George Armstrong Custer Posted 1 August , 2008 Share Posted 1 August , 2008 A sorry tale, Jim. His child could still be alive. ciao, GAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Grundy Posted 1 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 August , 2008 A sorry tale, Jim. His child could still be alive. ciao, GAC Yes, I've often wondered about that. How did any man come back from such experiences with their sanity intact? And the next generation? Look what history had in wait for them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMHart Posted 2 August , 2008 Share Posted 2 August , 2008 In my copy the preface is dated August 2008 which is a bit of a worry for a history book given that we're still in July. Ken Hi Ken, Yes, that was my fault. I asked when it would be published and they said August 8th! I should never have believed a publisher! I actually wrote the preface back in late 2007. It doesn't seem so bad now we've reached 2nd August! Another sign that you can't always believe something just because it's written down in a seemingly contemporary report; sometimes it helps to be able to interview/ask those who were there! But then I might be lying... Sigh! The never-ending problems of interpreting personal experience evidence! By the way thanks for the kind words of those who liked the book, you never seem to see reviews in the quality press these days so the opinion of our 'peers' in the GWF is much appreciated. It seems to be selling quite well so far. If you want to know more and get an idea of the kind of anecdotes have a look on my website prepared by my talented wife Polly Napper (someone had to have talent in our family!) http://peterhartmilitary.com/index.html I find my cricket exploits (sic) of far more interest!!!! See the reports on http://www.n2cc.co.uk/fixtures2008.htm Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 6 August , 2008 Share Posted 6 August , 2008 Is there much on the Royal Naval Division's role in your book, Peter? I ask only as it gives me an excuse to review it in Navy News instead of tales on the high seas for a change. I found sufficient enough excuses to read Bloody April thanks to the RNAS' involvement (which was a real eye-opener, not just for me but also the FAA Museum!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 7 August , 2008 Share Posted 7 August , 2008 My copy of this book arrived a day or two ago and, as yet, I have only had time to flick through but one picture intrigued me. It is number 29, opposite page 361 and is captioned: "French child gazing at a smashed piano at Denain, 25 October 1918. (Q3308)." It seems to me to be a very obviously posed picture and the child is not so much 'gazing' as covering her eyes. I suspect it is intended to show the child weeping at the wanton destruction perpetrated by the retreating Hun. The instrument is more interesting: it is obviously not a conventional piano. It has no sustaining or una corda pedals; it is far too tall; it has a sloping surface which would interfere with a player's knees and it has no keyboard. It also has that great void at the top of the cabinet which would be meaningless in the context of a piano. It appears to be a barrel-piano. The area where you might expect to find a keyboard holds the barrel and you can see the dimensions of this by looking at the moulding on the right hand end - the left hand end would have contained the handle for winding it. The very sturdy brackets inside would either be to support an alternative barrel giving a different selection of tunes or it could have supported a range of drums, bells, tambourines and cymbals making it into a type of orchestrion. I quite favour the latter scenario as the 'weeping' child is standing in the front panel of the instrument which has not been smashed but decoratively cut out, as it would be if the maker wished to display the moving beaters. These instruments were very popular in continental bars and are frequently commented on, often disparrangingly, in soldiers' diaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Armstrong Custer Posted 7 August , 2008 Share Posted 7 August , 2008 Interesting that an apparently 'staged' pic would be used, Ian, without the caption explicitly referring to that fact. I wonder if Peter Hart was involved in the picture selections for the book, or whether as is usual I think, the publisher's picture editors took over that role? Several of the pics in the book are fairly common, and my guess would be that if Peter Hart had been involved in their selection there would have been much more previously unseen stuff. ciao, GAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 7 August , 2008 Share Posted 7 August , 2008 I don't have the book (yet), but spurred by Ian's comments i toddled along Victoria Street to the local Books Etc emprorium and had a browse. I'd agree that many of the pictures are less than new (I think I've seen Ian's reference before), so I too wonder how much input Peter had to the shot selection (talking about the book, not his batting, which looks pretty rubbish if the link he posted is any guide ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMHart Posted 8 August , 2008 Share Posted 8 August , 2008 Hi Chums, Just got back from interviewing for the IWM in sunny Melton Mowbray with a little evening detour to watch the rather fabulous Drive-By Truckers - a popular rock combo Steven - in Nottingham. Halder, there is material on the 63rd Division in the book as they are a favourite of mine, although I differ from most of their 'fans' as I think that Shute was by far the best general they ever had and a significant proportion of their officers were indeed a louche bunch of twits until the Turks and Germans thinned them out a bit. It mainly concerns their retreat from the Flesquires Salient and across the Somme battlefields as far as I remember. Not sure there is enough to justify a review though... I'm afraid I hate photographs, photographic departments of major museums and photographic plate sections and as you can see it sometimes shows. The real problem is that the books are meant to be 'popular' and therefore the editors want classic photo images that we've seen thousands of times, but which your average punter thinks are great. This of course leads to despair and a gnashing and wailing of teeth from the cognosenti (how do you spell that?) I put the child photo in because it made me laugh - you'd have to have a heart of stone not to really! I was actually thinking of how amusing it would have been if it was one the Germans had booby trapped as per a couple of quotes in the book. That would teach her to look cute. Nice to see it properly analysed though - I shall look at pianos far more carefully now! And young Steven B: my batting average is about 25 this season (thanks to a few cunnig not outs and one stirling undefeated 43!) And I'm a stumbling medium paced trundler by trade really (in-swing of course my action is too impure for out-swing) Now you really will upset me if you laugh at my cricket as opposed to my books which I agree are always fair game! Cheers, Pete P.S. By the way I think most 1914-1918 photos are staged! And I never, ever make a decision on what books to buy based on the photos! P.P.S Except photo books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 8 August , 2008 Share Posted 8 August , 2008 P.S. By the way I think most 1914-1918 photos are staged! And I never, ever make a decision on what books to buy based on the photos! Fortunately I didn't when I bought a copy this evening at Borders in Southampton (£3 off!). Cognoscenti? And I watched some very good seam bowling at the Rose Bowl this morning, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 8 August , 2008 Share Posted 8 August , 2008 Halder, there is material on the 63rd Division in the book as they are a favourite of mine, although I differ from most of their 'fans' as I think that Shute was by far the best general they ever had and a significant proportion of their officers were indeed a louche bunch of twits until the Turks and Germans thinned them out a bit. It mainly concerns their retreat from the Flesquires Salient and across the Somme battlefields as far as I remember. Not sure there is enough to justify a review though... Thanks Peter, that's good enough for me! I shall set the wheels in motion for a review copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 8 August , 2008 Share Posted 8 August , 2008 Must say it is a good read, Peter. Any book on this period of the war is most welcome. In my copy the illustrations only cover up to the period October 1918. There is nothing, image wise, for later than that. Do I have images missing, or is there a reason for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 9 August , 2008 Share Posted 9 August , 2008 I was actually thinking of how amusing it would have been if it was one the Germans had booby trapped as per a couple of quotes in the book. Just wait until someone turns that handle..... Paul, My copy has 30 photos going up to October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMHart Posted 9 August , 2008 Share Posted 9 August , 2008 Too dark and gloomy for cameras in November 1918! No you have all there was Paul! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 9 August , 2008 Share Posted 9 August , 2008 Ok thanks - was just puzzled there was no photos of the Sambre action or 11th November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 11 November , 2008 Share Posted 11 November , 2008 I'm currently reading this excellent book, but I have another gripe about a picture caption. There is a photo of a captured German railway gun; it is captioned as a 14cm naval gun. Now I went to school in Imperial, but as any fule kno, an inch is 2.45 cms, so that makes 14cm equal to (more or less) 6". I can't really believe a 6" gun needs a railway mounting, and I can't really believe that the picture shows a 6" gun. Do I assume, therefore, that the 14 year-old picture resercher saw the IWM photo and didn't realise 14cms wasn't very big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 11 November , 2008 Share Posted 11 November , 2008 I will add my plaudits for Peter Hart's 1918 - only halfway through but highly impressed. Not least he uses the so called "forgotten voices" tape material with a genuine skill lacking in other writers who attempt to use existing material in the belief that on its own, without contextualisation, it is meaningful. Throughout the reader is "located", in position if you like, with those speaking. Equally the selection of taped material used offers variety of experiences and shows a wide range of emotions and consequences. It is both an excellent adjunct to written detailed analysis of the battle and a fine introduction to the complexities of the story of the final victory. I have both Bloody April and Aces Falling on my shelves and found these equally compelling. It would be hard to over-recommend the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 11 November , 2008 Share Posted 11 November , 2008 It would be hard to over-recommend the book. I would whole-heartedly second that comment. As the man used to say: It's a cracker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 11 November , 2008 Share Posted 11 November , 2008 It would be hard to over-recommend the book. Now also available as an audio book - excellent listening for long drives! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dekenai Posted 11 November , 2008 Share Posted 11 November , 2008 Although l haven't yet read Peter's book, l thought his interview on Aust TV, ( http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20081110/war/), was fabulous. As the Canadian E.P historian said, "It;s good and about time the British have started studying their own involvement as have the Australians, and Canadians". It is timely to have these focuses bought into our understanding, before the myth overtakes us. Thanks Peter Hart. RDC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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