The Day the World was Shocked: The Lusitania Disaster and Its Influence on the Course of World War I by John Protasio ISBN: 9781935149453
Published by Casemate on August 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 239
Len's Summary: Another look at the endlessly fascinating sinking of the Lusitania by U-20 exploring all the legends surrounding this tragedy.
A Tommy at Ypres
A Tommy at Ypres by Walter Williamson, Doreen Priddey ISBN: 9781445602134
Published by Amberley on October 5th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, History, Military, World War I
Pages: 351
Len's Summary: One man’s experience of war. Papers of an educated Tommy.
The Great War in Russian Memory
The Great War in Russian Memory by Karen Petrone ISBN: 9780253356178
Published by Indiana University Press on July 14th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Revolutionary, Europe, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Literary Criticism, Russian & Former Soviet Union
Pages: 385
Len's Summary: Though the war was never commemorated by the Soviet Union, it became the subject of lively discourse starting in the 1930s as war with Germany loomed once again.
North Sea Battleground: The War at Sea 1914-1918
North Sea Battleground by Bryan Perrett ISBN: 9781848844506
on September 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 152
Len's Summary: Chronological coverage of important naval operations.
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend by Susan Orlean ISBN: 9781439190142
Published by Simon and Schuster on October 9th 2012
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Pets, Dogs, General, Essays & Narratives
Pages: 352
Len's Summary: The story a canine movie star who started life on the Western Front in 1918.
Austro-Hungarian Submarines in WWI
Austro-Hungarian Submarines in WWI by Jiří Novák ISBN: 9788361421443
Published by STRATUS for Mushroom Model Publications on February 1st 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Naval
Pages: 152
Len's Summary: Development and operational use of U-boats by the KUK Navy in WWI.
Pill Boxes on the Western Front: a Guide to the Design, Construction and Use of Concrete Pill Boxes 1914-1918
Pill Boxes on the Western Front: a Guide to the Design, Construction and Use of Concrete Pill Boxes 1914-1918 by Peter Oldham ISBN: 9781848844391
on February 28th 2011
Pages: 208
Len's Summary: Many of these can still be seen along the old front line in Flanders.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of World War I: An expert guide to the uniforms of Britain, France, Russia, America, Germany and Austro-Hungary with over 450 colour illustrations
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of World War I: An expert guide to the uniforms of Britain, France, Russia, America, Germany and Austro-Hungary with over 450 colour illustrations by Jonathan North ISBN: 0754823407
Published by Lorenz Books on October 16th 2011
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: By a leading British military historian.
German Soldier Newspapers of the First World War
German Soldier Newspapers of the First World War by Robert L. Nelson ISBN: 9781107695733
Published by Cambridge University Press on January 30th 2014
Genres: History, Military, General, World War I, Europe
Pages: 282
Len's Summary: Soldiers’ newspapers held a mirror to life on the Western Front.
The Red Sweet Wine of Youth: The Brave and Brief Lives of the War Poets
The Red Sweet Wine of Youth: The Brave and Brief Lives of the War Poets by Nicholas Murray ISBN: 9781408700044
on February 1st 2011
Genres: Fiction, War & Military, Poetry, European
Pages: 343
Len's Summary: Drawing on journals, letters and literary archives, the author offers insight into the lives and motivations of major war poets.
Retreat and Rearguard 1914: The BEF’s Actions from Mons to the Marne
by Jerry Murland ISBN: 9781848843912
Published by Pen & Sword Books on February 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 205
Len's Summary: The BEF’s fighting retreat in 1914. See Also John Terraine, Mons: The Retreat to Victory (1960).
George W. Hamilton, USMC: America’s Greatest World War I Hero
George W. Hamilton, USMC: America’s Greatest World War I Hero by Mark Mortensen ISBN: 9780786463213
Published by McFarland & Company on June 30th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, General, Military, History, World War I, United States
Pages: 302
Len's Summary: The long-forgotten story of a highly decorated Marine company and battalion commander on the Western Front; one of Leatherneck’s top ten marines. Order from www.mcfarlandpub.com.
Our Fritz: Emperor Frederick III and the Political Culture of Imperial Germany
Our Fritz: Emperor Frederick III and the Political Culture of Imperial Germany by Frank Lorenz Müller ISBN: 9780674048386
Published by Harvard University Press on October 10th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Historical, History, Europe, Germany, Modern, 19th Century
Pages: 366
Len's Summary: The story of Kaiser Frederick, father of Wilhelm II, who died of cancer after reigning for only 99 days. If he survived, he might have ushered in new era in Anglo-German relations, thus avoiding the hecatombs of WWI.
Loyalty in a Time of Trial: The African-American Experience During World War I
Loyalty in a Time of Trial: The African-American Experience During World War I by Nina Mjagkij ISBN: 9780742570436
Published by Rowman & Littlefield on April 16th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States, 20th Century, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, African American Studies
Pages: 225
Len's Summary: Nearly 370,000 Black soldiers served in a segregated military while another 400,000 migrated north to work in defense industries. This service forced America to confront institutionalized segregation and racism.
Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America
Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America by Cameron McWhirter ISBN: 9781250009067
Published by St. Martin's Press on July 3rd 2012
Genres: History, United States, 20th Century, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, African American Studies
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: The end of WWI witnessed a spate of lynchings sparked by white supremacy augmented by the pseudo-science of eugenics as white fears of economic integration were conflated with fears of communism. This was the greatest period of racial strife ever seen in America, but it also marked the first glimmer of the civil rights movement that erupted four decades later. Also available as a Nook book.
British Military Service Tribunals, 1916-18: ‘A Very Much Abused Body of Men’
British Military Service Tribunals, 1916-18: 'A Very Much Abused Body of Men' by James McDermott ISBN: 9780719084775
Published by Manchester University Press on August 15th 2011
Pages: 272
Len's Summary: A reexamination of the checkered record of tribunals created following enactment (for the first time in British history) of conscription to adjudicate individual appeals for exemption.
World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer: The Stories and Diaries of J. M. McCleery, RNAS/RAF
World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer: The Stories and Diaries of J. M. McCleery, RNAS/RAF by Guy Warner ISBN: 9781848842557
on June 13th 2011
Pages: 304
Len's Summary: Memoirs of service on HMS Furious. -- The story of an aviator flying off HMS Furious in.1917 and 1918.
A Surgeon in Khaki: Through France and Flanders in World War I
A Surgeon in Khaki: Through France and Flanders in World War I by Arthur Anderson Martin, Glyn Harper ISBN: 0803234929
Published by University of Nebraska Press on April 1st 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, General, Personal Memoirs, History, Military, World War I, Medical, Surgery
Pages: 320
Len's Summary: The memoir of a New Zealand surgeon in the BEF.
The Unending Vigil: the History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Unending Vigil: the History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by Philip Longworth ISBN: 9781848844230
on April 2011
Genres: History, General
Pages: 269
Len's Summary: Beginning on the Western Front the Commission now tends war graves in 140 countries.
War’s Waste: Rehabilitation in World War I America
War’s Waste: Rehabilitation in World War I America by Beth Linker ISBN: 9780226482538
Published by University of Chicago Press on June 15th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States, Veterans
Pages: 291
Len's Summary: As part of an effort to minimize soldiers’ pension costs (the largest line item in the Federal budget), the US embarked on a massive program of rehabilitation in an effort to return badly wounded men to productive lives. This resulted in the vast expansion of the medical rehabilitative specialties and the creation of Veterans Administration. Also available as a Nook book.
Captured Memories: Across the Threshold of War
Captured Memories: Across the Threshold of War by Peter Liddle ISBN: 9781848842342
on February 2011
Genres: History, Europe, Great Britain, Military, World War I
Pages: 313
Len's Summary: A look at the famous and not so famous men and women who served on several fronts. The author is a distinguished British historian of both world wars whose collection of WWI documents and memorabilia is permanently housed at the University of Leeds.
Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant life of the British Officer in the First World War
Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant life of the British Officer in the First World War by John Lewis-Stempel ISBN: 9781409102144
Published by Orion on October 1st 2011
Pages: 358
Len's Summary: Drawing on their writings, the author seeks to illustrate the lives and deaths of British officers at the front. -- The title reflects the life expectancy of company grade officers in the trenches of WWI. A narrative history based on first-hand accounts.
Letters from a Sailor: America at War 1917-1918
Letters from a Sailor: America at War 1917-1918 by Daniel E. Lee ISBN: 9780739166383
Published by Lexington Books on October 13th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States, Naval
Pages: 117
Len's Summary: The correspondence between navy enlistee Conrad Ostroot and his Iowa family.
Destination Western Front: London’s Omnibuses Go to War
Destination Western Front: London's Omnibuses Go to War by Roy Larkin ISBN: 9780956501400
Published by BPR Publishers on March 2010
Pages: 80
Len's Summary: A little-know aspect of motor transport in The Great War.
Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda ISBN: 9781845138370
Published by Aurum Press on March 24th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Historical, Middle East
Pages: 784
Len's Summary: A new biography of that dashing warrior Lawrence of Arabia. Korda is the author of bios of U.S. Grant and Eisenhower, as well as a book on the Battle of Britain. -- A new biography of T. E. Lawrence argues that his vision for a new political paradigm in the Middle East could have made a vast difference in today’s world. The author is a noted novelist and former Editor-in-Chief for Simon & Schuster.
Other Combatants, Other Fronts: Competing Histories of the First World War
Other Combatants, Other Fronts: Competing Histories of the First World War by Alisa Miller, Alisa Miller and Laura Rowe ISBN: 1443827371
Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing on April 1st 2011
Pages: 325
Len's Summary: Moves attention away from the Western Front to focus on other theatres and forgotten experiences of war including in neutral Holland and Switzerland.. Based on papers presented at a Society of World War One Studies conference held during September 2009 in London.
Horsemen in No Man’s Land: British Cavalry and Trench Warfare, 1914-1918
Horsemen in No Man’s Land: British Cavalry and Trench Warfare, 1914-1918 by David Kenyon ISBN: 9781848843646
Published by Pen & Sword Military on December 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Technology & Engineering, Military Science
Pages: 293
Len's Summary: Challenges conventional wisdom on the value of cavalry on the Western Front.
Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy
Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy by Patrick J. Kelly ISBN: 9780253001757
Published by Indiana University Press on May 3rd 2011
Genres: History, Military, Naval, Biography & Autobiography, World War I
Pages: 608
Len's Summary: Grand Admiral Tirpitz (1849-1930) dominated German naval policy during the years leading up to WWI. This is both a compelling biography and an examination of the historiography of the period.
We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War by Michael Keren, Shlomit Keren ISBN: 9780742552746
Published by Rowman & Littlefield on August 1st 2010
Genres: History, Jewish, Military, World War I, Religion, Judaism
Pages: 191
Len's Summary: The story of the three British Jewish Legions recruited from Canada, the US and England based on volunteer letters and diaries.
World War I: The American Soldier Experience
World War I: The American Soldier Experience by Jennifer D. Keene ISBN: 9780803234871
Published by University of Nebraska Press on April 1st 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States
Pages: 217
Len's Summary: Based on the letters and memoirs of men and women who served.
Violence Against Prisoners of War in the First World War: Britain, France and Germany, 1914-1920
Violence Against Prisoners of War in the First World War: Britain, France and Germany, 1914-1920 by Heather Jones ISBN: 1107638267
Published by Cambridge University Press on June 2nd 2011
Genres: History, Europe, General, Military, Modern, 20th Century
Pages: 451
Len's Summary: A scholarly study of how the war radicalized captivity treatment undermining international law protecting POWs. As the war wore on and manpower grew scarce, increasing numbers of captives were not sent to the home front, but rather retained as laborers near the Western Front. See also Prisoners, Diplomats, and the Great War: A Study in the Diplomacy of Captivity, Richard G. Speed III, Greenwood, 1990.
Clydebank Battlecruisers: Forgotten Photographs from John Brown’s Shipyard
Clydebank Battlecruisers: Forgotten Photographs from John Brown's Shipyard by Ian Johnston ISBN: 9781591141204
Published by Naval Institute Press on August 15th 2011
Genres: History, Military, General, Pictorial, Naval, Transportation, Ships & Shipbuilding
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: Account of the five battlecruisers built by John Brown from 1907 to 1920 culminating with HHS Hood, the largest warship of her day.
Imagining the Middle East: The Building of an American Foreign Policy, 1918-1967
Imagining the Middle East: The Building of an American Foreign Policy, 1918-1967 by Matthew F. Jacobs ISBN: 9780807834886
Published by Univ of North Carolina Press on September 12th 2011
Genres: History, Middle East, General, United States, 20th Century, Political Science, International Relations
Pages: 318
Len's Summary: Traces the evolution of US perceptions of the Middle East from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire to the 1967 War.
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild ISBN: 9780547750316
Published by Mariner Books on March 6th 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 448
Len's Summary: Existing tensions in British society exacerbated by the huge human and material costs of industrialized war shaped conflict that often pitted brother against sister. father against son.
Poems of World War One, 1914-1919
Poems of World War One, 1914-1919 by Steven Leslie Hill ISBN: 9781908336101
Published by Tommies Guides on September 1st 2011
Pages: 56
Len's Summary: Twenty five brief verses with illustrations.
The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World
The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World by Holger H. Herwig ISBN: 9780812978292
Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks on February 8th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 391
Len's Summary: The first four weeks of WWI: a first-rate new study in best-laid-plans gone awry by a prize-wining Canadian military historian. // An important and well-crafted new look at the decisive days between September 5 and September 11, 1914 drawing on archival material thought destroyed in WWII by a distinguished Canadian historian and winner of the WFA Tomlinson Book Prize.
Gallipoli
Gallipoli by Peter Hart ISBN: 9780199361274
Published by Oxford University Press on March 5th 2014
Genres: History, Australia & New Zealand, Europe, General, Military, World War I
Pages: 534
Len's Summary: British oral historian Hart reexamines the failed Gallipoli campaign drawing on letters and memoirs of soldiers on both sides. Lively and very readable.
British Silent Cinema and The Great War
British Silent Cinema and The Great War by Michael Hammond, Michael Williams ISBN: 0230292623
Published by Palgrave Macmillan on November 15th 2011
Pages: 216
Len's Summary: These essays look at the British movie industry’s response to The Great War and how that industry shaped the war’s memory in the 19 teens and 20s.
Lady Under Fire on the Western Front: The Great War Letters of Lady Dorothie Feilding MM
Lady Under Fire on the Western Front: The Great War Letters of Lady Dorothie Feilding MM by Dorothie Feilding ISBN: 9781848843226
on April 2010
Pages: 226
Len's Summary: The record of nearly three years of driving an ambulance behind the Western Front.
Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War
Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War by Guoqi Xu ISBN: 9780674049994
Published by Harvard University Press on March 20th 2011
Genres: History, Asia, General, Military, World War I, World, Modern, 20th Century, Social Science, Minority Studies, Ethnic Studies, Asian American Studies
Pages: 336
Len's Summary: The story of 140 thousand illiterate Chinese contract coolie laborers contracted by the British and French for service behind the lines in France and Flanders; revolutionary China’s major contribution to WWI made in an effort to stave off powerful external threats from Japan and other powers.
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
