Douglas Haig As I Knew Him by George S. Duncan ISBN: 9781473827707
on January 30th 2015
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military
Pages: 144
Len's Summary: A positive assessment of a controversial commander.
Tank Battles of World War I
Tank Battles of World War I by Bryan Cooper ISBN: 1473825628
Published by Pen & Sword Books on March 19th 2015
Pages: 144
Len's Summary: Early tank actions.
Reporting from the Front: War Reporters during the Great War
Reporting from the Front: War Reporters during the Great War by Brian Best ISBN: 9781473821170
on November 30th 2014
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: The British free press takes on British military censorship.
The Zeppelin
The Zeppelin by Michael Belafi ISBN: 9781473827851
Published by Pen & Sword Books on March 31st 2015
Genres: Military, Aviation
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: Features photos of these huge airships in all stages of development.
Your Country Needs You: Volunteering to Fight in the Great War
Your Country Needs You: Volunteering to Fight in the Great War ISBN: 1473828856 Published by Pen & Sword Books on May 19th 2015
Genres: Great Britain, Military
Pages: 120
Len's Summary: A compilation of articles taken from other Pen & Sword books on WWI.
21st Century Sims: Innovation, Education, and Leadership for the Modern Era
21st Century Sims: Innovation, Education, and Leadership for the Modern Era by Benjamin Armstrong ISBN: 1612518109
Published by US Naval Institute Press on February 15th 2015
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, Naval
Pages: 176
Len's Summary: Admiral William S. Sims twice President of the US Naval War College, gunnery expert and commander of US Naval Forces in Europe during WWI was a true military intellectual.
Kitchener’s New Army: Your Country Needs You!
Kitchener's New Army: Your Country Needs You! by Edgar Wallace, Campbell McCutcheon ISBN: 1445622920
Published by Amberley on September 19th 2015
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: How a volunteer army was trained
Armies of the Russo-Polish War 1919-21
Armies of the Russo-Polish War 1919-21 by Nigel Thomas ISBN: 1472801067
Published by Osprey Publishing on November 18th 2014
Genres: Design, Illustration, Military, Russia & the Former Soviet Union
Pages: 48
Len's Summary: One of the many smaller wars that erupted in the wake of the 1918 Armistice.
A Land of Aching Hearts: The Middle East in the Great War
A Land of Aching Hearts: The Middle East in the Great War by Leila Tarazi Fawaz ISBN: 9780674735491
Published by Harvard University Press on November 17th 2014
Genres: Middle East, Social History
Pages: 416
Len's Summary: Finds the First World War to have been a socially and politically transformative experience that shaped the Middle East of today. He author teaches at Tufts University.
Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I
Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I by Michael E. Shay ISBN: 9780826220318
Published by University of Missouri Press on July 30th 2014
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: A look at the role of US Army chaplains in WWI.
World War I Law and Lawyers: Issues, Cases, and Characters
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.
World War I Law and Lawyers: Issues, Cases, and Characters by Thomas J. Shaw ISBN: 1627224319
Published by American Bar Association on August 7th 2014
Genres: Law, Legal History, Essays
Pages: 539
Len's Summary: Dozens of essays and some 300 mini-biographies, as well as discussion of wartime statutes forming the basis for punishing military offensives.
First World War: The Postcard Collection
First World War: The Postcard Collection by Nigel Sadler Published by Amberley on November 3rd 2014
Pages: 96
Len's Summary: Looks at the role of the postcard in war both as a propaganda tool and as a means of communication among friends and family.
Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Concise Life
Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Concise Life by John Rohl ISBN: 9781107420779
Published by Cambridge University Press on August 21st 2014
Pages: 261
Len's Summary: A short version of Röhl’s multi-volume biography of a man emotionally and intellectually unfit to rule over Europe’s most powerful country.
Hospital Ships and Troop Transport of the First World War
Hospital Ships and Troop Transport of the First World War by Campbell McCutcheon ISBN: 9781445638676
Published by Amberley on August 28th 2015
Pages: 128
Len's Summary: Under Royal Navy command these merchant vessels played a vital role in prosecuting the war.
Aftermath: Legacies and Memories of War in Europe, 1918-1945-1989
Aftermath: Legacies and Memories of War in Europe, 1918-1945-1989 by Nicholas Martin, Tim Haughton, Pierre Purseigle ISBN: 9781409444282
on December 28th 2014
Genres: General, Military, Essays
Pages: 254
Len's Summary: 4428 2, $119 hb. Essays focusing on three seminal events of the violent 20th century: the Armistice of 1918; Allied victory in 1945; and, the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989.
Death or Deliverance: Canadian Courts Martial in the Great War
Death or Deliverance: Canadian Courts Martial in the Great War by Teresa Iacobelli ISBN: 0774825685
Published by University of British Columbia Press on March 6th 2014
Genres: Canada, Military, Law
Pages: 175
Len's Summary: An examination of the legal ramifications of convictions for desertion among Canadian soldiers.
Shooting at the Stars
Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix ISBN: 141971175X
Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers on October 7th 2014
Pages: 40
Len's Summary: A children’s book explaining the 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops on the Western Front, a constant source of fascination.
Before Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters, August 1914-February 1915
Before Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters, August 1914-February 1915 by James Goldrick ISBN: 1591143497
Published by US Naval Institute Press on May 15th 2015
Genres: Military, Naval
Pages: 400
Len's Summary: The German High Seas Fleet faces the British in the North Sea and the Russians in the Baltic.
Sturmtruppen: WWI German Stormtroopers (1914-1918)
Sturmtruppen: WWI German Stormtroopers (1914-1918) by Ricardo Recio Cardona ISBN: 9788496658516
Published by Andrea Press on September 19th 2014
Pages: 216
Len's Summary: Narrative history with a description of tactics, uniforms and equipment.
The Other First World War: The Blood-Soaked Eastern Front
The Other First World War: The Blood-Soaked Eastern Front by Douglas Boyd ISBN: 0752493582
Published by The History Press on December 1st 2014
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: A narrative survey history.
Onward, Dear Boys: A Family Memoir of the Great War
Onward, Dear Boys: A Family Memoir of the Great War by Philippe Bieler ISBN: 9780773544680
Published by McGill-Queen's University Press on November 7th 2014
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, Canada
Pages: 340
Len's Summary: Story of the wartime experiences of a Swiss Protestant family that immigrated to Montreal and sent their sons to war.
In Parenthesis
In Parenthesis by David Jones ISBN: 9781590170366
Published by New York Review of Books on 1937
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: A picture of the interminable waiting and unforeseen death on the Western Front by an infantryman.
America and World War I: A Traveler’s Guide
America and World War I: A Traveler's Guide by Mark D. Van Ells ISBN: 1566569753
Published by Interlink Books on September 1st 2014
Pages: 320
Len's Summary: Covers major battles and battlefields of the AEF, memorials, cemeteries, training and embarkation sites, doughboy correspondence, diaries and memoirs, as well as service organizations such as the Red Cross and YMCA.
The Red Baron: The Graphic History of Richthofen’s Flying Circus and the Air War in WWI
The Red Baron: The Graphic History of Richthofen's Flying Circus and the Air War in WWI by Wayne Vansant ISBN: 9780760346020
Published by Zenith Press on June 1st 2014
Pages: 104
Len's Summary: Perhaps most suited to young readers.
The Great War Seen from the Air: In Flanders Fields, 1914–1918
The Great War Seen from the Air: In Flanders Fields, 1914–1918 by Birger Stichelbaut ISBN: 030019658X
on February 11th 2014
Genres: Military, Photography
Pages: 396
Len's Summary: A photographic history of the war as seen from the air researched from British, Belgian, German and US archives.
Cavalry of the Air: An Illustrated Introduction to the Aircraft and Aces of the First World War
Cavalry of the Air: An Illustrated Introduction to the Aircraft and Aces of the First World War by Norman S. Leach ISBN: 9781459723320
Published by Dundurn Group on November 8th 2014
Pages: 160
Len's Summary: Survey history of aerial warfare in WWI.
Billy Bishop VC Lone Wolf Hunter: The RAF Ace Re-Examined
Billy Bishop VC Lone Wolf Hunter: The RAF Ace Re-Examined by Peter Kilduff ISBN: 9781909808133
Published by Grub Street Publishing on October 19th 2014
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: Does not settle the argument about the disputed number of Bishop’s aerial victories, but rather trolls the relevant sources letting the reader reach his or her own conclusions.
A Handful of Bullets: How the Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces the Peace
A Handful of Bullets: How the Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces the Peace by Harlan Ullman ISBN: 1612517994
Published by Naval Institute Press on December 15th 2014
Genres: Political Science, International Relations, Diplomacy
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: A failure of diplomacy and statesmanship; drawing lessons and parallels from history to cope with today’s strategic issues.
Liaison 1914: A Narrative of the Great Retreat
Liaison 1914: A Narrative of the Great Retreat by Edward Spears ISBN: 9781473827462
on February 19th 2015
Pages: 588
Len's Summary: Sir Edward Spears was a key player in Anglo-French coordination throughout WWI. At the outset of WWII, he was Churchill’s personal representative to French Premier Paul Reynaud and is credited with arranging DeGaulle’s escape to England in June 1940.
The Lost Sketchbooks: A Young Artist in The Great War
The Lost Sketchbooks: A Young Artist in The Great War by Rex Passion, Edward Shenton ISBN: 9780982821954
Published by Komatik Press on August 4th 2014
Pages: 151
Len's Summary: Newly rediscovered wartime sketches of Edward Shenton, an engineer corporal in the 28th Division, AEF.
We Also Served: The Forgotten Women of the First World War
We Also Served: The Forgotten Women of the First World War by Vivien Newman ISBN: 1783462256
on November 30th 2014
Genres: Women, Social History, Military
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: British women at war, a social history. See also: They Also Served: American Women in World War I, Lettie Gavin, University Press of Colorado, 1906, and The First, the Few, the Forgotten: Navy and Marine Corps Women in World War I, Jean Ebbert & Mary-Beth Hall, US Naval Institute Press, 2002.
The Great War for Peace
The Great War for Peace by William Mulligan ISBN: 9780300173772
Published by Yale University Press on May 27th 2014
Pages: 456
Len's Summary: Finds the Great War’s legacy to be the creation of intellectual, cultural, social and political anti-war movements focused on conflict resolution. Concepts of peace and global order arising Phoenix-like from the fires of war. Covers the 15-year period from the Moroccan Crisis of 1911 to the Locarno Pact of 1925. Three stars.
Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire
Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire by Bedross Der Matossian ISBN: 9780804792639
Published by Stanford University Press on October 15th 2014
Genres: Turkey & Ottoman Empire
Pages: 249
Len's Summary: The revolution of 1908 opened the door to ethnic, religious and political strife and disintegration within the multilingual Ottoman Empire. World War I finished the job.
National Geographic Kids Everything World War I: Dig in With Thrilling Photos and Fascinating Facts
National Geographic Kids Everything World War I: Dig in With Thrilling Photos and Fascinating Facts by Karen Latchana Kenney ISBN: 1426317158
Published by National Geographic Society on September 9th 2014
Pages: 64
Len's Summary: The perfect gift for young readers eight to 13; edited by a winner of our Tomlinson Book Prize. Heavily illustrated with period photos and color drawings. Four stars.
A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs from John Brown’s Clydebank, 1914-1918
A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs from John Brown's Clydebank, 1914-1918 by Ian Johnston ISBN: 9781591141891
Published by US Naval Institute Press on December 15th 2014
Genres: Military, Naval, Pictorial, Photography
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: Britain’s famed ship yards near Glasgow. During WWI John Brown’s, produced over two hundred thousand tons of warships -- mainly destroyers, but also including HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales -- and 1,700,000 tons of machinery for the Royal Navy during WWI. This is a companion volume to the author’s Clydebank Battlecruisers (USNI 2011).
Warships of the Great War Era (A History of Ship Models)
Warships of the Great War Era (A History of Ship Models) by David Hobbs ISBN: 1591141907
Published by Seaforth Publishing on October 15th 2014
Pages: 128
Len's Summary: Photographs highlighting design details of dozens of WWI Royal navy scale models from dreadnoughts to motor torpedo boats in the collection of The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Amazing detail for the modeler or student of naval architecture. Five stars.
The Armenian Genocide: Evidence from the German Foreign Office Archives, 1915-1916
The Armenian Genocide: Evidence from the German Foreign Office Archives, 1915-1916 by Wolfgang Gust ISBN: 9781782381433
Published by Berghahn Books on January 15th 2013
Pages: 786
Len's Summary: In translation from the original German published just in time for the centenary of the 1915 Armenian massacres.
The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy for World War I
The Schlieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy for World War I by Hans Ehlert, Michael Epkenhans, Gerhard P. Groß, David T. Zabecki ISBN: 0813147468
Published by University Press of Kentucky on October 7th 2014
Genres: Germany, Military, Strategy
Pages: 592
Len's Summary: A centennial reassessment of Schlieffen’s work with abstracts of German deployment plans from 1893 sand comparative summaries of Austro-Hungarian. French, British, Belgian and Russian planning. Excellent detailed maps.
Trial by Gas: The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres
Trial by Gas: The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres by George H. Cassar ISBN: 1612346901
Published by Potomac Books on December 15th 2014
Pages: 344
Len's Summary: Focuses on the second half of this April 1915 battle: the engagements at Frezenberg Ridge and Bellewaard Ridge. The author teaches at Eastern Michigan University and specializes in WWI.
The Politics of Wounds: Military Patients and Medical Power in the First World War
The Politics of Wounds: Military Patients and Medical Power in the First World War by Ana Carden-Coyne ISBN: 9780199698264
Published by Oxford University Press on October 1st 2014
Genres: Social History
Pages: 382
Len's Summary: Social history; explores patient experiences.
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
