Seadog Posted 4 December , 2008 Share Posted 4 December , 2008 I dare say that many members will have read “Silent Night” by one Stanley Weintraub, the supposed story of the Christmas Truce 1914. Luckily I picked up a cheap second hand paperback copy and having read (most of it) I am of the opinion that it is one of the very worse books that I have ever read on the subject of WW1. What annoyed me most was the mixing of vast tracts of fictional accounts with the factual details until the two became so mixed up that it was hard to tell each apart. I totally skipped the chapter on the Football matches including as it does scenes from the TV series Blackadder! Towards the end of this classic comes 21 pages entitled “What If” being a long ramble on what may have happened had the truce continued which again I skipped. Lastly another 21 pages of “Sources” again too boring to read. If any else has a view on this book I would be interested. Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 4 December , 2008 Share Posted 4 December , 2008 A trawl of past threads will reveal that this often vies with Mosier's "Myth of the Great War" as the worst war book ever written. Me? I think they have honours about even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dycer Posted 4 December , 2008 Share Posted 4 December , 2008 Norman, As I share John's view on "Silent Night"I will accept his point on the "Myth of the Great War". If you've not already done so try and find a copy of "Christmas Truce" by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton.I doubt it can be bettered.. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted 5 December , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 December , 2008 John now I am really excited!, a worse book than Silent Night?. Off to the bookshop today looking for a copy of "Myths of the Great War". Thanks Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 5 December , 2008 Share Posted 5 December , 2008 Norman You need to find a shop having a big clearance - one that will pay you to take a copy away. Might be reasonable value then. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dycer Posted 5 December , 2008 Share Posted 5 December , 2008 Norman, I would look for a copy of "The Masochist's Guide to Self-Torture" whilst you're searching. Happy hunting. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 14 December , 2008 Share Posted 14 December , 2008 The thing I like about reading really bad books is that it challenges you to think and assess the material in front of you. It is all to easy to read a book and take it as gospel truth without weighing up the content. A bad book does make you think and challenge the content - something you should do with any source (primary or secondary)! Apart from that, Silent Night is awful, not least for mixing fact and fiction and implying it all to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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