Recommendations for novels on WWI??

T

Trout Tamer

Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Messages
1,526
So I was at Border's tonight, browsing through the history section, and it occurred to me that I'm not terribly knowledgeable about WWI. I've studied the basic causes of the war, but I've read next-to-nothing of personal experiences from that period. I've never even read All Quiet on the Western Front :eek:

So, which books would y'all recommend for a look into WWI, particularly from a soldier's perspective?

thanks for the input in advance,
Trout
 
I think you're looking for factual works, rather than novels?

Some I can wholeheartedly recommend are:

1. Death's Men: Soldiers of the Great War

http://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Men-So...ef=sr_1_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

2. First of the Few: Fighter Pilots of the First World War

http://www.amazon.com/First-Few-Fig..._bbs_sr_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

And the one indispensable book about WW1:

3. The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916

http://www.amazon.com/First-Somme-J..._bbs_sr_2/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

(Yes! World War One began before 1917! :rolleyes: )

Other top stuff:

4. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried Sassoon

http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Infan...=pd_bbs_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

5. Good-Bye to All That: An Autobiography by Robert Graves

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Bye-All-...=pd_bbs_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

6. They Called It Passchendaele by Lyn Macdonald

http://www.amazon.com/They-Called-P..._bbs_sr_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

7. A Rifleman Went to War by H. W. McBride

http://www.amazon.com/Rifleman-Went..._bbs_sr_1/105-7050130-1884413?ie=UTF8&s=books

maximus otter
 
Thanks, MaxOtt, I'll look into those. And, you're right, my title is somewhat misleading; I should've labeled the thread simply "Books on WWI".
 
The guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. Pulitzer prize winning history of the opening month of the war

an old history

A History of the World War 1914-1918 by BH Liddell Hart. he is more famous for his world war 2 book.

a new history

The First World War by John Keegan. a new history by an esteemed british historian


my latest

Fighting the Great War by Neiberg. interesting in that it presents the complexity of the conflict in light of world events/empires
 
Try The Blue Max by Jack D. Hunter (Hardcover - April 2001)
Buy new: $21.83. This is a reissue of the novel upon which the George Peppard movie was loosely based. The novel is infinitely better.

The next is a graphic novel trilogy about the Somme Offensive that is quite striking and very grim in its presentation: Charley's War: 2 June 1916 - 1 August 1916 by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover - Mar 2005) Buy new: $13.57
Charley's War: 1 August 1916 - 17 October 1916 by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover - Dec 30, 2005) Buy new: $14.56
Charley's War: 17 October 1916 – 21 February 1917 by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover - Oct 30, 2006) Buy new: $13.57
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I'll start with the library and cruise by the local B&N and Borders :thumbup:
I've seen The Guns of August so I may look at it first, just due to name recognition :D
 
Zeebrugge. I don't recall the author. I read this book probably 25 or 30 years ago, and it STILL sticks in my mind.

Not a novel, however.
 
Revolt in the Desert, It deals with the British campaign against the Ottoman empire, (turks) in Arabia, Specifically with the exploits of T.E. Lawrence.
 
Ilovetoolsteel said:
Revolt in the Desert, It deals with the British campaign against the Ottoman empire, (turks) in Arabia, Specifically with the exploits of T.E. Lawrence.
Click to expand...

In line weith this, you also have Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, T. E. Lawrence's own memoir of his experiences.
 
There is also The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Imperial Germany's Gentleman Pirate by Blaine Pardoe. This is the story of Kapitan Felix von Luckner and the German commerce raider, Seeadler.
 
PhilL said:
The Dalton Trumbo novel "Johnny Got His Gun".
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/General/JohnnyGotHisGun.html

Or see the movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/

Either will give you a new view as to the cost of war.
Click to expand...







I read a copy of " Johnny Got His Gun" during basic training at Ft.Polk during the Vietnam war, it is an excellent book and reminds us of the possible cost of serving your fellow man, and how lonely and personal the sacrifice is for most soldiers that fall in battle.
 
One of the most controversial (and important) books ever written is Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger. It also happens to be one of the best war memoirs ever published, although you rarely see it used as a college text because of its lack of PC content. The history of the book alone makes it a worthwhile read.
 
Nice List Maximus!
+1 on the Barbara Tuchman & Robert Graves.

Try to get in some of the poetry of the era: Wilfred Owen, Sigfried Sassoon, & (again) Robert Graves. There are more good ones whose names escape me now...
 
goodbye to all that, excellent

rites of spring , modris ekstein

price of glory, alistair horne (long)

the last two aren't first person accounts.

i recommend getting one of the general topic books and then going from there. if i can dig up some online primary sources and memoirs, i'll post them.
 
You might also want to try Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms and the wartime poetry of Robert Service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top