The General by C. S. Forester ISBN: 9781877853395
on January 1st 1982
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 263
Len's Summary: First published in 1936, this novel recounts the experiences in WWI of Herbert Curzon, a mediocre cavalry officer who rises from battalion command to head up a BEF army on the Western Front which collapses in the face of the German onslaught of spring 1918. Often thought to be the fictionalized story of General Hubert Plummer, this book makes an exceptional read. Forester is best known for the fictional Napoleonic War-at-sea Hornblower series and for his novel The African Queen set in WWI-era Africa.
The Good Soldier
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford ISBN: 9781467964562
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on December 17th 2011
Pages: 136
Len's Summary: A 1915 story of deception and betrayal set just before WWI; by an exceptional British author who also crafted the acclaimed tetrology Parade’s End about his WWI experiences, A Man Could Stand Up and Zeppelin Nights.
The Devil’s Lieutenant
The Devil's Lieutenant by M. Fagyas ISBN: 978-0399102080
on June 1970
Pages: 392
Len's Summary: A murder mystery featuring the Austro-Hungarian officer corps in 1910 Vienna and elsewhere in the ramshackle, multinational and polyglot Habsburg Empire. Intrigue in the Imperial and Royal Army as Austria-Hungary stumbles toward war. A fast-paced and finely crafted fictionalized glimpse of a decaying Empire written by the daughter of an imperial officer.
Three Soldiers
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos ISBN: 9780486434674
Published by Courier Corporation on June 18th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 309
Len's Summary: First published in 1921, a grim fictionalized depiction of life in the WWI era America Army by the author who typifies the Lost Generation.
Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos ISBN: 9780618381869
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company on September 2nd 2003
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 342
Len's Summary: Considered Dos Passos’ greatest novel first published in 1925, this is a series of short stories, an expressionistic look at New York City in the 1920s; its protagonists, including returning Doughboys, struggle to live the American dream. Dos Passos, a leading member of “the lost generation,” was himself a WWI veteran, an ambulance driver in France and Italy.
One Man’s Initiation: 1917
One Man's Initiation: 1917 by John Dos Passos ISBN: 1598180800
on December 1st 2006
Len's Summary: A passionate indictment of war with colorful descriptions of France during the conflict, this was Dos Passos first novel. He served Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in France and with the American Red Cross Northern Italy before volunteering for the U. S. Army Medical Corps in 1918. Available used from several booksellers.
The Enormous Room
The Enormous Room by E. E. Cummings ISBN: 9780486421209
Published by Dover Publications on August 26th 2002
Genres: Fiction, Classics, War & Military, Poetry
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: An autobiographical account of Cummings’ arrest and imprisonment for alleged treason in France during WWI. Cummings served as an American volunteer driver in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps. First published in 1922.
The Riddle of the Sands
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers ISBN: 9780141031279
Published by Penguin Adult on June 7th 2007
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 352
Len's Summary: An early spy novel written in 1903 by a Boer War veteran; the plot revolves around German plans to invade England discovered while sailing among the Frisian Islands. Childers (pronounced Chill-ders), an Irish patriot who smuggled arms aboard his yacht, was executed by the Free State authorities in 1922 during the Irish Civil War.
Fear: A Novel of World War I
Fear: A Novel of World War I by Gabriel Chevallier ISBN: 9781590177167
Published by New York Review of Books on May 20th 2014
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical, War & Military, Biographical
Pages: 305
Len's Summary: First published in French in 1930, this is the fictionalized account of the front-line experiences of a French poilou called up in 1915. The author, writing in the tradition of Henri Barbusse’s Le Feu, was a veteran of WWI. // The compelling story of a young French piolu who sees far too much of war. Translation from the original French.
One Of Ours
One Of Ours by Willa Cather ISBN: 143828456X
on February 15th 2009
Pages: 352
Len's Summary: Reprint of a Pulitzer Prize-winning (1922) novel about a Nebraska farm boy who, alienated from his parents and rejected by his wife, finds his destiny on the Western Front. An American classic despite what have been described as stilted combat scenes.
A Month in the Country
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr, Michael Holroyd ISBN: 0940322471
Published by NYRB Classics on October 31st 2000
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical
Pages: 135
Len's Summary: First published in 1978, this is the story of a shell shocked WWI veteran who finds solace in restoring a work of art in a Yorkshire village church. This novel was made into a 1987 movie starring Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson available on Region Two DVD from Amazon.co.uk. Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize.
Through the Wheat: A Novel of the World War I Marines
Through the Wheat: A Novel of the World War I Marines by Thomas Boyd ISBN: 9780803261686
on September 1st 2000
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 265
Len's Summary: A fine novel about U. S. Marines in World War I by a veteran first published by Scribner in 1923 and still in print. A contemporary of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Boyd never reached their level of expertise or popularity, though this is a memorable work of fiction.
A Sailor of Austria
A Sailor of Austria by John Biggins ISBN: 9781590131077
Published by McBooks Press on January 1st 2005
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 375
Len's Summary: In which, without really intending to, the fictional protagonist Otto Prohaska becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire.
Le Feu: Journal d’une Escouade
Le Feu: Journal d'une Escouade by Henri Barbusse ISBN: 9781167914942
Published by Editions Payot on 2012
Pages: 380
Len's Summary: WWI centennial commemorative reissue of the winner of the 1916 Goncourt Prize, a novel of WWI which has become a classic; with an appendix containing the text of Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et decorum est. Le Feu is French poilu slang for “the front” and is not to be literally translated as “the fire.” Escoude is an infantry squad.
The Officers’ Ward
The Officers’ Ward by Marc Dugain ISBN: 9780753812846
Published by Gale Group on 2002
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: The story of the long treatment, and slow mental and physical recovery of French officers with severely disfiguring facial wounds suffered on the Western Front. Recently made into a fine motion picture now available with English subtitles on region two DVD from Amazon.co.uk.
The Patriot’s Progress
The Patriot's Progress by Henry Williamson ISBN: 9780750936408
Published by History Press Limited on May 25th 2004
Genres: Fiction, War & Military
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: Story of a young British Tommy, who went on to be a noted nature writer. // One of two autobiographical novels describing the author’s experiences as an infantryman in WWI which turned him into a Pacifist. First published in 1930. Williamson is best known for his prize-winning 1927 novel Tarka the Otter.
A Century of November
A Century of November by W. D. Wetherell ISBN: 9780472114313
Published by University of Michigan Press on September 9th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary
Pages: 164
Len's Summary: The story of a Canadian magistrate seeking the spot in Belgium where his son was killed in WWI.
Shoulder the Sky
Shoulder the Sky by Anne Perry ISBN: 9780345456540
Published by Ballantine Books on September 28th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Thrillers, Suspense, War & Military
Pages: 338
Len's Summary: econd in Perry’s new WWI series opened with No Graves Yet. Now an army chaplain, Joseph Reavley investigates the mysterious death of an obnoxious London Times war correspondent whose body is found between the lines in Flanders. Second in a series.
No Graves As Yet
No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry ISBN: 9780345484239
Published by Ballantine Books on 2004
Pages: 363
Len's Summary: Mystery novelist Anne Perry turns to WWI writing the story of the efforts of a British intelligence officer Matthew Reavley, and his Anglican priest brother Joseph to solve the mystery of their parent’s murder on the eve of WWI. Unimpressive. Pedestrian plot, character sketches thin; panned by several reviewers in the US and England.
Birds Without Wings
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres ISBN: 9780307368874
Published by Knopf on August 24th 2004
Genres: Fiction, General
Pages: 630
Len's Summary: A novel by the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin about the twilight of the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia before, during and just after WWI. Bermieres presents a series of often quirky first-person accounts by characters in a multi-ethnic village. Interwoven is the biogrpahy of Mustapha Kamal Ataturk, founder of mono-ethnic Turkish Republic. A good read if not exactly good history.
The Vintage Book of War Stories
The Vintage Book of War Stories by Sebastian Faulks ISBN: 9780099483465
Published by Vintage on 2005
Pages: 416
Len's Summary: Includes WWI short stories and excerpts from novels by Eric Maria Remarque, Siegfried Sassoon, Wm. Boyd and Pat Barker.
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara ISBN: 9780345461346
Published by Ballantine Books on 2004
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 636
Len's Summary: The war seen through the eyes of a frightened British Tommy, General John Pershing, and Baron Manfred von Richthofen by the best-selling author of novels on the American Revolution and Civil War. Available from the History Book Club.
Red Horse Rode Out
Red Horse Rode Out by J. C. Arlington ISBN: 9780741423429
Published by Infinity Publishing on 2004
Genres: Fiction, War & Military
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: A novel of the Lost Battalion.
Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear ISBN: 0805078975
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on August 10th 2005
Pages: 342
Len's Summary: This is the author’s third novel about post-WWI British private eye Maisie Dobbs, a former BEF nurse. Winspear’s first novel, Maisie Dobbs, was nominated for an Edgar and her second, Birds of a Feather, is now available in Penguin paperback. Both Pardonable Lies and Maisie Dobbs are available on disc and tape from Barnes & Noble.
The Crimson Portrait
The Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields ISBN: 9780316785280
on December 1st 2006
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 296
Len's Summary: A novel about the pioneering treatment of soldiers with disfiguring facial wounds mixing medical fact with romantic fiction in WWI England.
The Canal Bridge: A Novel of Ireland, Love, and the First World War
The Canal Bridge: A Novel of Ireland, Love, and the First World War by Tom Phelan ISBN: 9781843510758
Published by Dufour Editions on October 23rd 2005
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 280
Len's Summary: A novel of Ireland and Irish volunteers during WWI. The author will speak at the WFA New England-New York Chapter Seminar at Hartford in November 2006. Available new for $25 postpaid from Glanvil Enterprises, Ltd., 237 Church Street, Freeport, NY 11520, or online from Irish Books & Media (irishbook@aol.com), or Dufour Editions (http://www.dufoureditions.com)
A Test of Wings
A Test of Wings by Owen J. McNamara ISBN: 9781595260185
Published by Llumina Press on July 1st 2005
Genres: Fiction, Religious, War & Military
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: Novel of a US Navy officer flying anti-submarine patrols off the southern and eastern coasts of England in 1918. Favorably reviewed in Naval History magazine.
A Soldier of the Great War
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin ISBN: 9780156031134
Published by Harcourt on June 1st 2005
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary
Pages: 860
Len's Summary: An Italian veteran remembers his war. Reprint of a classic novel first published in 1991.
The First Casualty
The First Casualty by Ben Elton ISBN: 0593051114
Published by Transworld Publishers on November 1st 2005
Pages: 389
Len's Summary: A WWI crime novel involving an improbable combination of trench warfare, shell shock, crime detection and conscientious objection. The author is best known as a comic novelist and wrote parts of the Black Adder series. Drew decidedly mixed reactions from readers and reviewers alike.
A Long Long Way
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry ISBN: 0143035096
Published by Penguin Books on September 8th 2005
Pages: 304
Len's Summary: The tragic story of a young, conflicted Irish patriot serving in the British Army who attempts unsuccessfully to straddle two worlds as Irish nationalists fight for independence while war rages on the Western Front. Includes an excellent bibliography of books on the Irish experience in the Great War.
Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear ISBN: 0805078983
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on August 22nd 2006
Pages: 322
Len's Summary: Murder at a convalescent home for disfigured British WWI veterans. Fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series about an English private detective who served as a nurse behind the Western Front.
Megiddo’s Shadow
Megiddo’s Shadow by Arthur Gregory Slade ISBN: 9780385747011
Published by Wendy Lamb Books on October 10th 2006
Genres: Young Adult, Animals, Military & Wars
Pages: 290
Len's Summary: For young adults. The story of a 16-year-old Canadian who, inspired by the deaths of his two brothers in WWI, enlists in the cavalry and is sent to fight in Palestine.
Severed Branch
Severed Branch by Andrew R. H. Mowatt ISBN: 0595389945
Published by iUniverse on November 13th 2006
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 320
Len's Summary: This story of the RFC’s air war in northern France moves back and forth from a present day protagonist to dream sequences, flashbacks to Royal Flying Corps aerial battles.
An Ace Minus One
An Ace Minus One by Timothy M. Morrisroe ISBN: 0595391354
Published by iUniverse on August 22nd 2006
Pages: 620
Len's Summary: A novel of WWI in the air. A 14 year-old American flees home after killing a man, and finds himself in France first as an ambulance driver at Verdun and then as a volunteer in a French fighter squadron. Look for a review in Camaraderie.
By a Slow River: A Novel
By a Slow River: A Novel by Philippe Claudel, Hoyt Rogers ISBN: 1400042801
Published by Knopf on December 18th 2007
Pages: 208
Len's Summary: A French village policeman unravels the thicket of lies and deceit surrounding the 1917 death by strangulation of a young girl. Winner of the Prix Renaudot.
The Emperor’s Coloured Coat
The Emperor's Coloured Coat by John Biggins ISBN: 1590131088
Published by McBooks Press on May 1st 2006
Pages: 349
Len's Summary: The hapless Otto Prohaska, Hero of the Habsburg Empire almost, but not quite averts World War One. Second in a series; the third book, The Two-Headed Eagle, is coming soon.
My French Whore
My French Whore by Gene Wilder ISBN: 9780312360573
Published by Macmillan on March 6th 2007
Pages: 178
Len's Summary: A serious historical novel by one of America’s top comedians about a German-speaking Doughboy, Paul Peachy from Milwaukee who impersonates a famous German spy after being captured on the Western Front. American Heritage favorably reviewed this novel in its April/May 2007 edition.
The Last Summer of the World: A Novel
The Last Summer of the World: A Novel by Emily Mitchell ISBN: 0393064875
on June 18th 2007
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 390
Len's Summary: A novel about photographer Edward Steichen’s return to wartime France and his reckoning with his painful past.
The Brother Keepers: The Great War Odyssey of Sable MacInnes and His Brothers
The Brother Keepers: The Great War Odyssey of Sable MacInnes and His Brothers by John MacNintch ISBN: 0978750500
on May 1st 2007
Pages: 779
Len's Summary: A novel encapsulating and placing in perspective Canada’s Great War experience through the story of the fictional MacInnes brothers from Nova Scotia. Appendices contain a glossary of terms and identification of principal historical characters, as well as the Canadian order of battle. Look for a full review in a WFA journal.
Dizzy City: A Novel
Dizzy City: A Novel by Nicholas Griffin ISBN: 1586421328
Published by Steerforth Press on August 21st 2007
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 384
Len's Summary: Englishman Benedict Cram deserts the Western Front trenches and stows away on a ship bound for New York City where he falls under the sway of urbane grafter, Julius McAteer. A sting within a sting; a crime novel with historic detail. Recommended by WFA editor-publisher Susan Hall-Balduf.
President’s Quarterly Update—April 2024
Dear Members and Friends,
I’m extremely pleased with the level of WW1HA’s activities, some of which may be unseen by you.
Our Journal, “World War One Illustrated,” is now published three times a year with an average length of 48 pages. Each issue is filled with high-quality articles covering a variety of topics, including the popular “My Kin in the Great War” series.
Our electronic newsletter, “Here and There with the WW1HA” is published monthly, with an assortment of Association events and articles covering WW1 topics.
Sal Compagno’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter continues to hold monthly meetings via Zoom, while Mark Benbow’s Eastern Chapter is holding quarterly meetings.
As President, I am also hosting a quarterly “Fireside Chat” online. The last one emphasized WW1 poetry. The next one will emphasize WW1-era music.
If you’re already a member, I thank you for your membership and encourage you to take part in these activities. If you’re not a member, I ask you to join and participate in these activities. Participate in the events and consider submitting an article for the journal or newsletter.
Reach out to me with your comments: lavarennes@meuse-argonne.com.
Regards,
Randy Gaulke
