1st east yorks Posted 2 March , 2012 Share Posted 2 March , 2012 There are various books covering the entire war, but which do you recommend; Hew Strachans,John Keegans,David Stevensons or Peter Simkins? There are bound to be others that I have missed. I'm looking for one that covers the causes aswell as the war itself. Thanks in advance, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 2 March , 2012 Share Posted 2 March , 2012 As a single volume history Stevenson would get my vote. If Strachan were to finish his masterpiece then that would get the multi-volume nod, but it probably won't happen now. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 2 March , 2012 Share Posted 2 March , 2012 If I had to choose one, I'd go for Stevenson but I have not yet read a treatment of the whole war which adequately covers the causes. In fairness, I do not expect to find such a work. I have not found one work which covers all the bases on the origins. That is a very tangled tale and still controversial to a degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazelclark Posted 2 March , 2012 Share Posted 2 March , 2012 I have read all of the above except Stevenson which is next on my list. Several people recommended it. However I am currently reading a history of the war by Trevor Wilson and so far it is the best I have read. It seems to cover the entire war. Before, during and after, and everything in between, from just about everyone's viewpoint. It is a very readable book and compared with Strachan, which I take in bits and pieces it is not nearly so heavy going. Martin Gilbert's book was the one I read first and I must say that it was the one that got me interested in the war. Having said that, the last book I read of his was disappointing. It appeared to have been thrown together in chunks. It was "The Somme" Hazel C. There are various books covering the entire war, but which do you recommend; Hew Strachans,John Keegans,David Stevensons or Peter Simkins? There are bound to be others that I have missed. I'm looking for one that covers the causes aswell as the war itself. Thanks in advance, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidfegga Posted 3 March , 2012 Share Posted 3 March , 2012 As above, Stevenson without a doubt. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st east yorks Posted 3 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2012 Thanks for your replies.So far Stevensons seems the most popular. Simon, why wont Strachan finish his multi volume work? Hazel, is the Trevor Wilson book 'The myriad faces of war 1914-1918' or is it 'The First world war' with Robin Prior? thanks again, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazelclark Posted 3 March , 2012 Share Posted 3 March , 2012 Sorry - meant to say - "The Myriad Faces of War" I did read one by Prior but it was VERY synoptic. (is there such a word?) H.C. Thanks for your replies.So far Stevensons seems the most popular. Simon, why wont Strachan finish his multi volume work? Hazel, is the Trevor Wilson book 'The myriad faces of war 1914-1918' or is it 'The First world war' with Robin Prior? thanks again, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st east yorks Posted 3 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2012 Hazel, thanks for clearing that up.Yes,synoptic is a word and i know what you mean. thanks again, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 3 March , 2012 Share Posted 3 March , 2012 Simon, why wont Strachan finish his multi volume work? Anthony. It took something like 12 years for him to complete Volume 1 'To Arms'. It is a magnificent book. But it was published 11 years ago and there is no indication that he will complete the proposed trilogy. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWorrall Posted 3 March , 2012 Share Posted 3 March , 2012 If I had to choose one, I'd go for Stevenson but I have not yet read a treatment of the whole war which adequately covers the causes. In fairness, I do not expect to find such a work. I have not found one work which covers all the bases on the origins. That is a very tangled tale and still controversial to a degree. I have to agree with Tom, if you want the origins covered in the same single volume as the rest of the war. And his caveat about them still being controversial is worth noting. If you are willing to look for a separate single volume which does a really good job on the causes and origins alone, then James Joll's is still the classic work on the subject. Now in a third edition and co-authored by Gordon Martel. There are really good alternatives by: Mulligan (most recently) ; Hamilton & Herwig ; Evans & von Strandmann ; Steiner & Neilson ; Ponting (on the July crisis) ; Fromkin (in easy to read short chapters) ; and many others. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st east yorks Posted 4 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 4 March , 2012 Simon, In hindsight I tend to agree with you and Tom. To briefly cover the causes of the war at the beginning of a more generalised work would do it no justice. I normally read books that delve deep into the subject and the books you have suggested on the causes appeal to my type of reading. I now realise that I need to separate the two. Thanks for your input and advice. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yelob Posted 5 March , 2012 Share Posted 5 March , 2012 I would vote for Stevenson too, his chapter on the origins is superb and indicative of the whole in this sense: he seems to be able to summarise complex aspects of the war but without losing too much relevant detail. He also includes chapters that I haven't seen covered elsewhere such as war finance, peace moves during the war, war aims during the war etc. Highly recommended. Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st east yorks Posted 5 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 5 March , 2012 Thanks Liam.Im opting for Stevensons book due to the favourable comments on this thread.Im sure the other books mentioned will appeal to many,and will cover issues not covered in other books,also. Thanks for everyones input and advice. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 5 March , 2012 Share Posted 5 March , 2012 Liam If you are interested in questions of finance then Hew Strachan's Vol I 'To Arms' has a brilliant 140 pages on the subject - highly recommended. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yelob Posted 5 March , 2012 Share Posted 5 March , 2012 Thanks Jack, I have tried tackling that section of Strachan before but it is heavy going. I found Stevenson's treatment of it easier to digest. Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 6 March , 2012 Share Posted 6 March , 2012 Fair enough, Liam. I also agree with you that Stevenson is currently the best single volume choice. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yelob Posted 6 March , 2012 Share Posted 6 March , 2012 Hi Jack, I agree with your assessment of Strachan, he is magnificent but it took me a while to find the right approach to his book, basically lots of notes, diagrams and highlighters. I have gained a huge amount from 'To Arms' in the chapters I did manage. I do think though that he suffers from a density of prose that is sometimes confusing and he does assume a lot from the reader. Thanks again for your endorsement of that chapter, it might spur me on to tackle it again! All the best,Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 6 March , 2012 Share Posted 6 March , 2012 I must admit that I've never read Call to Arms: Hew Strachan, from start to finish (it is heavy going and I doubt if my brain could absorb it all in one go!) but I do refer to this often and tend to use it more for reference, albeit an excellent one. I was hoping he would complete the series but the colossal amount of work producing this mighty tome must have taken it out of him, or may life events got in the way (as they do) I've asked a few times on here about this but no-one seems to know anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 6 March , 2012 Share Posted 6 March , 2012 Hi Jack, I agree with your assessment of Strachan, he is magnificent but it took me a while to find the right approach to his book, basically lots of notes, diagrams and highlighters. I have gained a huge amount from 'To Arms' in the chapters I did manage. I do think though that he suffers from a density of prose that is sometimes confusing and he does assume a lot from the reader. Thanks again for your endorsement of that chapter, it might spur me on to tackle it again! All the best,Liam As a matter of interest, that chapter has been released as a separate work, " Financing the War". If nothing else, it is easier to carry around than the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 6 March , 2012 Share Posted 6 March , 2012 I must admit that I've never read Call to Arms: Hew Strachan, from start to finish (it is heavy going and I doubt if my brain could absorb it all in one go!) but I do refer to this often and tend to use it more for reference, albeit an excellent one. I was hoping he would complete the series but the colossal amount of work producing this mighty tome must have taken it out of him, or may life events got in the way (as they do) I've asked a few times on here about this but no-one seems to know anything Although I have stated a preference for Stevenson, as a reference I would also recommend " Principal Events 1914-1918". This was published by the Official Historians in 1922. My copy is a large format paperback from Naval & Military Press. Only suitable for reference, there is no narrative, it has a very wide coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 13 March , 2012 Share Posted 13 March , 2012 Hi everybody, I agree on Stevenson... he's thorough, complete and clear. Keegan is also very high on my list. First book on WWI I ever read ... long story, might tell you that someday ... and read again last year. Another one that might be worth reading is Ian BECKETT's The Great War. In my bibliography, I notes the follwing comment: moves beyond the military narrative to offer a fuller analysis of the conflict's impact. It Is the sort of "touche à tout" books,that goes through all the aspects of the war. It presupposes a general knowledge of the history and the main battles. With this knowledge the reader then gets an idea on the various political, social and cultural questions of the war. Sometimes a bit too "general", and definitely too many numbers and statistics. He has so many aspects that he cannot go too deep in them. Opens questions to be further analyzed. (and I found a tiny little mistake on page 433 on the French Soldat Inconnu ... maybee it has been corrected in version 2, dated 207... ) Marilyne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 13 March , 2012 Share Posted 13 March , 2012 PS ... Talking about "which book"... checking out my bibliography file, that is on books I've read, I have and/or I have to read because I found the reference somewhere in another book or thanks to you guys on this forum. Let's talk statistics: The complete list is now 160books long, I have (really) read (including notes) of that 53, makes some 33,12% ... ... and I'm only talking WWI books. there another pile on Int'l L next to it ... Somebody knows how to get 36hour days??? Better get back to work, huh??? Just wanted to get this of my chest ... Good Night Marilyne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northstar Posted 1 November , 2012 Share Posted 1 November , 2012 Marilyne....160 books! Is this a list you're willing to share? Just intrigued as to what's included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 6 November , 2012 Share Posted 6 November , 2012 euh ... up to 200 now And yes, it's for share ... Northstart, check PM .... others, you're very welcome !! Marilyne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutrino Posted 16 November , 2012 Share Posted 16 November , 2012 Any comments on Martin Gilbert's book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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