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wandering_zero's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
generalheff's review against another edition
5.0
I read Forgotten Voices of the Great War hot on the heals of the Desert Victory entry into this series (which covers the North African theatre of World War II) so I knew roughly what to expect. I gave that book a 4 star rating - marvelling at the amazing feat of editing it represented (see below) but felt that the book could have helped guide the reader through the nuances of the relatively obscure desert war history better with improved signposting and maps.
This book, brought together by Max Arthur, is an equally masterful feat of editing: the basic approach for both books (and I imagine all of the other nine books I can find in the series) is to take the many hours of audio, recorded by London's Imperial War Museum, of veterans and civilians of the various conflicts and to splice these myriad accounts of different facets of the war into one coherent account.
Entries range from a few lines to a couple of pages at most from each individual. We hear from a private at Paschendale, a civilian at the home front, an Australian at Gallipoli. Certain individuals, like Philip Neame and Richard Tobin appear throughout the book in multiple entries, the editors having broken up their accounts chronologically, so that they emerge in different places and in different roles (the book tracks their rank so a corporal becomes a sergeant and so on).
The entries themselves can be anything from a fairly simple description of life behind the trenches (the food, or soldiers' thoughts about going on leave - which are by no means all positive) to the sort of deeply upsetting details you would associate with World War I, such as unbelievable feats of VC-winning bravery. But one of the book's great strengths is how it doesn't only describe the incredible or downright dreadful, but paints a picture of the monotony of trench warfare and of how life actually carried on, even at the front. Above all else, the reader gets a sense of how the appalling to us became routine for those who were there. For me, this is a valuable counterweight to the World War I poetry that can at times somewhat over maudlin-ise the war (to coin a phrase); what struck me throughout this work was how soldiers could process the carnage and slaughter they witnessed around them and still do their job, and somehow still seem human in amongst it all.
Of course, there is horror and pathos aplenty here too and it is as "immensely moving" as any poetry, for me at least because the events described are often stated so un-eloquently and so plainly. Some of the most poignant moments were the retreats or the loss of ground that led soldiers to confront starkly the blood spilt for what was only a few meters gained, now so readily lost. Ordinary Seaman Joe Murray epitomises this, as he describes his retreat during the last days of the failed campaign at Gallipoli:
"I thought to myself ... 'now we're stealing away from Gallipoli'. I remember when I came towards Backhouse Post, I thought to myself 'Oh dear me! Poor old Yates and Parsons, all killed and buried here.' When we first went to Backhouse Post I remember how happy and anxious we were to get stuck into the Turks. And now here we were, only a handful left. As we got further from the line near Backhouse Post, I remembered the advance we had on May the 6th, when more of my pals died, such as Petty Officer Warren and Young Yates. I could still hear young Horton crying for his mother as he died ... The tears were streaming down my cheeks, I just couldn't restrain them. My eyes were smarting so much I think I walked the rest of the way with my eyes closed."
Similar sentiments are shared when the allies are pushed back to the 1916 Somme battlefields during the German's last big push in 1918 (after they are reinforced with troops formerly engaged on the Eastern front) - an event I only learnt about thanks to this book - so you will certainly come away better informed about the broad strokes of World War I as well as how life went on there.
Appropriately for the portrayal of the more normal aspects of life in the war, there are moments of real humour too. A great example is given by Mary Hillyer on the Home Front. She went to find work at a nearby college:
"I remember looking on the board one morning and for my first job, I saw, 'Will Miss Hillyer please take the sow to the boar.' I overheard one of the girls say, 'Oh well, she hasn't got far to go.' So I harness the sow with a halter and marched her down the road, then popped her into a stable at the Boar Hotel. And I thought I'd done my job rather well, but when I came back, of course, there was an alrighty row."
I knocked a star off Desert Victory for the difficulty it posed to the reader in following the events of that war. Perhaps because of better introductions to each chapter, or the far greater familiarity I have with World War I, this wasn't at issue here. The only true gripe I have with this book is that (to its credit) you get thoroughly invested in the individual stories, but, firstly, it is extremely difficult always to recall whether you have 'heard from' a particular individual before (and what they last said or did); and, secondly, you seldom find out what happened to them (did they survive? did they get military awards? and so on).
It isn't enough to bring this down from a five star as this book is truly a phenomenal work, but it is a pity nonetheless, particularly as these are such easily fixed problems. For the first, simply label entries with a 1/7 style number in brackets (i.e. first entry out of seven - so you know how far through a particular individual's entries you are). This could even be followed by page references to the remaining entries so you can go back and forth (and read just one person's series of entries if you so wish). For the second issue (as I said in my Desert Victory review) a synopsis of what happened to the individual after their last entry would be a wonderful way of honouring them as it would round off their particular story.
With this one reservation, I can unreservedly recommend this book. You will read about the mundane and the miraculous and everything in-between. It is, truly, a wonderful testimony to the very human individuals who took part in an utterly inhuman conflict. This is no better shown than by the frank and honest words of Lieutenant Charles Carrington of the 1/5th Battalion, Warwickshire regiment.
"After eighteen months in France I was still trying to present to be brave and not succeeding very well, and so were we all. All the time one was saying to oneself, 'If they can take it - I can take it!', the awful thing being that this was not an isolated experience but one which went on continuously, minute after minute and even hour after hour"
This book, brought together by Max Arthur, is an equally masterful feat of editing: the basic approach for both books (and I imagine all of the other nine books I can find in the series) is to take the many hours of audio, recorded by London's Imperial War Museum, of veterans and civilians of the various conflicts and to splice these myriad accounts of different facets of the war into one coherent account.
Entries range from a few lines to a couple of pages at most from each individual. We hear from a private at Paschendale, a civilian at the home front, an Australian at Gallipoli. Certain individuals, like Philip Neame and Richard Tobin appear throughout the book in multiple entries, the editors having broken up their accounts chronologically, so that they emerge in different places and in different roles (the book tracks their rank so a corporal becomes a sergeant and so on).
The entries themselves can be anything from a fairly simple description of life behind the trenches (the food, or soldiers' thoughts about going on leave - which are by no means all positive) to the sort of deeply upsetting details you would associate with World War I, such as unbelievable feats of VC-winning bravery. But one of the book's great strengths is how it doesn't only describe the incredible or downright dreadful, but paints a picture of the monotony of trench warfare and of how life actually carried on, even at the front. Above all else, the reader gets a sense of how the appalling to us became routine for those who were there. For me, this is a valuable counterweight to the World War I poetry that can at times somewhat over maudlin-ise the war (to coin a phrase); what struck me throughout this work was how soldiers could process the carnage and slaughter they witnessed around them and still do their job, and somehow still seem human in amongst it all.
Of course, there is horror and pathos aplenty here too and it is as "immensely moving" as any poetry, for me at least because the events described are often stated so un-eloquently and so plainly. Some of the most poignant moments were the retreats or the loss of ground that led soldiers to confront starkly the blood spilt for what was only a few meters gained, now so readily lost. Ordinary Seaman Joe Murray epitomises this, as he describes his retreat during the last days of the failed campaign at Gallipoli:
"I thought to myself ... 'now we're stealing away from Gallipoli'. I remember when I came towards Backhouse Post, I thought to myself 'Oh dear me! Poor old Yates and Parsons, all killed and buried here.' When we first went to Backhouse Post I remember how happy and anxious we were to get stuck into the Turks. And now here we were, only a handful left. As we got further from the line near Backhouse Post, I remembered the advance we had on May the 6th, when more of my pals died, such as Petty Officer Warren and Young Yates. I could still hear young Horton crying for his mother as he died ... The tears were streaming down my cheeks, I just couldn't restrain them. My eyes were smarting so much I think I walked the rest of the way with my eyes closed."
Similar sentiments are shared when the allies are pushed back to the 1916 Somme battlefields during the German's last big push in 1918 (after they are reinforced with troops formerly engaged on the Eastern front) - an event I only learnt about thanks to this book - so you will certainly come away better informed about the broad strokes of World War I as well as how life went on there.
Appropriately for the portrayal of the more normal aspects of life in the war, there are moments of real humour too. A great example is given by Mary Hillyer on the Home Front. She went to find work at a nearby college:
"I remember looking on the board one morning and for my first job, I saw, 'Will Miss Hillyer please take the sow to the boar.' I overheard one of the girls say, 'Oh well, she hasn't got far to go.' So I harness the sow with a halter and marched her down the road, then popped her into a stable at the Boar Hotel. And I thought I'd done my job rather well, but when I came back, of course, there was an alrighty row."
I knocked a star off Desert Victory for the difficulty it posed to the reader in following the events of that war. Perhaps because of better introductions to each chapter, or the far greater familiarity I have with World War I, this wasn't at issue here. The only true gripe I have with this book is that (to its credit) you get thoroughly invested in the individual stories, but, firstly, it is extremely difficult always to recall whether you have 'heard from' a particular individual before (and what they last said or did); and, secondly, you seldom find out what happened to them (did they survive? did they get military awards? and so on).
It isn't enough to bring this down from a five star as this book is truly a phenomenal work, but it is a pity nonetheless, particularly as these are such easily fixed problems. For the first, simply label entries with a 1/7 style number in brackets (i.e. first entry out of seven - so you know how far through a particular individual's entries you are). This could even be followed by page references to the remaining entries so you can go back and forth (and read just one person's series of entries if you so wish). For the second issue (as I said in my Desert Victory review) a synopsis of what happened to the individual after their last entry would be a wonderful way of honouring them as it would round off their particular story.
With this one reservation, I can unreservedly recommend this book. You will read about the mundane and the miraculous and everything in-between. It is, truly, a wonderful testimony to the very human individuals who took part in an utterly inhuman conflict. This is no better shown than by the frank and honest words of Lieutenant Charles Carrington of the 1/5th Battalion, Warwickshire regiment.
"After eighteen months in France I was still trying to present to be brave and not succeeding very well, and so were we all. All the time one was saying to oneself, 'If they can take it - I can take it!', the awful thing being that this was not an isolated experience but one which went on continuously, minute after minute and even hour after hour"
readbooks_fightpatriarchy's review against another edition
5.0
A book that really sticks with you, even if you don’t necessarily know the details of each of the battles mentioned. Easy to pick up and put down but still a great flow to the book.
steelcitygator's review against another edition
4.0
Forgotten Voices of the British in the Great War is more accurate. Now, that's not a detriment in general but it does focus it's comments mostly to the British sectors of the war. There's tidbits of French and German here and there but it's primarily the English nations being represented. Otherwise, it's about what you'd expect of soldiers recollections of war. Sad, desperate, angry, funny, all the types of stuff you'd expect to hear about and that is really good for showing the soldiers experience through a wide cross section of individuals describing their life in the mud and explosions.
Now if we can just get an English language version of this work for the French/German/Russian/Italian/Austrian/Other smaller nations I think they would be of immense value to the general WW1 reading public.
Now if we can just get an English language version of this work for the French/German/Russian/Italian/Austrian/Other smaller nations I think they would be of immense value to the general WW1 reading public.
shahrun's review against another edition
4.0
A few years ago the BBC uploaded an amazing collection of video interviews of First World War Survivors, from the women left behind to an international collection of armed forces veterans. The sound and images weren’t always perfect but the stories gathered were astounding. A few pages into this book, I realised that was the source for this book!
It was such a clever idea to tell the shocking story of the so-called Great War by compiling those interviews into a narrative, summarising the War Years.
What is special is that they interviewed lots different men and women. When you learn about history from the people who actually lived through it, it really comes alive! The telling is enriched by the discovery of all small insider detail that combine with the thoughts, feelings and impression with historical fact which really give the modern day reader and unique insider perspective. The text is also peppered with photographs of both the contributors and of events at the time.
The story of Christmas 2014 is incredible. Can you imagine being at war with someone, only to stop and become friends for the day. The have to go back to killing each other a few hours later? Random thought: I thought Germans did Christmas on December 24th? Surely the whole country wouldn't have changed the date from December 25th to 24th after a few soldiers fraternising?
And this wasn't the only astounding examples of friendship across the divide either.
But, the further on I read, the more frustrated I get, because I'm not that familiar with WWI. This brief summary of snippets (which are often out of context) was confusing to me. And many sections left me desperately wanting to know either what happened just before or what happened next.
But the biggest disappointment is that this collection is literally a White Wash (no non white soldiers or peoples included here). Were none interviewed for this archive? It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case, but it's a terrible error if it is. Take for instance the brief and unflattering mention of Indian soldiers who had apparently deliberately injured themselves - there's a story to be told right there (were they doing it because they had been forced into the army against their will?). Because there were also many brits who deliberately got themselves a Blighty (injury to get sent home). There was also a fleeting mention of Senegalese soldiers. I'm assuming they were from Senegal. It could only have enriched this book to add some diversity.
I do think I this book could make an interesting foundation for a film.
It was such a clever idea to tell the shocking story of the so-called Great War by compiling those interviews into a narrative, summarising the War Years.
What is special is that they interviewed lots different men and women. When you learn about history from the people who actually lived through it, it really comes alive! The telling is enriched by the discovery of all small insider detail that combine with the thoughts, feelings and impression with historical fact which really give the modern day reader and unique insider perspective. The text is also peppered with photographs of both the contributors and of events at the time.
The story of Christmas 2014 is incredible. Can you imagine being at war with someone, only to stop and become friends for the day. The have to go back to killing each other a few hours later? Random thought: I thought Germans did Christmas on December 24th? Surely the whole country wouldn't have changed the date from December 25th to 24th after a few soldiers fraternising?
And this wasn't the only astounding examples of friendship across the divide either.
But, the further on I read, the more frustrated I get, because I'm not that familiar with WWI. This brief summary of snippets (which are often out of context) was confusing to me. And many sections left me desperately wanting to know either what happened just before or what happened next.
But the biggest disappointment is that this collection is literally a White Wash (no non white soldiers or peoples included here). Were none interviewed for this archive? It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case, but it's a terrible error if it is. Take for instance the brief and unflattering mention of Indian soldiers who had apparently deliberately injured themselves - there's a story to be told right there (were they doing it because they had been forced into the army against their will?). Because there were also many brits who deliberately got themselves a Blighty (injury to get sent home). There was also a fleeting mention of Senegalese soldiers. I'm assuming they were from Senegal. It could only have enriched this book to add some diversity.
I do think I this book could make an interesting foundation for a film.
melonpea's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing to read these first hand accounts of WW1. I would have loved more post-war accounts too.
laura975's review against another edition
5.0
A great way of making sure those who offered their lives for their country are remembered.
earthtolayne's review against another edition
5.0
I mean there's obviously an imbalance between the amount of German accounts and the amount of accounts from Commonwealth soldiers, but otherwise this book is more or less perfect. I absolutely love the idea behind it: create a timeline of events and battles on the Front by taking real survivors' perspectives. I also love how they add in stuff about the home front, how young children experienced it and how there was a different reaction in each country to the war. I think it's important to remember that the war - whilst mainly taking its toll on the land of Belgium and the soldiers that fought - also affected those who were excluded from fighting. I love this book very much