World War I

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by Apache

I will second The RFC Series by Derek Robinson. The books are Goshawk Squadron, War Story and Hornet's Sting. Also he wrote A Splendid Little War which follows the squadron as it fights for the White Russians against The Bolsheviks.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/derek-robinson/
Apache

Thanks for the recommendations. A Splendid Little War sounds intriguing.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I assume you're referring to the movies by those titles?

Perhaps you'd like the original stories that inspired the movies...

The Flight Commander by John Monk Saunders (short story that became Dawn Patrol)

The Blue Max by Jack Hunter
There are also two other books in the Bruno Stachel series, The Blood Order & The Tin Cravat (the series follows Bruno from WWI through WWII)

Unfortunately I don't think any of these are available in digital format.

Thanks, I'll have a try at The Book Gallery. They often good for out-of-print books.

[Lynx-lynx]

A book I just noticed - Trevor Royle's:

The Flowers of the Forest
Scotland and the First World War

The blurb:

Spoiler:

On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as ‘the workshop of the Empire’. Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain’s total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies.

Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli – young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called ‘the vanished generation’.

In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes – the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarisation of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women’s role in society following on from wartime employment.

Note: this is a cross posting - also in the Deals thread because the book is currently very cheap at Kobo India.

Edit
Golly gee, Royle's a prolific author going by his Goodreads book listing ...

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Robert Goddard has written a mystery and suspense series set around the death of an English Diplomat during the early days of the making of the Treaty of Versailles in Paris, 1919.

There will be three books in the series, with two already published.

Book 1
The Ways of the World

Book 2
The Corners of the Globe

Thanks, Lynx-lynx, for the recommendation. I just finished The Ways of the World - quite enjoyed it . I really liked the feel it gave for Paris during the peace conference, although it did seem that Max had more lives than a cat .

Looking forward to reading The Corners of the Globe.

In some ways I'm reminded of John Buchan's "Huntingtower" - re the political wreckage at the end of the war and the extraordinary ordinary people that caught up in it- time for a reread

[Lynx-lynx]

@bfisher thanks for the Buchan recommendation.

I've yet to read any of the Buchan works, fiction or non-fiction, especially considering that he's in the public domain in 50 year countries. (Aus included because he died in 1940).

Anyone read any of his 24 volume history of WWI? (I appreciate that Buchan was the Director of Information for the English during the war)

Adelaide University has some of his works in both fiction and non-fiction for free, however only some of those books are in epub or kindle format, the others are from Gutenburg Aus.

I've now bought the Delphi Classics Illustrated Complete works of John Buchan from the Kobo Canada store. The full retail price is CAD3.12. (I used a current Contest code and paid a lot less)

Here's the blurb and it contains a listing of all the books contained in the Complete Works - quite substantial!!

Spoiler:

John Buchans shocker adventure novels have entertained readers for over a century and now, for the first time in publishing history, readers can explore the authors complete fictional works in a single collection. This comprehensive eBook presents numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)
* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Buchan's life and works
* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts
* ALL 29 novels, with individual contents tables
* Special series contents table for the Richard Hannay and Dickson McCunn novels
* Even includes rare works, like the childrens novel THE MAGIC WALKING-STICK and the authors last novel THE LONG TRAVERSE, appearing here for the first time
* Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* Excellent formatting of the novels and other works
* Several novels are illustrated with their original artwork
* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry and the short stories
* Easily locate the poems or short stories you want to read
* The complete short stories and poetry, fully indexed in chronological order
* Includes a selection of Buchan's non-fiction, including his celebrated biographies on Sir Walter Scott, Lord Minto and King George V
* Features Buchans rare autobiography, published shortly after his death - explore Buchan's literary life!
* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres

CONTENTS:
The Richard Hannay Series
The Dickson McCunn Trilogy
The Novels
SIR QUIXOTE OF THE MOORS
JOHN BURNET OF BARNS
A LOST LADY OF OLD YEARS
THE HALF-HEARTED
A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS
PRESTER JOHN
THE POWER-HOUSE
THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS
SALUTE TO ADVENTURERS
GREENMANTLE
MR STANDFAST
THE PATH OF A KING
HUNTINGTOWER
MIDWINTER
THE THREE HOSTAGES
JOHN MACNAB
THE GODDESS FROM THE SHADES
WITCH WOOD
THE MAGIC WALKING-STICK
THE COURTS OF THE MORNING
CASTLE GAY
THE BLANKET OF THE DARK
THE GAP IN THE CURTAIN
A PRINCE OF THE CAPTIVITY
THE FREE FISHERS
THE HOUSE OF THE FOUR WINDS
THE ISLAND OF SHEEP
SICK HEART RIVER
THE LONG TRAVERSE

The Short Stories
LIST OF SHORT STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF SHORT STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

The Poetry
LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Selected Non-Fiction
THE AFRICAN COLONY
A BOOK OF ESCAPES AND HURRIED JOURNEYS
LORD MINTO: A MEMOIR
MONTROSE: A HISTORY
SIR WALTER SCOTT
THE KINGS GRACE

The Autobiography
MEMORY HOLD-THE-DOOR

Edit
My golly, looking through my Sony Reader for PC version of the Complete Works I see that it is 12,010 pages!!

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

I'm now reading ...... 'The Berlin Baghdad Express' Sean McMeekin.

This is quite an interesting book. The title is a little misleading because whilst the Berlin Baghdad express (rail line) is explored in the beginning chapters the book is in chronological order (of course!) which means that the German and Turkish alliance to enter the war and fight is a good part of the book.

I haven't finished, I'm only 200 pages in (because I've got lots of other stuff going on) but this is a very interesting read if you've never read on the German/Ottoman alliance or war theatre.

The intrigues with the various Arab tribes, the payments of great sums of gold, monies, arms and ammunition was quite substantial from both the Germans and the English in order to engage the locals into the fight.

I recommend this book.

[Araucaria]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

This is quite an interesting book. The title is a little misleading because whilst the Berlin Baghdad express (rail line) is explored in the beginning chapters the book is in chronological order (of course!) which means that the German and Turkish alliance to enter the war and fight is a good part of the book.

I haven't finished, I'm only 200 pages in (because I've got lots of other stuff going on) but this is a very interesting read if you've never read on the German/Ottoman alliance or war theatre.

The intrigues with the various Arab tribes, the payments of great sums of gold, monies, arms and ammunition was quite substantial from both the Germans and the English in order to engage the locals into the fight.

I recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book too, and can recommend it. There are some fascinating passages in Chapter 14 dealing with the physical problems of cutting the line - particularly a tunnel through the Amanus mountains (SE Turkey): the rock of Gȃvur Dağı ("Infidel Mountain") was described as solid quartz, "hard enough to cut glass" and it destroyed the sophisticated German tunnel-boring machines, consuming as many as 2,000 drill bits a day.

"It was enough to drive men mad, and in many cases it did."

[badgoodDeb]

In the comments to the above book, I find a reference to this book "On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire" by Peter Hopkirk .
Unfortunately, I don't see an ebook version. Has anybody read this?

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

In the comments to the above book, I find a reference to this book "On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire" by Peter Hopkirk .
Unfortunately, I don't see an ebook version. Has anybody read this?

I found it in Kobo. You can buy it from the Singapore or Mexico or Norfolk Island store (and no doubt others) for USD 12.99, and discount codes work. See the Kobo Discounts thread for all the clues if you haven't done this sort of shopping before.

Thanks for book info.

[bfisher]

To commemerate WW1, the BBC is running a set of 3 week massive open online courses, in cooperation with 4 UK universities:
Aviation Comes of Age, from the University of Birmingham
Changing Faces of Heroism, from the University of Leeds
Paris 1919 - A New World Order?, from the University of Glasgow
Trauma and Memory, from The Open University

I started one last night (Paris 1919). OK so far, and it has already suggested to me some follow up reading.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/28293511

[bfisher]

I just finished "Twilight of the Belle Epoque: The Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and Their Friends Through the Great War" by Mary McAuliffe. The books chapters are organized by year, and the last chapters cover the war years. I thought it gave some sense of how life in Paris was affected by the war.

[badgoodDeb]

[ This is the wrong war, but I enjoyed "Raquela, Woman of Israel" by Ruth Gruber recently. A gal born about 1926 in Jerusalem recounts some of the difficulties then, and in creating the state of Israel. It wasn't just "leave Europe; ahh, we're home" as I had imagined. She was a nurse and was quite involved in everything. Met Golda Meier, nursed her daughter, etc.]

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Also set during WWI is Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series, which I think is much more interesting--I gave up on Maisie after the first few books. Bess is also a nurse who becomes involved in solving mysteries.

Another WWI-era mystery series is Elizabeth Speller's Laurence Bartram books. I haven't read these yet.

I just finished Speller's The Return of Captain John Emmett, and was quite impressed with it.

The story is a mystery and is set in London in 1920. It concerns suspicions about the death of a former WWI officer who apparently committed suicide whilst in a veterans hospital.

What may interest people are the books and contributions that Speller used as research.

Those interested in further reading on field courts marshall and executions

Spoiler:

[Speller's] novel is loosely inspired by the executions of Temporary Sub-Lieutenant Edwin Dyett, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and of Lieutenant Poole of the West Yorkshire Regiment, both shot for desertion.

The novelist A.P. Herbert, who had encountered Dyett while himself a junior officer in the same division, wrote a novel based on the case: The Secret Battle (1919).

Leonard Sellers has produced an account of the Dyett case in Death for Desertion, first published in 1995 as For God's Sake Shoot Straight.

Further reading in this area includes Blindfold and Alone: British Military Executions in the Great War by John Hughes-Wilson and Cathryn Corns, and Shot at Dawn: Executions in World War One by Authority of the British Army Act by Julian Putkowski and Julian Sykes.

Ernest Thirtle MP published a pamphlet in 1929, Shootings at Dawn: The Army Death Penalty at Work. The terrible effect on families of losing husbands and sons in this way is revealed by surviving letters.

Speller's pre reading on WWI included:

Spoiler:

There are, of course, a great number of excellent books on the Great War. I am particularly indebted to the following: John Keegan, The First World War; Richard Holmes, Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front; Max Arthur, Last Post: The Final Word from our First World War Soldiers; and Neil Hansen, The Unknown Soldier: The Story of the Missing of the Great War.

Gordon Corrigan has assembled a critical look at some of the myths of the war in Mud, Blood and Poppycock. Dominic Hibberd's biography of Wilfred Owen, Jean Moorcroft Williams' work on Isaac Rosenberg and Nicholas Moseley's book on Julian Grenfell are among many that I have read, as well as Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, a vivid account of her experience as a volunteer nurse on the Western Front. A Deep Cry: First World War Soldier-Poets Killed in France and Flanders, edited by Anne Powell, is superb on the lives and deaths of less famous poets.

Diaries, novels, plays and poetry of the period, as well as some comprehensive websites, have helped my understanding of the varied experiences of those who lived in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Above all, for a wonderful survey of the Great War in the popular imagination, there is Paul Fussell's classic: The Great War and Modern Memory.

Further reading on the subject of shell shock

Spoiler:

For the care and understanding of men with shell-shock, I have used several sources of which the most valuable were the papers of W.H.R. Rivers who treated many of these psychiatric casualties, and the publication in 1917 of Shell-Shock and its Lessons by two doctors, Grafton Elliot Smith and Tom Hatherley Pear. Daniel Hipp's The Poetry of Shell Shock: Wartime Trauma and Healing in Wilfred Owen, Ivor Gurney and Siegfried Sassoon was invaluable in providing the connection between poetry and mental fragility.

Ben Shephard's War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century and Jonathan Shay's Achilles in Vietnam were moving accounts of war and mental illness.

[rollei]

The First World War
by John Keegan

[bfisher]

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Coronel, which led to the subsequent Battle of the Falklands on December 8, 2014.

Hew Strachan's "The First World War Vol 1: To Arms" has a chapter on (War in the Pacific) which covers Coronel and the Battle of the Falklands.

Robert K. Massie's "Castles of Steel" also covers both von Spee's and Craddock's voyages, Coronel, and the Battle of the Falklands.

Richard Hough's "The Great War At Sea" also covers the battles.

The only fiction that comes to mind is C.S. Forester's "Brown On Resolution", which may have a tie-in to the hunt for S.M.S. Dresden after the Battle of the Falklands.