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Which WW1 book should I read first?
Posted on 1/5/18 at 2:23 pm
Posted on 1/5/18 at 2:23 pm
Wife got me "Now It Can Be Told" by Philip Gibbs and "Storm of Steal" by Ernst Junger. I got them because these two books are referenced often in DC's Hardcore History podcast.
Which should I crack open first? Thanks!
Which should I crack open first? Thanks!
4
Posted on 1/5/18 at 2:50 pm to geauxtigers6492
The Guns of August is the gold standard of must read books about WWI. I'd purchase it and start there.
Posted on 1/5/18 at 4:44 pm to geauxtigers6492
Storm of Steel
Posted on 1/5/18 at 4:44 pm to AUveritas
quote:
The Guns of August is the gold standard of must read books about WWI. I'd purchase it and start there.
False. It's All Quiet on the Western Front.
Posted on 1/5/18 at 5:19 pm to JimMorrison
quote:
False. It's All Quiet on the Western Front.
Really not much of a comparison. One is fiction and the other is not.
All Quiet is wonderful at blowing a hole in the glory of war ideas, but one doesn't learn a great deal about the conflict. In fact, change the dates and it fits pretty well for a number of armed conflicts. Nonetheless, a great work in its own right.
Tuchman's book (Guns of August) is a relatively easy read on the subject. Churchill published a multi-volume work (The World Crisis 1911-1918) on the war that can be easily obtained in a one-volume abridgment, and is worth reading. He also recounts the big picture in the first volume of his multi-volume epic The Second World War - the aptly titled Gathering Storm.
Posted on 1/5/18 at 6:27 pm to BigPapiDoesItAgain
The problem with The Guns of August is that it starts in August 1914.
So you need to read:
July 1914: Countdown to War by Sean McMeekin
This covers the lead up to the war. When Princip guns down the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, it is not a headline in Europe. This book shows the long history of Britain protecting the dying Ottoman Empire and the push of the Russians to gain control of not only Istanbul but all of the Balkans.
This one event is masterminded not by the Black Hand but by a much larger Empire.
Thus Germany as well known did not start the war to end all wars, but an operation out of Russia, that in turn destroyed many very old Royal households. The players of the event could not see the effect that operation would and did have on world history.
And the effect of warfare on this scale could not be seen, the opening battles foreshadowed the doom of many countries.
So you need to read:
July 1914: Countdown to War by Sean McMeekin
This covers the lead up to the war. When Princip guns down the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, it is not a headline in Europe. This book shows the long history of Britain protecting the dying Ottoman Empire and the push of the Russians to gain control of not only Istanbul but all of the Balkans.
This one event is masterminded not by the Black Hand but by a much larger Empire.
Thus Germany as well known did not start the war to end all wars, but an operation out of Russia, that in turn destroyed many very old Royal households. The players of the event could not see the effect that operation would and did have on world history.
And the effect of warfare on this scale could not be seen, the opening battles foreshadowed the doom of many countries.
Posted on 1/9/18 at 12:36 pm to JimMorrison
quote:
Storm of Steel
Yup. Evertim
Posted on 1/9/18 at 4:16 pm to geauxtigers6492
The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark goes in depth about how Europe went to war in the first place. Doesnt cover the war itself though.
Tuchman's book many mentioned is a good, concise easy read.
Edward Coffman's The War to End All Wars provides good coverage of the US role.
Tuchman's book many mentioned is a good, concise easy read.
Edward Coffman's The War to End All Wars provides good coverage of the US role.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 6:59 am to geauxtigers6492
quote:
Wife got me "Now It Can Be Told" by Philip Gibbs
I have read this book. It’s ok, wasn’t my favorite book in the world, gets a little taxing at times. I would start with “Storm of Steel” if I was you. Or better yet, “The Guns of August”
Posted on 2/1/18 at 4:31 am to BigPapiDoesItAgain
Well one author actually fought in the war while the other asked a lot of questions about it
Just sayn
Just sayn
Posted on 2/1/18 at 4:42 am to Pragmatic PiG
Has anybody read Pat Barkers "Regeneration " trilogy? Also curious about Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" as I have yet to read that one
Posted on 2/1/18 at 11:23 am to Pragmatic PiG
I haven't read regeneration. If you're a fan of Hemingway "A Farewell to Arms" is a must read, especially if you're also interested in WWI. I like "All Quiet" better though.
Posted on 2/7/18 at 2:36 am to RandySavage
Cool, picked it up today, looking forward to the read
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