Writing the Great War

[ericwebb]

First published in 2003, but only recently out in p/b I think: ISBN 0-7146-8430-9. I paid £27.24 on Amazon incuding P&P.

This is subtitled 'Sir James Edmonds and the Official Histories 1915 - 1948': worth remembering not least that it was 1948 before the magnum opus was finally completed, by which time Edmonds was 87! There's hope for some of us yet! Edmonds was quite a man, although in the last analysis he had more brains than raw ambition. In the course of his own military career he was at Staff College alongside Haig, he was on the staff of 4th Division at Le Cateau, then served at GHQ for the remainder of the War. He appears to have had no enemies save Henry Wilson, and any man who incurred the dislike of that particular mountebank was almost by definition a good egg!

The story of the writing of the Official Histories is far more interesting than it sounds. Andrew Green freely concedes that he began with the intention further to confirm what had long since become accepted in some quarters - that the Histories are little more than a great bucketful of whitewash - and that he was progressively won over to a far more positive view the further he dug into the original material. They were originally intended primarily for the benefit of future officers in future wars, who might learn something to their advantage from the experiences of their predecessors, so that any systematic fudge or dishonesty must be self-defeating. Sales to the general public might be hoped for, to defray costs, but that was only a secondary consideration. He concludes eventually that they do a remarkably good job in either regard. They stand in fact as a fitting and lively literary monument to those who served but also, not least, to Edmonds' tenacity, in pushing the project through against every obstacle. [They certainly seem to be 'lifted' wholesale, not always with due acknowledgments, by a great many later writers!]

I won't attempt a further review at length. I will quote one statistic, which caught Edmonds' eye when he was fighting an early funding battle, and obviously caught Andrew Green's and mine. At then current prices, the direct cost of the Great War to the British nation was £3,500 per minute, ie. from 3rd August 1914 to 31st March 1920 £11,196,927,000. Multiplying by 50 for current prices, that is £560B.

Expensive business, war! [As of the past 2 days, please someone, tell Mr. Putin before it's too late!]

Eric Webb

Milton Keynes

[armourersergeant]

Eric,

Been out in paperback before as I have a loaned copy in my possession. It is a good read, though expensive.

The OH I always feel is a starting point. I do not believe some of the conclusions it doesn't make, if you get what I mean. Edmonds was rather good at implying but not saying. However I do think the Loos volume is rather good.

regards

Arm

[MartinWills]

There is already another thread discussing this - perhaps they could be merged?

[MartH]

Actually I've mentioned this book before in other topics. It's a very interesting book. There is also a closed topic.

[John(txic)]

Actually I've mentioned this book before in other topics. It's a very interesting book. There is also a closed topic.

Indeed - very interesting, and not a "dry" read at all.

I've just listed my copy on eBay today, if anyone wishes to buy a copy for themselves.

Here's a Link if you're interested:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280275497740

[John(txic)]

Where's the best place to buy the Official Histories now?

[keithmroberts]

Most of the official histories are still available as reprints and the usual on-line booksellers can supply copies. Used copies can appear on a multitude of sources including Ebay and Amazon. In the case of the latter it is good to use the link from the donations page as this supports the forum. Prices for used copies vary enormously, with some complete first edition volumes fetching very high prices, while a tatty copy of a reprint might be had for a tenner or less.

Some might even appear occasionally in the forum sales section.

Keith

[Tony Lund]

Where's the best place to buy the Official Histories now?

I would go to the Naval & Military Press website. About £30+ per volume.

They have even reprinted the 12 Volume Official History of the Ministry of Munitions. 3 volumes of that lot look interesting to me.

Tony.

[John(txic)]

Thanks for the tip, Tony - looking at their website, the MoM History you refer to seem a snip @ £18 each (£195 the set)>