The Moral Disarmament of France: Education, Pacifism, and Patriotism, 1914-1940 by Mona L. Siegel ISBN: 0521187788
Published by Cambridge University Press on March 3rd 2011
Pages: 317
Len's Summary: Examines the complexity of French teachers' views of war in the inter-war period and how these influenced French popular reactions to threatened German aggression in the 1930s.
The U-boat Century: German Submarine Warfare, 1906-2006
The U-boat Century: German Submarine Warfare, 1906-2006 by Jak P. Mallmann Showell ISBN: 1591148928
on October 10th 2006
Len's Summary: A selection of the History Book Club. In 1915, U-Boats sank 555 Entente merchant vessels; in 1916, the number climbed to 1.300; and, in 1917 over 3,000 Allied vessels were sent to the bottom by U-Boats. These losses were never replicated, even in the Battle of the Atlantic in World War Two, as is pointed out by the author.
German Army on the Somme, 1914-1916
German Army on the Somme, 1914-1916 by Jack Sheldon ISBN: 1844152693
Published by Pen & Sword Books on October 1st 2005
Pages: 432
Len's Summary: Unusual in that the author draws on German sources and tells the story of the Somme battles from that point of view.
They Called Us Devil Dogs
They Called Us Devil Dogs by Brian Scarborough ISBN: 9781411655744
on July 26th 2006
Pages: 208
Len's Summary: From the diaries of the author's grandfather who served in the 6th Marines of the Second Division, AEF. Available from www.lulu.com.
Hobey Baker, American Legend
Hobey Baker, American Legend by Emil R. Salvini ISBN: 0976345307
Published by Hobey Baker Memorial Foundation on December 31st 2005
Pages: 142
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.
We Lead Others Follow: First Canadian Division, 1914-1918
We Lead Others Follow: First Canadian Division, 1914-1918 by Kenneth Radley ISBN: 1551251000
Published by Vanwell Publishing on September 1st 2005
Pages: 415
Len's Summary: The training, organization, equipment and operations of the CEF's First Division with particular emphasis on the final battles of 1918.
Warfare And Belligerence: Perspectives In First World War Studies
Warfare And Belligerence: Perspectives In First World War Studies by Pierre Purseigle, Dennis E. Showalter, Patrick Porter, Heather Jones, Jennifer D. Keene, Keith Grieves, Leen Engelen, Leonard V. Smith, Elise Julien, Vanda Wilcox, Gearóid Barry, Paul Mulvey, Nicolas Ginsburger, Elizabeth Fordham, Nicolas Beaupré ISBN: 9004143521
Published by Brill Academic Publishers on May 17th 2005
Pages: 418
Len's Summary: Fourteen papers in a variety of disciplines given at the June 2003 Second European Conference of the International Society for First World War Studies. These essays cover, inter alia, differing national approaches to sacrifice and redemption, the development of war cultures in 1914, academic responses to the war in Paris and London, military discipline and morale, the blurring of distinctions between civilian and soldier, prisoners of war, veterans and demobilization.
The Somme
The Somme by Robin Prior, Trevor Wilson ISBN: 0300106947
Published by Yale University Press on May 11th 2005
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: From two established Australian historians, authors of the well-received 1996 work Passchendaele: The Untold Story (Yale 1996) about the Third Battle of Ypres and Command on the Western Front: the Military Career of Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1914-1918 (Pen & Sword, 2004) based on the diaries of one of the BEF's best army commanders.
Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II
Wilson's War: How Woodrow Wilson's Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II by Jim Powell ISBN: 1400082366
Published by Crown Forum on March 29th 2005
Pages: 352
Len's Summary: Based on secondary sources, this pot-boiler is in the same gendre as several other recent books blaming Woodrow Wilson for most if not all the woes of the 20th century. Breaks no new ground.
Boys in Khaki, Girls in Print: Women’s Literary Responses to the Great War 1914-1918
Boys in Khaki, Girls in Print: Women's Literary Responses to the Great War 1914-1918 by Jane Potter ISBN: 0199543216
on December 1st 2008
Pages: 257
Len's Summary: Popular British literature in WWI.
Dear Family: Letters from the Mexican Border Campaign and the Great War in France
Dear Family: Letters from the Mexican Border Campaign and the Great War in France by Shawn Pease ISBN: 9781257258093
Published by Lulu.com on August 18th 2011
Pages: 99
Len's Summary: First of a series on the letters home from the son of a working class National Guardsman of the 26th (Yankee) Division from Newton, Massachusetts who also served in France and in WWII.
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 by The 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.
Intimate Voices from the First World War
Intimate Voices from the First World War by Sarah Wallis, Svetlana Palmer ISBN: 0060582596
Published by William Morrow on January 6th 2004
Pages: 400
Len's Summary: First published in 2004, this book contains first-person accounts, often in translation, from the diaries of men on both sides of the front. Available from Amazon.co.uk.
World War I
World War I by Michael S. Neiberg ISBN: 0754624773
on October 3rd 2005
Pages: 604
Len's Summary: Essays exploring many Great War themes by Dennis Showalter, John Horne, Alan Kramer, and Timothy Nenninger among others. Way too expensive; order it from your library.
Fighting the Great War: A Global History
Fighting the Great War: A Global History by Michael S. Neiberg ISBN: 0674016963
Published by Harvard University Press on April 30th 2005
Pages: 395
Len's Summary: A new survey history for non-specialist readers.
The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage
The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage by Walter Dean Myers, Bill Miles ISBN: 0060011386
Published by Amistad on July 22nd 2014
Pages: 160
Len's Summary: An unusual and well crafted book on WWI directed at juvenile readers nine to 12 years old. A good gift for your grandchildren.
Call to Arms: The British Army 1914-18
Call to Arms: The British Army 1914-18 by Charles Messenger ISBN: 0297846957
Published by George Weidenfeld & Nicholson on June 1st 2005
Pages: 574
Len's Summary: The evolution of the British Army from a colonial constabulary to a field force of some two million men on the Western Front; the development of command, administration. technology, tactics, and medical services. // New research produces a sparkling study of how Kitchener built the victorious BEF. Favorably reviewed in The Journal of Military History, January 2006
An Airman’s Wife
An Airman's Wife by Aimée McHardy ISBN: 1904010962
Published by Grub Street on July 1st 2005
Pages: 315
Len's Summary: Letters of British air ace Bill Bond to his wife.
Citizen Soldiers: The Liverpool Territorials in the First World War
Citizen Soldiers: The Liverpool Territorials in the First World War by Helen B. McCartney ISBN: 0521848008
Published by Cambridge University Press on December 12th 2005
Pages: 275
Len's Summary: A social history of the British Tommy drawing on official records and soldiers' correspondence. From the series Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare edited by Jay Winter and Paul Kennedy.
Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism
Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism by Jack McCallum ISBN: 0814756999
Published by New 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.
Ghosts of the Great War: Aviation in WWI
Ghosts of the Great War: Aviation in WWI by Philip Makanna, Javier Arango ISBN: 0916997294
Published by Ghosts on December 31st 2005
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: Color photos of the 21 original and reproduction aircraft in the Aeroplane Collection of Paso Robles, California. Markanna's color portraits are accompanied by vintage archival prints of the same aircraft types. Markanna's earlier work has concentrated on World War Two aircraft.
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.
Canada and the Great War: Western Front Association Papers
Canada and the Great War: Western Front Association Papers by Briton Cooper Busch ISBN: 077352570X
on May 8th 2003
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: Included are papers presented by Laura Brandon of the Canadian War Museum, WFA member John Hurst formerly of Guelph University, WFA Newfoundland Branch Chairman David Parsons, Pat Brennan of the University of Calgary, J. B. C. McKercher of the Royal Military College, Christopher Terry of the Canadian Aviation Museum, and Sidney F. Wyse of Carleton University. The book is edited by Professor Briton Busch of Colgate University, who also organized the seminar, and includes maps.The IBSN number for paper back edition is 0-77352-257-X and for hard back 0-77352-546-7.
Curse of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917
Curse of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917 by Laura M. MacDonald ISBN: 0802714587
Published by Walker Books on October 1st 2005
Pages: 355
Len's Summary: The story of the massive ammunition ship explosion that leveled large parts of Halifax in December 1917 and the relief and reconstruction effort that ensued.
My Seventy-Five: The Journal of a French Gunner August-September 1914
My Seventy-Five: The Journal of a French Gunner August-September 1914 by Paul Lintier ISBN: 9781907677304
Published by Helion on February 1st 2011
Pages: 128
Len's Summary: A rare translation of a French WWI memoir.
Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the Twentieth Century
Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the Twentieth Century by W. David Lewis ISBN: 0801889723
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press on May 22nd 2008
Pages: 720
Len's Summary: American racing car driver, aviation pioneer and top American WWI air ace with 26 WWI victories, Rickenbacker went overseas in 1917 as Pershing's driver, rose to command a the 94th pursuit squadron, founded a motor car company and Eastern Airlines. Rickenbacker's career is also the subject of a not always flattering biographical novel, Fast Eddie: a Novel in Many Voices by Robert L. O'Connell, Wm. Morrow, 1999.
The Warlords: Hindenburg And Ludendorff
The Warlords: Hindenburg And Ludendorff by John Lee ISBN: 0297846752
Published by George Weidenfeld & Nicholson on April 1st 2005
Pages: 207
Len's Summary: The dictatorship of the duumvirate and their impact on German society, economy and politics from 1916 to 1918 and beyond.
1914-1918, Regard D’Un Medecin Militaire
1914-1918, Regard D'Un Medecin Militaire by Leon Lecerf ISBN: 291441725X
Published by Indo Editions on May 1st 2005
Pages: 125
Len's Summary: Memories of a French military doctor along with his photographs. In French.
Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America’s Famous WW1 Epic
Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic by Robert Laplander ISBN: 1411676564
Published by Lulu.com on October 13th 2007
Pages: 616
Len's Summary: With a foreword by WFA member Taylor Beattie.
The Unwanted: Great War Letters from the Field
The Unwanted: Great War Letters from the Field by John McKendrick Hughes ISBN: 0888644361
Published by University of Alberta Press on May 19th 2001
Pages: 416
Len's Summary: Highlights the efforts of the BEF to cultivate abandoned land back of the front lines in France and Flanders. Written by a Canadian officer closely involved in this project beginning in 1917.
Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany
Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany by Isabel V. Hull ISBN: 9780801472930
Published by Cornell University Press on January 12th 2006
Genres: Germany, Military
Pages: 400
Len's Summary: An institution's descent from administrative murder into genocide - unchecked by civilian control -- traced from German Southwest Africa into Belgium and France to Armenia, and the final Western Front battles of World War I.
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.
This Great Harbor: Scapa Flow
This Great Harbor: Scapa Flow by W.S. Hewison ISBN: 1843410265
Published by Birlinn on October 1st 2005
Pages: 379
Len's Summary: The development of the harbor from the time of the Vikings through two world wars, the scuttle and inter-war salvage of the Imperial German High Seas Fleet.
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 by Grub Street on August 1st 2006
Pages: 221
Len's Summary: The story of Australia's leading air ace.
No Ordinary Determination: Percy Black and Harry Murray of the First AIF
No Ordinary Determination: Percy Black and Harry Murray of the First AIF by Jeff Hatwell ISBN: 9781459673755
on March 1st 2014
Pages: 492
Len's Summary: The story of the campaigns of two Australian volunteers who rose from the ranks to field grade command in the AIF of 1915-18 fighting at Gallipoli and on the Western Front.
Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917
Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917 by Peter Hart ISBN: 9780304367191
Published by Cassell Military on April 1st 2007
Genres: Military, Aviation
Pages: 381
Len's Summary: Battle of Arras resulted in devastating losses for RFC and RNAS observers and spotters for BEF artillery, and marked the apogee of Germany's premier air ace, Manfred von Richthofen. The author is a member of The Western Front Association.
Decisions for War, 1914-1917
Decisions for War, 1914-1917 by Richard F. Hamilton, Holger H. Herwig ISBN: 0521545307
Published by Cambridge University Press on December 13th 2004
Pages: 284
Len's Summary: Continuation and expansion of Hamilton & Herwig's fine study The Origins of World War I (Cambridge, 2003) this time focussing on key individual actors - monarchs, ministers, military men, political leaders - with divergent agendas.
Douglas Haig Diaries and Letters 1914–1918
Douglas Haig Diaries and Letters 1914–1918 by Gary Sheffield, John M. Bourne, John Bourne ISBN: 0753820757
Published by Orion Publishing on October 1st 2006
Pages: 560
Len's Summary: Advertised as offering previously unpublished material some of it -- not surprisingly -- unflattering to Asquith and Lloyd George. Sheffield and Bourne are both authors of several earlier histories of The Great War.
Balloon-Busting Aces of World War I
Balloon-Busting Aces of World War I by Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey ISBN: 1841768774
Published by Osprey Publishing on July 13th 2005
Pages: 96
Len's Summary: WFA members will recall Jon Guttman's talks at Baltimore seminars. Guttman is an editor at Aviation History and Military History magazines for the Primedia Group.
Victory through Coalition: Britain and France during the First World War
Victory through Coalition: Britain and France during the First World War by Elizabeth Greenhalgh ISBN: 0521096294
Published by Cambridge University Press on January 11th 2009
Pages: 324
Len's Summary: A broad look at coalition warfare with wide use of private correspondence and diaries. // The development of a winning civil-military relationship central to victory in 1918.
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
