A reassessment of Churchill’s role in the conception, planning and execution of the Dardanelles fiasco, as well as an examination of the subsequent inquiry and the long-standing controversy over the operation. Bell previously wrote Churchill and Sea Power, and is an expert on the great man’s relationship with the Royal Navy. His account draws on a mass of archival material, and provides a more nuanced view of the people and politics that contributed to the decision-making process.
Len's Summary: The true story of a French soldier who survives the war with permanent loss of memory and who is never identified. Recommended by WFA Director-emeritus Norman B. Tomlinson., Jr. Reminiscent of Japrisco's novel A Very Long Engagement.
Comments Off on Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History
Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History by Charles Williams ISBN: 1403970114 Published byPalgrave Macmillan on October 1st 2005 Pages: 298
Len's Summary: A sympathetic view of the hero of Verdun and leader of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. Il ne passeron pas.
Len's Summary: Largely forgotten today, Baker was a 1914 Princeton graduate and star collegiate football, baseball and hockey player. Employed by J. P. Morgan after graduation, he enlisted in 1917 and fought with the 103rd Aero Squadron which, among other squadrons, traced its ancestry to the Lafayette Esquadrille. Baker died in mysterious circumstances during a late 1918 test flight. The Hobey Baker award is given annually to the best American collegiate hockey player. And, Princeton's hockey rink is named after him. Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise character Allenby is thought to be based on Baker.
Comments Off on The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Imperial Germany’s Gentleman Pirate
The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Imperial Germany's Gentleman Pirate by Blaine Lee Pardoe ISBN: 1592286941 Published byThe Lyons Press on April 1st 2005 Pages: 295
Len's Summary: The most recent of several books concentrating on German maritime raiders of WWI. These include Kaisers Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One and Emden-Ayseha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914, both published by the Naval Institute Press. Germany employed surface raiders, both armed merchantmen and war ships of up to large cruiser size, in both World Wars.
Comments Off on Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism
Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism by Jack McCallum ISBN: 0814756999 Published byNew York University Press on December 1st 2005 Pages: 357
Len's Summary: An almost forgotten Medal of Honor-winner Major General Leonard Wood (1860-1927), a Harvard Medical School graduate, was the first commander of the Rough Riders, Governor of Cuba, US Army commander in the Philippines, Theodore Roosevelt's personal White House physician, Army Chief of Staff, Governor General of the Philippines, and a key figure in creating the modern army, as well as unsuccessful candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1920.
Comments Off on Margaret Macdonald: Imperial Daughter
Margaret Macdonald: Imperial Daughter by Susan Mann ISBN: 0773538003 on September 1st 2010 Pages: 328
Len's Summary: Ms. Macdonald served as chief of Canadian overseas nursing during WWI with the rank of Major, the first such appointment for a woman in the British Empire. She also served as a nurse in the Spanish-American and Boer Wars, and during the building of the Panama Canal.
Comments Off on The Little Field Marshall: Sir John French
The Little Field Marshall: Sir John French by Richard Holmes ISBN: 0224015753 on 2005 Pages: 427
Len's Summary: The first commander of the BEF, a 19th century officer, fights a 20th century war. The author is a well-known historian and reserve Brigadier in the British Army.
Comments Off on Australian Hawk Over the Western Front – A Biography of Major R. S. Dallas
Australian Hawk Over the Western Front - A Biography of Major R. S. Dallas by Adrian Hellwig ISBN: 1904943349 Published byGrub Street on August 1st 2006 Pages: 221
Len's Summary: The story of Australia's leading air ace.
Comments Off on Between Two Worlds: A Rajput Officer in the Indian Army, 1905-21: Based on the Diary of Amar Singh of Jaipur
Between Two Worlds: A Rajput Officer in the Indian Army, 1905-21: Based on the Diary of Amar Singh of Jaipur by DeWitt C. Ellinwood Jr. ISBN: 0761831134 Published byHamilton Books on February 28th 2005 Pages: 694
Len's Summary: A veteran of the Boxer Rebellion, Singh was granted a restricted commission in 1905. Given a regular commission in 1917, Singh's diaries offer an unusual look at the British Indian Army in the period of The Great War. Dr. Ellinwood, professor-emeritus at SUNY Albany, spoke at the 2005 WFA national seminar at Plattsburgh.
Comments Off on Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare
Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare by Daniel Charles ISBN: 0060562722 Published byEcco on August 2nd 2005 Pages: 336
Len's Summary: Haber won the Nobel Prize for his work to extract nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into fertilizer. Though almost forgotten today, he was the chemical genius behind German war-time explosives production and the initiation of poison gas warfare in April 1915. Imperial Germany, blockaded by the Royal Navy, desperately needed his inventions in order to survive an industrialized conflict. Reviewed by Martin Sieff in the October St. Mihiel Trip-Wire. The author is a science correspondent for NPR.
Len's Summary: The letters of George "Brownie" Browne, Doughboy of the 117th Engineers of the 42nd Rainbow Division sent to his fiance during his 18 months of service.
Comments Off on Twelve Days on the Somme: A Memoir of the Trenches, 1916
Twelve Days on the Somme: A Memoir of the Trenches, 1916 by Sidney Rogerson ISBN: 9781848325340 Published byFrontline Books on July 2009 Pages: 172
Len's Summary: Memoirs of a British subaltern first published in 1933; vivid descriptions with out embellishment of life on the front lines written by a survivor of the 1916 Somme offensive. Unabashedly intended as an antidote to the usual downbeat 1930's war memoir.
Comments Off on Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier
Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier by Keith Jeffery ISBN: 9780199239672 Published byOxford University Press on January 1st 2008 Pages: 325
Len's Summary: The story of a passionate Irish unionist who was one of England's most influential soldiers before and during WWI. Wilson was BEF liaison to the French Army and Western Front corps commander before replacing Sir William Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in February 1918. He was assassinated by the IRA in 1922.
Comments Off on Theodore Roosevelt and World Order: Police Power in International Relations
Theodore Roosevelt and World Order: Police Power in International Relations by James R. Holmes ISBN: 1574888846 Published byPotomac Books on April 1st 2007 Pages: 336
Len's Summary: A new look at Roosevelt's "Big Stick" policies, the Roosevelt Corollaries to the Monroe Doctrine and American imperialism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author is a former naval officer and a Ph.D. graduate of the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Len's Summary: An important new biography of Wilson's alter ego and roving diplomatic emissary. How a Texas pol made to the center of the national and international political stages.
Len's Summary: The author is Associate Professor of History at the University of Colorado-Boulder who spoke at the WFA 2006 National Seminar. This is highly personal, powerful and moving perspective on The Great War drawn from hundreds of letters exchanged by a French newlywed couple separated by the conflict. Dr. Hanna is also the author of The Mobilization of Intellect: French Scholars and Writers during the Great War (Harvard, 1996).
Len's Summary: First biography of the author of Through the Wheat (Nebraska, 2000), a novel of US Marines in World War One. A contemporary of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Boyd served with the Sixth Marines at Soissons, Belleau Wood, St. Mihiel, and Blanc Mont, where he was severely gassed. For a review, go to www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/thomasboyd.html
Len's Summary: 180 illustrations including photos taken by Lawrence compiled by the author, who is a distinguished historian of the Great War working at the Imperial War Museum in London. Several of the photos taken by Lawrence appeared in the summer 2006 edition of MHQ - The Quarterly Journal of Military History.
Comments Off on Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation
Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation by Ann Bausum ISBN: 9781426214653 Published byNational Geographic Society on May 5th 2015 Pages: 240
Len's Summary: A doughboy’s pet becomes a decorated war hero. Light hearted history. A History Book Club selection.
Len's Summary: A new biography tracing the larger than life career of the Indianapolis racing car owner- driver, 26-victory WWI ace, Medal of Honor winner, and founder of Eastern Airlines. The often crude and always irrepressible Rickenbacker cut a wide swath across the first half of the 20th century.
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.
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.
Comments Off on Franz Joseph and Elisabeth: The Last Great Monarchs of Austria-Hungary
Franz Joseph and Elisabeth: The Last Great Monarchs of Austria-Hungary by Karen Owens ISBN: 9780786476749 Published byMcFarland on November 6th 2013 Pages: 200
Len's Summary: Franz Joseph reigned from 1848 to 1916, taking Austria through three military defeats; Elizabeth was assassinated before war erupted.
Comments Off on Briffault’s Passchendaele: Arts, Empathy, and the First World War
Briffault's Passchendaele: Arts, Empathy, and the First World War by Phil McCray ISBN: 9780945213345 Published byRudi Publishing on November 11th 2014 Pages: 222
Len's Summary: An attempt to find meaning in The Great War and the world it created.
Comments Off on Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed their Military Experience
Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experience by Edward A. Gutièrrez ISBN: 9780700619900 Published byUniversity Press of Kansas on September 19th 2014 Pages: 308
Len's Summary: Illuminates the war through veterans’ own statements. // Remembrances of America soldiers written in 1919 when memories were fresh.
Comments Off on Ataturk – The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey
Ataturk – The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey by Andrew Mango ISBN: 1585670111 Published byOverlook Books on April 3rd 2000
Len's Summary: The Author is sparing in his praise of Mustapha Kemal’s military prowess at Gallipoli, but unstinting in his admiration for Ataturk’s political and military skill in thwarting Allied plans to partition the Ottoman Empire. Based largely on Turkish sources.
Len's Summary: A brief, well-crafted biography by one of America’s most acclaimed novelists and critics about one of America’s most complicated and controversial political personalities. Also available from Books on Tape at http://www.booksontape.com for $24.95.
We are changing the WW1HA’s newsletter’s publication schedule to monthly. Publishing “Here and There with the WW1HA” twice a year provides too few opportunities to interact effectively with the membership! So, we’re going to go with shorter, monthly publications via our Constant Contact mailing list. My goal is that each issue will contain a brief comment from the President / Officers, a quick summary of WW1-related news, and a focus on a member and his/her research in each issue. What else should it include? You tell me: lavarennes@meuse-argonne.com.
Membership was very low at the beginning of the year, so we have formed a Membership Committee. The first action taken was to contact 2020-22 members who had not renewed in 2023. That was the low-hanging fruit. The second action will be to increase year-end renewal reminders and touch points with the membership—also low-hanging fruit. The third action will be to explore ways to reach beyond our current customers.
On 11 March we held our first quarterly Fireside Chat—with 27 participants—using Zoom. Again, this provided interaction with our members. We will be doing these quarterly and will be announcing the next one shortly. The top two responses of how/why members got excited about WW1 were 1) family involvement in the war and 2) aviation. How do we use this information to grow membership?
A small group of us are actively posting in the World War One Historical Association’s Facebook Group. Join us there.
Ed Klekowski is itching to do a Summer (third) issue of World War One Illustrated. He is working on the first Summer issue as we speak.
I have not made major changes to the website yet, because of the above-mentioned initiatives. That said, I did modernize the Chapters/Events Page to reflect our current activities.
I hope these efforts breathe new life into the Association, and I want to encourage you to do your bit. If you have a good idea, tell me about it. Better yet, step up and be willing to take a more active role.