The Great War Diaries: BBC Books.

[MikeyH]

The Times Magazine for Saturday 17th May, contains an article by Ben Macintyre on a book due to be published on the 29th May at £30. Subtitled 'Breathtaking Colour Photographs from a World Torn Apart'. Prior to the Great War a photographer named August Fuhrmann patented a sort of 3D magic lantern show, which he named the 'Kaiserpanorama'. This was very popular, and in 1910 250 were operating across Europe. On the outbreak of war Fuhrmann travelled to the Western Front to take a series of photos, around 50 cycles. These obviously posed images were coloured by hand by a secret method, no battle scenes were shown, but many of troops, bunkers, equipment and hospitals. The German public were captivated. The advent of moving pictures rendered the system obsolete and most of the plate glass images were destroyed, save a few thousand hoarded by a dentist, which form the basis of this book. Fuhrmann took the secret of his colouring process to the grave.

Mike.

[Halder]

A copy landed on my desk at work this afternoon. I didn't have any more time than to make a cursory inspection. On first glance, looks stunning, some truly impressive colour imagery which makes it very fresh indeed. The book seems to very nicely produced. Had I not had a review copy, I'd have been investing in it.

[David Ridgus]

Apparently this accompanies a forthcoming series on the BBC. Another one to look forward too by the looks of it

David

[Kitty55]

O.K I got it half price which in a way I'm grateful for as I normally love reading about the soldier's experiences especially in letters home etc. I just feel this falls short in some way - not sure how though. It gives information never revealed before and approaches it from many different angles. It's an easy book to put down and then pick up again without any problems of having to recap what you've already read. However, I don't find it as good as the Imperial War Museum Book of the First World War, A Great Conflict Recalled in Previously Unpublished Letters, Diaries, Documents and Memoirs - possibly one of my favourites.

I admit I like reading soldiers/sailors accounts especially their letters home and have several books in my collection that feature that alone.

This for some reason just seems disjointed to me - don't know why - it's beautifully presented and the layout is better than many - which as a designer I appreciate greatly. Perhaps I just need to read it again - or is it that it's neither under topics or in date order - I really don't know - I'll read it again.

Now I picked up 4 other books at the same time (all half price as well) "The First World War Remembered by Gary Sheffield"; "Remembering Tommy - The British Soldier in the First World War by Peter Boyle & Chris Foster"; "World War 1 - The Definitive Visual Guide - Sarajevo to Versalles by R.G. Grant" and finally "World War I by H. P. Willmott"

Yes they are all picture books as some would say but that is also my type of book and each offers me something the others don't - and they are the first ones I've bought other than individually told stories about a regiment or persons war.

I'll say more when I've read them all.

thanks and take care, Kitty