Esential Reference - Your Views

[David Filsell]

Not sure if this is the right thread - but I assume that it will be moved if not - but it is about books.

As a newcomer to the subject many years ago I bought books in a very haphazard way. Only later did I realise that there are essentiasl works of reference. I have been thinking of writing a guide article - or series - of brief and to the point articles for Stand To! of the essentials for newcomers to the art. I have no timescale, and it could be a simple rolling project for people to dip into on the Forum as well

Obviously one man's essential is another's indulgance, but I would be of very great assistance if any of the team would like to make recommendations - both to see how they match-up with my list and to 'learn' me. If it works it would also provide a valuable reference on the Forum to which 'newbies' could be directed -

In broad terms I though of a first article about the British Army which details the Official Histories, Becke and etc. Others would cover the air war, key books on specific battles, the main 'literary' memoirs and etc - actually the list is endless. Input from others would make the list more than just my own (obviously limited) opinion. So if you would care to name a subject area and provide:

Full title,

author,

publisher and date

a brief comment on the book - not a detailed critique - and its value as reference I will be happy to sek to take it from there (giving appropriate credits to everyone of course)

If you think that the idea is a bummer let me know.

Very best regards

David

[stoj22]

As a keen battlefield walker I found the following book invaluable:

Rats Alley by Peter Chasseaud

Published by Spellmount 2006

The Gazetteer gives the location of hundreds of trenches.

It doesn't have the actual maps however but copies of most areas are easy enough to source.

Steve

[Ken Lees]

This sounds like a very good idea and would certainly be something I would use, but how would the quality be maintained if you are soliciting submissions? Might it not end up as simply a list of every book on the subject?

A worthwhile project that would particularly benefit newcomers, whether to the Great War generally, or to those exploring a different aspect of the conflict.

Ken

[David Filsell]

Sorry iI should have been clearer, but I did not want to dog the topic down with detail. I was anticipating that the term essential reference, plus a degree of editorial control, would lend it some credibility, together with a degree of self selection if some of the heavyweights forumeers pitch in. What I have in mind is not "my favourite book", but books which are far mo0re thasn simply helpful in terms of the factual information which they contain which have proven useful to those researching. I As an addition to my criteria perhaps subject would be a useful addition and rather more detail provided than the helpful but very brief contribution by Pote Fractus