City Travel Guides > Books > World War I

Average Rating:

.Kitchener's Last Volunteer: The Life of Henry Allingham, Britain's Oldest Man and the Oldest Surviving Veteran of the Great War
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Henry Allingham

October 02, 2008
I've just finished reading this - a book I devoured almost without putting it down. That 112 year old can really write!

Henry Allingham is a fascinating character - the only man alive who saw the Grand Fleet steaming towards Jutland, and also the last of those who fought in the first air war in history. Mr. Allingham has a dry, self-deprecating style which is highly engaging. I was drawn into his autobiographical tale, almost as if he had been talking to me directly.

The narrative of this remarkable 112 year old is interspersed with short passages of historical scene-setting, filling in the background to Henry's story. Consequently they add rather than detract from the narrative.

The whole book is delightful ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Kitchener's Last Volunteer: The Life of Henry Allingham, Britain's Oldest Man and the Oldest Surviving Veteran of the Great War

Used Price: £9.10

Average Rating:

.The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Mark Thompson

September 04, 2008
For those of you who have read Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, you would be aware that the a war was fought on the Italian Front during the Great War. However, because so much is written about the Western Front, Gallipoli and even the Eastern Front, it is easy to forget this part of the war. Thompson, however, has brought together a book which seeks to redress this balance - and in my opinion it does so beautifully.

Unlike many dry history books, Thompson paints a picture of suffering, confusion and unbelievable bravery from a front which claimed millions of lives over the course of the War. Many of us know how the advent of technology brought about countless deaths on the Western Front, but countless more were lost on the Italian front due ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919

Used Price: £11.50

Average Rating:

.Shots from the Front: The British Soldier 1914-18
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Richard Holmes

September 01, 2008
For those of you who have read Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, you would be aware that the a war was fought on the Italian Front during the Great War. However, because so much is written about the Western Front, Gallipoli and even the Eastern Front, it is easy to forget this part of the war. Thompson, however, has brought together a book which seeks to redress this balance - and in my opinion it does so beautifully.

Unlike many dry history books, Thompson paints a picture of suffering, confusion and unbelievable bravery from a front which claimed millions of lives over the course of the War. Many of us know how the advent of technology brought about countless deaths on the Western Front, but countless more were lost on the Italian front due ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Shots from the Front: The British Soldier 1914-18

Used Price: £14.07

Average Rating:

.Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Joshua Levine

October 02, 2008
For those of you who have read Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, you would be aware that the a war was fought on the Italian Front during the Great War. However, because so much is written about the Western Front, Gallipoli and even the Eastern Front, it is easy to forget this part of the war. Thompson, however, has brought together a book which seeks to redress this balance - and in my opinion it does so beautifully.

Unlike many dry history books, Thompson paints a picture of suffering, confusion and unbelievable bravery from a front which claimed millions of lives over the course of the War. Many of us know how the advent of technology brought about countless deaths on the Western Front, but countless more were lost on the Italian front due ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived

Used Price: £8.62

Average Rating:

.Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925 (Virago classic non-fiction)
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Vera Brittain

January 01, 1933
My mother having pressed me to read this book, I finally got round to it early this year. Thank God I did.

I cannot begin to put into words how much this book touched me. Vera Brittan must be an inspiration to all women; a strong and determined character who, despite losing almost everything to the War, did not give up. Vera Brittan was a young, ambitious girl growing up pre-war with aspirations to go to University (something uncommon for the day.) She succeeded in getting into Oxford to study English. Then the War came crashing into her life, and Vera's brother and friends get called up to fight. She herself finds her place, working as a nurse first in London, then abroad. Vera Brittan lost so much to this horrific War and yet still found the strength ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925 (Virago classic non-fiction)

Used Price: £1.98

Average Rating:

.Forgotten Voices of the Great War: A New History of WWI in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices/the Great War)
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Max Arthur

October 02, 2003
Forgotten Voices of the Great War is a collection of real life experiences of the First World War, as told by the ordinary people who lived through it.
I must admit that my knowledge of the First World War is a little blank. My only previous experience of this period was through school lessons about trench warfare, or by watching Blackadder goes forth. Therefore I can't make an analysis about the historical accuracy of the book. But what I can say is that I found it a very powerful and poignant work.

The author, Max Arthur, has spent several years listening to thousands of recordings of the men and women who lived during this period. These tapes were kept as archival records in the Imperial War Museum, after they were collected in 1972. These are essentially ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Forgotten Voices of the Great War: A New History of WWI in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices/the Great War)

Used Price: £0.01

Average Rating:

.Band of Brigands: The First Men in Tanks
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Christy Campbell

September 01, 2008
Not being an expert on the period I can only say that to this layman this is an interesting and very readable book. It is maybe just 50 or so pages too long because whilst I welcome the many personal anecdotes and tales (some of them very funny indeed!) I think the author may just over egg the pudding somewhat. I am sure that more technically minded folk may pick over some of the detail in here but on the whole I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in warfare and the Great War in particular
>>See More Reviews & Details on Band of Brigands: The First Men in Tanks

Used Price: £4.25

Average Rating:

.Scars Upon My Heart
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
from: Virago Press Ltd

February 02, 2006
A long overdue anthology of women's poetry from a time that seemed for along while, to belong exclusively to the more famous and tragic male war poets. This collection is a poignant answer to Wilfred Owen's condemnation of women as almost extraneous to the horror taking place around them. There are poems which reflect loss and the fear of loss. Poems by nurses and VAD's about the terrible injuries they treat and witness. Poems which are valid social statements by women working in munitions factories and as clippies. Poems by mothers, sisters, sweethearts and wives. The overwhelming feeling of being part of Vera Britain's 'lost generation', and the bitterness of losing their own claim on the future through the loss of their menfolk. Most of these poems are moving, some of them truly ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Scars Upon My Heart

Used Price: £4.49

Average Rating:

.The Great War and Modern Memory
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Paul Fussell

June 01, 2000
The study of war literature does not end with Fussell. Things went on in the Anglospeaking world and elsewhere. Now there are many essays on war and literature, some with sounder judgements on single authors and books, though probably not as well written as The Great War and Modern Memory. However, no one can deny the simple fact that we wouldn't be discussing the issue of war and literature hadn't Fussell published this essay in the 1970s.

Having said that, I'd like to point out what aspects of the book are dated, since other readers have listed its merits.

First of all, the purely British canon Fussell analysed led him to some conclusions which are highly questionable when one takes into account the French, Italian, German, American, and Austrian classics ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on The Great War and Modern Memory

Used Price: £5.50

Average Rating:

.Soldier's War: The Great War Through Veterans' Eyes
City Travel Guides > Books > World War I
by: Richard Van Emden

October 06, 2008
The study of war literature does not end with Fussell. Things went on in the Anglospeaking world and elsewhere. Now there are many essays on war and literature, some with sounder judgements on single authors and books, though probably not as well written as The Great War and Modern Memory. However, no one can deny the simple fact that we wouldn't be discussing the issue of war and literature hadn't Fussell published this essay in the 1970s.

Having said that, I'd like to point out what aspects of the book are dated, since other readers have listed its merits.

First of all, the purely British canon Fussell analysed led him to some conclusions which are highly questionable when one takes into account the French, Italian, German, American, and Austrian classics ... Read More:
>>See More Reviews & Details on Soldier's War: The Great War Through Veterans' Eyes

Used Price: £15.31