Helen Mcphail

[zijde26]

Has anyone read

" The long silence. Civilian life under the German occupation of Northern France, 1914 - 1918 " written by Helen Mcphail ?

Opinion ?

Thanks,

Gilbert Deraedt

[jay dubaya]

Hi Gilbert, I haven't read the book, but in the absence of any replies there is a review here, which I must say was enough for me to order a copy,

Jon

[David Filsell]

Like all of Helen McPhail's work this is a very good book - and as far as I know it is the only worthwhile book on the subject in English. When first published I read and reviewed it for Stand To!. I made the comment then that it was hopelessly overpriced (around £40) and that this would restrict its sales. Academic publishers seem to lack any common sense in pricing and marketing many important books about the Great War (and other subjects). If they got their act together, priced them at more affordable prices and marketed them properly we would all benefit. As a regular reviewer, I am only rarely sent books by academic publishers and trying to get copies from publishers is very very difficult. However, I believe that Helen's book may have been published in paperback subsequently. It is one I would strongly recommend. She has worked extensively with the Historial, speaks fluent French and dug very deep to find material for the book, which deserves to be far better known. Hope this helps

[George Armstrong Custer]

Academic publishers seem to lack any common sense in pricing and marketing many important books about the Great War (and other subjects). If they got their act together, priced them at more affordable prices and marketed them properly we would all benefit.

Totally agree with this, David. Roger Morriss' excellent book on Admiral Cockburn, for instance, was published by University of Exeter Press. Production value wise and in size it would have retailed at about £25 if published by a general publishing house. But it's priced at £45, which must mean that it sells far fewer copies than in might have. I hadn't heard of McPhail's book until Gilbert's post, and the link in Jon's post makes me want to read it. £40 for the hardback wouldn't be justifiable to me, though, for something not more directly related to my own interests. The paperback option, though, would be of interest to someone like myself attracted to a title which is dealing with a subject which is a little off the beaten track.

ciao,

GAC

[Chris_Baker]

I know Helen well and echo David's comments. I have read it and would not pay £40 - the book justifies it but I won't pay such a sum, on principle. I actually got it from our local library and in all probability all in UK could get it on inter-library loan.

[jay dubaya]

Just like to add that you can get new softbound copies for less than a tenner,

Jon

[George Armstrong Custer]

Thanks Jon - that fits the bill nicely! Will check out Amazon when I get a moment.

ciao,

GAC