mmckay395 Posted 26 December , 2011 Share Posted 26 December , 2011 So this is a very open question. My sister has sent me a £20 amazon voucher and I would like some suggestions. Is there a book you think everyone interested in the first world war should own? A book you read over and over again or a 'wild card' of a book. I am eyeing up: Command and Control of the Western Front ed. Gary Sheffield and Pyrrhic Victory by Robert Doughty. But, like I say, I'm open to recommendations that may vary my reading material. Looking forward to hearing what people suggest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archangel9 Posted 26 December , 2011 Share Posted 26 December , 2011 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theres-Devil-Drum-John-Lucy/dp/1843421100 John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 26 December , 2011 Share Posted 26 December , 2011 I've read both "All Quiet" and "Birdsong" more than once. For what it's worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 26 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 26 December , 2011 http://www.amazon.co...y/dp/1843421100 John thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely consider it. I enjoyed reading Storm of Steel this summer and would like to read some memoirs again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 A book I am fond of reading is "Some Desperate Glory" Edward Campion Vaughan khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genegwf Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 My favorite books, FIRST DAY ON THE SOMME, by Middlebrook and UNDERTONES OF WAR by Blunden. I truly enjoy reading both. Gene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nthornton1979 Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely consider it. I enjoyed reading Storm of Steel this summer and would like to read some memoirs again. In that case you MUST buy this book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-eater-Memoirs-VC-Pollard/dp/1845742559 See my review on the Amazon link, comparing it with Storm of Steel. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River97 Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 You could have a look at this: Remembered. Which ever one you do go for, do it through the forum (Link at the top) as they get a cut. Cheers Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Grundy Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 I see 'khaki' has beaten me to it - I'd recommend 'Some Desperate Glory' very highly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 27 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Fantastic stuff, so far I have There's a Devil in the Drum, Some Desperate Glory and The War the Infantry Knew added to my basket. I think I'll let this thread run for a couple of days before placing my order and see what other people put forward Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Two Peter Hart books spring to mind: The Somme and Gallipoli. Scholarly thought provoking narrative weaved into first hand accounts and not just limited to the British view/experience. Regards, Jonathan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 If it is memoirs, you can do no better than George Coppard's "With a machine gun to Cambrai". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddell Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 A wildcard-A.P Herbert's "The Secret Battle"- fact dressed lightly as fiction and beautifully written. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 27 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Two Peter Hart books spring to mind: The Somme and Gallipoli. Scholarly thought provoking narrative weaved into first hand accounts and not just limited to the British view/experience. Regards, Jonathan S Already have the Somme although I haven't got round to reading it yet. I have considered Gallipoli as well. I think I have ample memoir suggestions. I'd like to hear what people suggest regarding battles/campaigns etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Do you use Facebook? There's a good listing of more than 1400 Great War books, most of which are on campaigns and battles. You might need to narrow your scope a little bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Armstrong Custer Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 For more in-depth analysis of titles, there's also the Great War Book Review Page: Great War Book Review Page George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 27 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Excellent, I'm browsing through it now. I'm also considering An Improbable War: The Outbreak of World War One and European Political Culture ed by Holger Afflerbach for a more academic approach and a bit of a gamble, although I'm sure it will provide some very thought provoking insights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st east yorks Posted 28 December , 2011 Share Posted 28 December , 2011 The hell they called High wood by Terry Norman.An interesting book focusing solely on the many battles to take this important wood during the battle of the Somme 1916. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 28 December , 2011 Share Posted 28 December , 2011 Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands, by Michael B. Barrett, about one of the most successful amphibious landings ever. Or Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War, by John R. Schindler, about the fighting on the Italian front. Both are un-put-downable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 28 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2011 Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands, by Michael B. Barrett, about one of the most successful amphibious landings ever. Or Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War, by John R. Schindler, about the fighting on the Italian front. Both are un-put-downable. Excellent suggestions. I've browsed through the Schindler book before whilst writing my dissertation but I think it's out of my price range atm. I am considering the Barrett book though. It's an area of the war I'm not that clued up on so I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for the suggestion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 29 December , 2011 Share Posted 29 December , 2011 Excellent suggestions. I've browsed through the Schindler book before whilst writing my dissertation but I think it's out of my price range atm. I am considering the Barrett book though. It's an area of the war I'm not that clued up on so I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for the suggestion Good lord! I had no idea the Schindler book was going at such a premium. I bought my copy two years ago for about a quarter of what it's selling for now. The Barrett book is great: detailed, action packed, and best of all, about the humans involved. If you buy it, you'll never see bicycle troops the same way again. I always thought they were slightly silly, but the ones who took part in Operation Albion were hardened shock troops that moved inhumanly quickly across the islands. Here's a teaser: The Germans used the guns of their torpedo boats to support the troops on the islands, but they had no method of identifying targets, so the boats would send a launch with a naval officer to the island to meet up with the assault troops; they would point out the Russian position that needed to be shelled; and the naval officer would then return in his launch to the ship and visually try and find the target again from the ship. They'd fire a salvo, and then the officer would get back in the launch and go do BDA on the island. Each fire-control mission could take as much as two hours. They used zeppelins, seaplanes, and tramp steamers instead of troopships. The whole thing was improvised and changed over and over, yet it worked flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 30 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2011 Brilliant. The books I have just ordered are: Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands (Twentieth- Century Battles)"<br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; ">Michael B. Barrett "The War the Infantry Knew: A Chronicle of Service in France and Belgium (History Greats)"<br style="line-height: 17px; ">Dunn, J.C. "Some Desperate Glory"<br style="line-height: 17px; ">John Terraine (Foreword), Edwin Campion Vaughan (Author) Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I can't wait to get started on these. All the best Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 2 January , 2012 Share Posted 2 January , 2012 I guess you made your choice now, but I'd like to add one title to the list: Max Arthur's "Symbol of Courage". The history of the Victoria Cross and the complete list of all soldiers ever awarded the medal, from Captain Bell, Crimean War, to Pvt Beharry in Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebleyBoy16 Posted 5 January , 2012 Share Posted 5 January , 2012 So this is a very open question. My sister has sent me a £20 amazon voucher and I would like some suggestions. Is there a book you think everyone interested in the first world war should own? A book you read over and over again or a 'wild card' of a book. I am eyeing up: Command and Control of the Western Front ed. Gary Sheffield and Pyrrhic Victory by Robert Doughty. But, like I say, I'm open to recommendations that may vary my reading material. Looking forward to hearing what people suggest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebleyBoy16 Posted 5 January , 2012 Share Posted 5 January , 2012 Well I am Almost Done With, THE FIGHTING PADRE (LETTERS FROM THE TRENCHES 1915-1918) OF PAT LEONARD DSO. www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Edited by JOHN LEONARD & PHILIP LEONARD-JOHNSON. I Love this Book For Other Than My Two Grandfathers Both British Young Ofiicers Letters Home That I am Lucky Enough To Own This INMHO is one of the Finest Books I Have Read In a while. and Runs The Gaumet sp Of Sad war weary. To Humor I have enjoyed this Book So Much with His Fine Writing You feel Like you are in the mud of france. and I must say for a Book Amazon recommended for me it was money well spent. and after getting This far I Feel This would Make A Great Film . It Gets Five Webleys From Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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