too far is too far, even with its military dinkage. The history keeps its eye broad, surveying events in France, Russia, the Middle East, Messopotamia, and the Balkans.

For the student of general history and other eras, it serves as a firm refresher of those four dreadful years. For a student of WW1 history, I doubt that this book has anything additional to offer, even as a refresher.

[Annii · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a badbook. I need to say that first of all. It's full of information and covers the vast majority of the important points of the war. I think it's definitely a book worth reading.

I do, however, have a few problems with it. First of all, there are no maps or illustrations. My dad told me this before I started reading this book, and I didn't think it would be that big of a deal - but it was. The chapters describing the battles would have been much clearer and much easier to follow had their been maps and diagrams detailing the troop movements. As it was, I tried to just get a basic sense of the battle and kept reading.

Secondly, this book by no means has an objective voice. The author's opinions color pretty much everything written, and after a time you start to wonder if they are influencing his 'facts' as well. It's true that true objectivity is impossible to find, but I think maybe the author should have tried a LITTLE harder.

And thirdly, and I have to add this since I am a student of Irish history - James ~Connolly~ was one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. Not 'James O'Connell'. Mistakes like this have me wondering what other things he's got wrong.

[Clem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected. This is one of the “American Heritage History” books. I had already read the one on the second World War, so I was basically expecting a carbon copy in terms of style. Not so. In the World War II book, it focused on the events at a much higher level. I recall it being a very quick read, outlining the major players, events and battles. That book also talked a lot about what was going on back at home as it related to the war, and shared a lot of significant insights about how those that weren’t directly involved had to make radical adjustments to their daily lives. This book is anything but high-level. It’s richly detailed and we dive deep into the conflicts and situations.

I would guess that most people aren’t nearly as familiar with the first World War as they are with World War II. When reflecting on this war, most people envision the soldiers of the conflicting super powers being firmly confined to their respective disease infested trenches while lobbing occasional gunfire across no man’s land over and over. And that’s about it. True, this was a huge factor of this calamity, but most are unfamiliar which much else about the war.

This book makes a strong foundation for one to learn much more. We read about the respective countries before the outbreak. The alliances, the squabbling, the marrying off of children between royalty to preserve alliances, and so on. When the archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by a Bosnian Serb radical in 1914, the alliances quickly take up sides and begin the “War To End All Wars”. Both sides predicted a quick victory. Both sides were sadly mistaken.

We meet many key players, mostly on the German and French sides. These two were the predominant players. There’s so much political juggling, however, that it was easy for me to get a bit lost at times. Especially when the actual battles were described in meticulous detail. One must not try to read this book quickly. Instead, go much slower and ensure you can retain the names of the major political figures and generals. It will save you a lot of confusion when you’re knee deep in this thing.

As a citizen of the U.S., I enjoyed reading about how my country became involved. In case you’re not aware, the U.S. didn’t get involved until late in the game. Most citizens didn’t want us there at all. Why should we fight in a war on the other side of the world? Plus, as a melting pot, the country had many citizens that had relatives and/or ancestors on “both sides”. You could argue that the fresh blood of American soldiers helped racially turn the tide and end the stalemate. There were literally millions (think about that – MILLIONS) on both sides that had already been killed on the battlefield when the U.S. entered in late 1917.

I’ve referred to the conflict already as “The War To End All Wars” which it was commonly referred to at the time. What most people don’t know is that when the peace treaty was eventually signed, it was sardonically referred to as “The Peace to End All Peace”. I can’t think of a more accurate description. Essentially, Germany (the main loser) was punished so harshly and stripped of basically everything that it caused the country massive starvation, unbearable inflation and their pride so wounded, that it gave such an easy opportunity for a Bavarian water-colorist to rise to become the most blood thirsty lunatic of the twentieth century. The author argues that had the victors been somewhat more magnanimous at the conclusion, such a calamity that occurred twenty years later just might have been avoided.

I’m sure there are a plethora of great books out there on World War I, but this book could possibly be the only one you ever need to read. It’s not a quick nor easy read, yet it probably shouldn’t be either.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is tasked with detailing many things, and reading through it can leave a reader dumbfounded in the authors knowledge & research done to produce this work. The breadth of the war
It took about a year of periodic reading, for me to finish this.

There were moments of dread, moments of anger, sadness, great emptiness, appreciation, almost every emotion but happiness. I'm only happy to know I've digested such a piece of material that has been erased from primary schools.

If you know nothing of WWI, this account of it is from my perspective, is well detailed of the main events.

If you've already read a lot on WWI, this may not detail things you're seeking, but it gives a grand overview of the important aspects of war.

It is with a lack of words to describe the importance of this history, that i'm left to simply tell people to read novels like this. Just to know, how lucky some of us are, to know what our grandfathers served for, to know that power and wealth were also grinding down the poorer ends humanity long before the advent of the modern era. I felt sorrow reading how the strong would execute plans designed by the weak and folly.

Author did a good job, and it's worth a read if you haven't digested any WWI material before, and maybe a little less so if you're well read.

His style of writing and lexicon were a pleasure to read, a man with knowledge and a sure mind.

I add a half or a full star, for the emotional state this had me in. 11.11.11

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this “popular history” level WWI book is a bit dated in some ways, with many details and theories of the causes, actions, and aftermath of the conflagration being reexamined and better understood since 1962, it remains an amazingly detailed and thoughtful look at “The War to End All Wars” [yeah, and how’d that work out?]. It does, of course, have the advantage over more recent histories in that the author had access to many people, lower ranks and officers, who actually served in or were otherwise impacted by, the war. The author himself is fascinating, serving as a sergeant in the A.E.F. during the final months of WWI, he later rose to the rank of brigadier general. He was an official military historian and advisor to the Army in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. In non-war years he also served as a reporter and newspaper editor. So, he both knew war personally and knew how to report about it. This background shows in the Am. Her. WWI volume. The book is densely detailed and intensely instructive; even a thrilling (and disturbing!) read. Having previously read many other books which covered specific aspects of the war, I wanted a good broad survey of the entire sweep of this world changing event. Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall’s overview was the perfect choice [it has actually been on my shelves since 1969 when my brother first got it, but up to now I had never read the text just looked at the pictures].

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't an amazing book but I am glad I read it because it gave me the overview of the war I needed and many of the visuals were quite good. Two big negatives: first, it needs more and better detail maps. I know nothing about French geography and Google maps didn't help me enough, I ended up having to get a different World War I book with a maps emphasis to help me get through this. And second, I think some of the other reviews I've read about the questions worth asking about this author are valid. His bias certainly shows towards the end as we get to a part of the war that is more personal to him, but a looooot of things he says read like opinion but are stated as fact. So I wouldn't trust this as an authority on the war's leaders, but as a blow by blow report of the battles and the overall experience it was a good read.

[Roger Burk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly good general history of WWI, considering it is a coffee table book, created by committee, with lots of pictures. The text was written by the famous military historian S. L. A. Marshall, though the book doesn't identify him as the author (I suppose because he was not involved with the pictures). It conveys what happened at large and small scale, along with the emotions that accompanied them, but does not wallow in those emotions.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have owned from its original publication and certainly have scanned all illustrations and captions repeatedly. Not sure I’ve read every word — and the words by S.L.A. Marshall are wonderful — but I’m using now as a complement to other reading about WW I. Very useful.

[Jeffrey Schnitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. Engaging. Not afraid to make judgments. First rate.

[Brad Kirbyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accessible book about WW I for those of us who are interested in learning more about it but don't want to get bogged down in an academic history of it

[Richard Capogrosso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, compelling and comprehensive history of the First World War.

[Richard Capogrosso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding history of the First World War. Incredibly detailed and well written. Keeps the pace and covers all aspects. I wish he had written a similar book about World War Two.

[Leinad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting and comprehensive look at one of the biggest packets of human suffering of all time. I've been reading this book on and off for months; it's not a fast read, but it's good.

S.L.A Marshall is a good writer. I like his style: his prose, his astute judgements and his occasional humour (as much humour as you can decently get in a book on World War I). I found it difficult to decide whether or not I liked his tendency to describe the character of various people, rather than leaving it to us to figure out based on their actions. At first I thought he was "telling" too much and not "showing" enough. But this is history, not a novel, and the important thing is that we grasp the picture, not that the picture is painted with a fine enough brush. If he had to show us the character of every person who had some significance in one or two battle, this already long book would have taken me a year, and not three months, to read. It would have to either sacrifice its comprehensiveness or its conciseness. In the end, I am glad that Marshall "told" us insightfully about the character of the characters in World War I, rather than letting me try to work out everybody for myself, although it probably does make the book more vulnerable to bias.

Though I found the book as a whole very interesting, I often found the various tactics quite hard to follow. This was no fault of Marshall's (though he could have included a few more maps), but rather of mine, knowing very little about battle tactics. As a result, I had greater enjoyment for the parts of the book that weren't focussed so much on tactics (especially the first chapter and the last two chapters). It didn't help that the focus of the book was on tactics and strategy, but that was a problem of the book being read by slightly the wrong audience, not a fault in the book itself.

I am glad I read this book. It has given me a much more comprehensive knowledge of World War I. It has brought to life people such as Erich Ludendorff, Paul von Hindenburg, Falkenhayn, John French, Douglas Haig, Joffre, Foch, Pershing and others (and most of them haven't joined my list of all-time heroes). If you want to learn more about World War I I would recommend it.

[Phillip Manson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making sense of all the battles and political involvements of the times from 1

1914 on to 1923 we understand why and how america got involved. What happened to the corporal after the beer hall?

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Relatively simplistic look at the war.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of WWI. This is a great series for general understanding of specific large historical events.

[dwight bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

I enjoyed the book well written and informative would highly recommend for anyone interested inww1 or that period of history

[Joe Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but it is dated now. It covers the Great War for the events leading up to it, through the years of fighting, and through the Peace Treaty conferences. It finally ends with the Beer Hall Putsch as an epilogue.

[Michael Laflamme]

A clear, concise history of World War I for the general reader. Very well written. All the battles and leaders are here. Their various political and personal motives are explored in remarkable depth for a concise work. In this conflict, the twists and turns of politicians and generals had an often immediate and terrible impact, and this is made very clear. To the very end of the war, these international divisions and competitions led to awful consequences, and in the end, they paved the way for the next war. Clearly, a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup. The resulting armistice was flawed in so many ways that to this day it is impossible to follow all the complexities fully. Too many secrets.