Recommend me a good book on WWI

Having just been in France on holiday and discovered lots of areas where the battles were unknown to me, I realised that my GCSE Modern History in late 80s only covers the conflict from a British perspective.

For example the fighting for Hartmmannswillerkopf was so intense that 30,000 died on just 1 hill in the Vosges. Crikey.

Can anyone recommend a good book that covers the war from a more neutral view?

I read First World War by Martin Gilbert earlier this summer. Essentially he followed the war chronologically in what felt like a pretty neutral way. Brought home the utter senseless waste of life during that war. Fascinating seeing some of the characters from later political life turning up through the recounting as well. It’s a chunky book but worth the read if you want an appreciation of what was happening and the chronology.

There’s a good list here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/

(I know reddit doesn’t always have the best of reputations, but Ask Historians is well regarded and one of the best subreddits on there).

I’ve read this one (on the above list), and it’s a decent overview: https://www.amazon.com/First-World-War-John-Keegan/dp/0375700455  (They also recommend @Bikingcatastrophe ‘s suggestion).

John Keegans book is good, also Gary Sheffield Forgotten Victory and the Somme.

Also Tommy by Richard Holmes is very good if you like a bit of detail.

I have read Max Hastings book Catastrophe that was very good, but I seem to remember it only covers the first year of the war.

The Guns of August is really good around the start of the war.  Only covers the first few but it’s really well written and engaging.

Three books.

The sleepwalkers. Describes the political situation at the outbreak of the war. Goes into great detail about why all the countries realised that if they weren’t very careful they could create the conditions for a Europe wide war and why even though no-one wanted it, it happened anyway. Goes some way to restore the reputation of Kaiser Wilhelm who has been long regarded (wrongly) in this country at least; as the main driver for war.

Mud Blood and Poppycock. Most of the established ‘facts’ about the British involvement in WW1 were written in the 1960 by historians looking to make a name for themselves, and are mostly just fables we tell ourselves. The ‘Blackadder’ version This book tries to explain the reality. That the leadership weren’t idiots (lions led by donkeys), that troops didn’t stay in trenches endlessly, that while there was acres of mud at Passchendaele (not the Somme) that wasn’t everyone’s experience of the war. etc etc.

The First World War. A well written, good grounded starter of the events including the armistice. Stays reasonably neutral, Howard is an excellent writer. This one I would recommend to anyone looking for a one volume comprehensive, easily readable work on the subject.

https://www.psbooks.co.uk/a-war-in-words

I enjoyed this. It’s not a deep historical research type book. But it is real people on all sides writing about it in various different fronts. Some of it is pretty grim.

I think it was this book that makes the point that it was basically the first war wherealmost every combatant was literate on all sides.

Sleepwalkers is a fantastic book. Also featured heavily on The Rest is History Podcast which had about six episodes on the lead up to WW1. Well worth a listen.

For a one volume history, Howard is definitely good but would also recommend The History of the First World War by David Stevenson. It’s a pretty closely typed single volume, but it has some excellent analysis and – from memory been a few years since I read it – seemed even handed.

Would second Richard Holmes “Tommy” as a more first hand perspective.

Interesting about John Keegan’s book. I might try that. I am looking at his single volume on the American Civil War on my bookshelf that I gave up on. A bit too dry for me.

Another shout for Mud, Blood and Poppycock.

Puts a lot of context on how the war was fought. Basically, nobody knew how to do it until the British Army got the hang of modern manoeuvre warfare in 1918.

then promptly forgot in the 1930’s.

Not a book, but Dan Carlins podcast on WW1 is superb.

 The History of the First World War by David Stevenson.

Ha, was the alternative to Howard’s work  that I was thinking of recommending. Either one of these is a really good ‘first read’ that’ll lead you down any number of further rabbit holes if you want.

Would second Richard Holmes “Tommy” as a more first hand perspective.

I went to a talk locally, in about 2005 maybe, where Richard Holmes talked about WW1. It was interesting, but not much use for this thread! His books are decent 😀

Sleepwalkers is a fantastic book. Also featured heavily on The Rest is History Podcast which had about six episodes on the lead up to WW1. Well worth a listen.

Yes, well worth a listen, as they often are. I’m just about to finish their Agincourt series, a piece of history that I know little about otherwise.

The Lyn Macdonald WW1 books used to be highly rated, but are thirty years old now and I haven’t read them since then so don’t know if they feel dated. (John Keegan does – I read one of his books again recently and he was very dry!)

Butchers and Bunglers of World War One – John Laffin

Yeah…That’s the sort of stuff about WW1 (that the generals were not only incompetent but uncaring) that’s pretty much  now being revised by actual historians doing actual work.

For instance the “Lions Led by Donkeys” quote I alluded to up thread? It was originally attributed to a German General post war by Alan Clark in his 1961 work “The Donkeys” and formed part of an imagined conversation in the preface. In fact, he just made it up himself.

It’s a fascinating and grim subject that is difficult to drag yourself away from. A few years back we had a walking holiday through northern France and traveled through the zone rouge, something I had never heard of. We spent a decent time in what was the French sector of the war and there were many areas and battles that were new to me too – they just don’t register in the British memory. The Rue de Dames area was particularly grim fighting with astronomical casualties,. I remember just having a stroll one evening to stretch my legs, I crested a small rise and in the evening sun was presented with a cemetery with over 200,000 dead. They were packed in head to head.

I was so stunned by it I had to sit for a moment. It wasn’t even a famous cemetery, just tucked away in a quiet fold in the land. Later, in the vineyards we came across a historic mill where the aristocracy came to view the battle from the mills vantage point on a hillside. Looking down, the trenches are now replaced by lines of vines, but the sheer madness and distaste of watching the lives of others being destroyed is hard to shake.

One of the better books I’ve read was Somme Mud, by somebody Lynch, a private from Australia. Really well written in a contemporary style and gave a real insight into his role, his injury and how the war ended from the front line perspective.

Into the Silence (The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest) by Wade Davis is well worth a read.

Strictly speaking its more about the Everest expeditions of the early 1920’s, culminating in the “did they (Mallory & Irvine) or didn’t they reach the summit”. However the many members of the various expeditions were all involved in the Great War which had a great impact on them and how they regarded the rest of the world. There are many sections of the book telling their stories and experiences during the war. A great read on many levels.

Anything by Lyn Macdonald is good – 1915 Death of Innocence is the best I think. Could take to Mud blood and Poppycock – but Richard Holmes Tommy is very moving.

should be “couldnt” take to Mud …..

Charley’s war https://iconoblast.substack.com/p/secret-history-charleys-war-intro1

and there’s no such thing as a neutral perspective on history.

Great Britain’s Great war by Jeremy Paxman is a good broad brush effort.

@prettygreenparrot, I read Charley’s war as a kid and enjoyed it, but the author of that substack has some wild (and obviously not backed up with any proof, how dull would that be?) things to say about folks that disagree with his particular view point.

In 1964, the BBC and others made The Great War TV series. The series was the first to feature veterans, many of them still relatively fit men in their late sixties or early seventies, and gives an excellent account of the global conflict.

Episodes are available on Youtube and Amazon Prime and is a sobering watch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04plbqn

Interviews are also available in full on iplayer. Katie Morter’s  interview is heartbreaking.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01tcxp4/the-great-war-interviews-2-katie-morter