London 1917-18: The Bomber Blitz by Ian Castle ISBN: 9781846036828
Published by Osprey Publishing on October 19th 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, Great Britain, Aviation
Pages: 96
Len's Summary: The story of Gotha and Staaken raids against London, the first blitz that prepared the RAF for the German onslaught of 1940.
Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War I
Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War I by Rodney Carlisle ISBN: 9780813037622
Published by University Press of Florida on April 1st 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Naval, Transportation, Ships & Shipbuilding, General
Pages: 232
Len's Summary: Examines at the strategic level the loss to German U-boats of 10 US merchantmen between February 3 and April 4, 1917 that sparked American entry into the war.
Burden of Guilt: How Germany Shattered the Last Days of Peace, Summer 1914
Burden of Guilt: How Germany Shattered the Last Days of Peace, Summer 1914 by Daniel Allen Butler ISBN: 9781935149279
Published by Casemate Publishers on July 27th 2010
Genres: History, Europe, Germany, Military, World War I
Pages: 330
Len's Summary: Working from primary sources, the author asserts Germany bears the responsibility for starting the war. See also: The Lions of July: Prelude to War, 1914, Wm. Jannen, Random House, 1996.
War is War
War is War by A. M. Burrage ISBN: 9781848841543
on April 2010
Genres: History, Military, Other, Technology & Engineering, Military Science
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: The experiences of a private soldier in the AEF in the Western Front.
Missed Signals on the Western Front: How Slow Adoption of Wireless Restricted British Strategy and Operations in World War I
Missed Signals on the Western Front: How Slow Adoption of Wireless Restricted British Strategy and Operations in World War I by Mike Bullock, Laurence A. Lyons ISBN: 0786449373
Published by McFarland & Company on August 17th 2010
Pages: 228
Len's Summary: How and why wireless voice communications failed to fulfill its promise as a break-through military tool. Larry Lyons is an electrical engineer who spoke on this subject at the 2009 WFA Florida Chapter seminar.
The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development, 1906-1922
The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development, 1906-1922 ISBN: 9781848320857 Published by Seaforth Publishing on July 30th 2010
Genres: History, Europe, Great Britain, Military, Naval, Transportation, Ships & Shipbuilding, Pictorial
Pages: 208
Len's Summary: The Royal Navy dreadnoughts that fought WWI. Sequel to the highly acclaimed Warrior to Dreadnought.
Death at Sea: Graf Spee and the Flight of the German East Asiatic Naval Squadron in 1914
Death at Sea: Graf Spee and the Flight of the German East Asiatic Naval Squadron in 1914 by Eric Dorn Brose ISBN: 9781453738610
on September 30th 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Naval
Pages: 302
Len's Summary: A new look at von Spee’s short-lived campaign in the Pacific through the eyes of his officers. Finely crafted history in the form of a novel, but good history nonetheless.
Liddell Hart’s Western Front: Impressions of the Battle of the Somme with War Letters, Diary and Occasional Notes Written On Active Service in France and Flanders 1915 and 1916
Liddell Hart's Western Front: Impressions of the Battle of the Somme with War Letters, Diary and Occasional Notes Written On Active Service in France and Flanders 1915 and 1916 ISBN: 9781905968022 Published by Tom Donovan Editions on November 11th 2010
Pages: 117
Len's Summary: Limited edition reprint of Hart’s 1916 musings on the conduct of the Somme battle.
The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I, Volume I, A Chronology, 1910-1917 and Volume II, Victories, Losses and Awards
The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I, Volume I, A Chronology, 1910-1917 and Volume II, Victories, Losses and Awards by August G. Blume ISBN: 0764333526
Published by Schiffer Publishing on June 1st 2010
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: The late Augie Bloom’s final book in a long career of a distinguished aviation historian.
The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914
The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914 by Philipp Blom ISBN: 9780465020294
Published by Basic Books on November 2nd 2010
Genres: History, General
Pages: 488
Len's Summary: Europe between the death of Queen Victoria and the eruption of WWI in the throes of massive change. The continent was riddled with militarism, experiencing wide- spread political, economic and cultural upheaval, as well as astounding medical and technical advances. See also: The Proud Tower, Barbara Tuchman (1966), a lively, informative and well-crafted narrative history by the author of The Guns of August and The Zimmermann Telegram reprinted by Library of America in 2012. // The author contends that growing self-doubt among European elites led then to glorify war and welcome the cataclysm as the only way to cleanse their cultures of its sickness. Foretastes of disaster include Britain near-defeat in the Anglo-Borer War, Russia’s humiliation in the Russo-Japanese War and America’s 1907 Wall Street crash
Fall of the Red Baron: World War I Aerial Tactics and the Death of Richthofen
Fall of the Red Baron: World War I Aerial Tactics and the Death of Richthofen by Leon Bennett ISBN: 9781906033927
Published by Helion on August 19th 2011
Genres: History, Military, Aviation
Pages: 212
Len's Summary: This book is concerned with the aerial tactics of von Richthofen and his opponents developed over the Western Front.
Rebel Land: Unraveling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town
Rebel Land: Unraveling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town by Christopher de Bellaigue ISBN: 9780143118848
Published by Penguin Books on March 29th 2011
Genres: History, Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Turkey & Ottoman Empire, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Travel, Turkey
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: A look at the Armenian massacres of 1915 and the ongoing conflict among Turks, Kurds and Armenians through the history of a single town, Varta, near Erzurum in eastern Anatolia some 700 miles from Constantinople.
Les Cicatrices Rouges, 14-18: France et Belgique Occupées
Les Cicatrices Rouges, 14-18: France et Belgique Occupées by Annette Becker ISBN: 9782213655512
Published by Fayard on November 15th 2010
Pages: 373
Len's Summary: For those who read French, this is a new history of the German occupation of Northern France and Belgium by a premier French historian.
This Carnival of Hell: German Combat Experience on the Somme, 1916
This Carnival of Hell: German Combat Experience on the Somme, 1916 by Richard A. Baumgartner ISBN: 9781885033369
Published by Blue Acorn Press on January 10th 2010
Genres: History, Europe, Germany, Military, World War I
Pages: 427
Len's Summary: Drawing on personal narratives, the book tells the story of the Battle of the Somme from the German perspective.
Royal Naval Air Service Pilot, 1914-1918
Royal Naval Air Service Pilot, 1914-1918 by Mark Barber, Adam Hook ISBN: 9781846039492
Published by Osprey Publishing on November 23rd 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, Great Britain, Aviation, Illustrated
Pages: 64
Len's Summary: Operations of the RNAS in against zeppelins over England, in Flanders and over Gallipoli.
Arras: The Spring 1917 Offensive in Panoramas
Arras: The Spring 1917 Offensive in Panoramas by Peter Barton ISBN: 9781845294212
Published by Constable on June 24th 2010
Pages: 312
Len's Summary: Ninety rediscovered panoramic photos of the spring 1917 Battles of the Scarpe and Vimy Ridge.
A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the Bolsheviks: A Memoir
A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the Bolsheviks: A Memoir ISBN: 9780802865205 Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing on September 14th 2010
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, World War I, World War II, United States, Other, Europe, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Personal Memoirs
Pages: 187
Len's Summary: Memoir of a member of the 337th Field Hospital part of a 5,000-man American Army unit in Northern Russia from 1918 to 1919.
The 500 Best Cockney War Stories
The 500 Best Cockney War Stories by Ian Hamilton ISBN: 9781848684249
Published by Amberley on February 2010
Genres: History, Europe, Great Britain, Military, World War I, Veterans
Pages: 223
Len's Summary: First published in the early 1920s, this collection of humorous tales masks the grimness of the war in the trenches. Such tales served to help men keep their sanity.
Broken Men: Shell Shock, Treatment and Recovery in England, 1914-1930
Broken Men: Shell Shock, Treatment and Recovery in England, 1914-1930 by Fiona Reid ISBN: 9781441148858
Published by A&C Black on September 29th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Psychology, Neuropsychology, Great Britain
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: Support and treatment for shell shock victims by the RMC and The Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society.
Militia Myths: Ideas of the Canadian Citizen Soldier, 1896-1921
Militia Myths: Ideas of the Canadian Citizen Soldier, 1896-1921 by James Wood ISBN: 9780774817660
on January 28th 2011
Genres: History, Canada, Post-Confederation (1867-), Military, World War I
Pages: 350
Len's Summary: A social and military history of popular Canadian military culture. // For all its faults, Canada’s militia system arguably made Canada better prepared for WWI than either America or England.
Media, Memory and the First World War
Media, Memory and the First World War by David Williams ISBN: 0773539077
Published by McGill-Queen's University Press on September 2nd 2011
Pages: 336
Len's Summary: How the dominant means of communication in popular culture, whether it be oral, written or digital, shapes the structure of memory within that culture. // An interdisciplinary look at how The Great War was depicted at the time, over time and is depicted now.
German Soldiers in the Great War: Letters and Eyewitness Accounts
German Soldiers in the Great War: Letters and Eyewitness Accounts by Bernd Ulrich, Benjamin Ziemann ISBN: 1848841418
on March 1st 2011
Genres: History, Europe, Germany, Military, World War I, Veterans
Pages: 212
Len's Summary: Primary source material on the perceptions of German front line soldiers. // A look at the lives of German front-line soldiers based on their own writings.
The First World War: A Concise Global History
The First World War: A Concise Global History by William Kelleher Storey ISBN: 9780742541467
on September 16th 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 193
Len's Summary: A narrative history emphasizing the role of the environment and of new and old technologies. // A new history concentrating on environmental and technical aspects of the conflict and how the war changed peoples’ perceptions of their surroundings and relations to machinery.
The German Army at Ypres 1914 and the Battle for Flanders
The German Army at Ypres 1914 and the Battle for Flanders by Jack Sheldon ISBN: 9781848841130
on June 2011
Genres: History, Europe, Germany, Military, World War I
Pages: 382
Len's Summary: Another of Sheldon’s works that draws on German regimental histories to trace the opening battles from the German perspective. // The author draws on regimental histories and memoirs in another of his series of studies of the German army on the Western Front.
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.
Eden to Armageddon: World War I in the Middle East
Eden to Armageddon: World War I in the Middle East by Roger Ford ISBN: 0753827980
Published by Phoenix on August 1st 2010
Pages: 496
Len's Summary: A broad-brush narrative history spanning all the Middle East theatres from Gallipoli, through the Caucasus, Palestine, the Sinai and the Hejaz to Mesopotamia; many detailed maps and numerous illustrations. -- A narrative history of the sweep of war from the Russo-Turkish war in the Caucasus, to Gallipoli, Macedonia, Suez, Palestine and Mesopotamia followed by the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of modern Turkey. Also available in August 2011 in paperback from the same publisher ISBN 978 1 6059 8196 3, $17.95. // A new survey history of the war in Mesopotamia and Palestine.
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper ISBN: 9780307277909
Published by Vintage Books on April 5th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Presidents & Heads of State, History, General
Pages: 702
Len's Summary: Pulitzer Prize finalist. Cooper is the leading living Wilson scholar. He writes on a President who remains controversial to this day a hundred years after he was elected by a plurality (defeating Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft) to the first of two terms in office. Remembered principally for leading America in to WWI, Wilson also deserves to be remembered for important amounts of progressive legislation enacted during his first term. // The first bio of the 28th President in some 20 years written by the noted historian John Milton Cooper, author of several books on the Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, the Progressive Era and WWI. A sympathetic examination of the life and politics of the 28th President by a master historian and reigning expert on Wilson’s career.
Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933
Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933 by Lisa M. Budreau ISBN: 9780814725184
Published by NYU Press on November 1st 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States, Veterans, 20th Century
Pages: 317
Len's Summary: First published in hardcover in 2009, this book explains how and why the USG took responsibility for the identification, repatriation or reburial and memorialization of war dead. // A serious analysis of the issues surrounding the repatriation of American war dead, the creation of the American Battle Monuments Commission and the Gold Star mother’s pilgrimage. Dr. Budreau is a member of WFA and frequent speaker at our seminars.
The Imperial German Eagles in World War I: Their Postcards And Pictures
The Imperial German Eagles in World War I: Their Postcards And Pictures by Lance J. Bronnenkant ISBN: 9780764324406
Published by Schiffer Military History on April 2006
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, Europe, Germany, World War I, Pictorial
Pages: 348
Len's Summary: Volume three of a valuable reference work that includes some Austro-Hungarian airman. // The second in a planned three-part series looks at the collectible Sanke, Liersch and NPG postcards featuring German WWI aviators. Available in April 2008.
Captain Roy Brown, A True Story of the Great War, 1914-1918
Captain Roy Brown, A True Story of the Great War, 1914-1918 by Alan D. Bennett, Margaret Brown Harman, Denny Reid May ISBN: 9781883283568
Published by Brick Tower Press on July 16th 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, Aviation
Pages: 350
Len's Summary: Brown was the third player in the death of von Richthofen 21 April 1918. // Sheds new light on Brown’s encounter with The Red Baron.
The Other Side of the Wire Volume 2: The Battle of the Somme With the German XIV Reserve Corps, 1 July 1916
The Other Side of the Wire Volume 2: The Battle of the Somme With the German XIV Reserve Corps, 1 July 1916 by Ralph Whitehead ISBN: 1907677127
Published by Helion & Company on January 15th 2013
Pages: 656
Len's Summary: Second of two volumes following the XIV corps from the 1914 invasion to the Battle of the Somme in 1916. -- The Somme from the German perspective. // How the Germans created a formidable defensive system to meet the BEF offensive starting in July 1916.
Bad Characters: Sex, Crime, Mutiny, Murder and the Australian Imperial Force
Bad Characters: Sex, Crime, Mutiny, Murder and the Australian Imperial Force by Peter Stanley ISBN: 9781741964806
Published by Pier 9 on August 1st 2010
Pages: 287
Len's Summary: Dirty Rotten Diggers: A survey of indiscipline in the always boisterous Australian Imperial Force. // A survey of indiscipline in the Australian forces of WWI; good soldiers acting badly. . .
The Western Front Experience: 1914-1918
The Western Front Experience: 1914-1918 by Gary Sheffield ISBN: 9781847329172
on February 7th 2012
Genres: History, Military, Pictorial, World War I
Pages: 63
Len's Summary: Billed as a basic guide to the Western Front; for the non specialist. // Heavily illustrated work describing the development of trench warfare spotlighting the appalling conditions endured by troops as well as specific actions and major battles. A coffee table book recommended by History Today.
Deliver Us from Evil: A Southern Belle in Europe at the Outbreak of World War I
Deliver Us from Evil: A Southern Belle in Europe at the Outbreak of World War I by Mary W. Schaller, Nancy Johnson Crawford ISBN: 9781570039508
Published by University of South Carolina Press on January 1st 2011
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Women, History, Military, World War I, Social Science, Women's Studies
Pages: 170
Len's Summary: Letters from American women travelers caught in Europe in August 1914. // Traveling on the traditional Grand Tour in August 1914, the 25-year-old daughter of a Kentucky Congressman struggles to find a way home as railways are commandeered for troop movements, trans-Atlantic liners scurry for home ports, banks suspend foreign exchange operations and the lights go out all over Europe.
Strategy and Command: The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1914
Strategy and Command: The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1914 by Roy A. Prete ISBN: 0773540792
Published by McGill-Queen's University Press on August 20th 2012
Pages: 280
Len's Summary: First published in hardcover in 2009, this is the first of three planned volumes on the Franco-British military alliance. // First of three planned volumes on the ever-evolving Anglo-French alliance in WWI.
Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain
Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain by Jessica Meyer ISBN: 9780230302327
Published by Palgrave Macmillan on February 15th 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, Great Britain, Modern, 20th Century, Social Science, Gender Studies
Pages: 232
Len's Summary: Social history; psychological investigation of men at war. // A scholarly examination of masculinity among British soldiers based in part on their correspondence.
On the Western Front with the Rainbow Division: A World War I Diary
On the Western Front with the Rainbow Division: A World War I Diary by Vernon E. Kniptash, E. Bruce Geelhoed ISBN: 0806140321
Published by University of Oklahoma Press on April 17th 2009
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, World War I, Personal Memoirs
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: Experiences of an extraordinary ordinary soldier of the AE.F. // Memoirs of an Indiana National Guardsman who served as a radio operator in the 42nd Division.
The Will to Believe: Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and America’s Strategy for Peace and Security
The Will to Believe: Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and America's Strategy for Peace and Security by Ross A. Kennedy ISBN: 9780873389716
Published by Kent State University Press on March 13th 2009
Genres: History, Military, World War I, United States, General, 20th Century, Political Science, International Relations
Pages: 291
Len's Summary: A nuanced look at the debate surrounding Wilson’s national security policy and the shadow this casts across contemporary foreign policy formulation. // The author, an Assistant Professor of History at Illinois State University, takes a new, sophisticated look at how three competing groups — pacifists, liberal internationalists and Atlanticists — addressed national security issues during the Wilson Administration. // A fresh analysis of Wilson’s foreign policy focusing on three competing groups: pacifists, liberal internationalists, and Atlanticists.
Race and War in France: Colonial Subjects in the French Army, 1914-1918
Race and War in France: Colonial Subjects in the French Army, 1914-1918 by Richard S. Fogarty ISBN: 9781421407661
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press on December 5th 2012
Genres: History, Europe, France, Military, World War I, General, Strategy, Social History
Pages: 400
Len's Summary: Paperback version of an excellent social-military-political history first published by Johns Hopkins in 2008. How French egalitarianism was challenged by the conscription of more than half a million colonial troops during WWI, a “blood tax” levied on her African and Asian subjects. // An excellent scholarly analysis of colonial troops at war; a study of contradictory and paradoxical French policies on race, culture and religion in wartime drawing on individual experiences among the half million African, Arab and Asian soldiers who served France in WWI. Winner of the Phi Alpha Theta First Book Prize. The author teaches at SUNY Albany.
Pour la France: A Guide to the Formations and Units of French Land Forces 1914-18
Pour la France: A Guide to the Formations and Units of French Land Forces 1914-18 by Michael Cox, Graham Watson ISBN: 9781907677144
Published by Helion on 2012
Genres: History, France, Military, World War I
Pages: 539
Len's Summary: A unique English language guide to the French Army detailing its expansion from 43 infantry divisions in 1914 to140 infantry divisions in 1918; with a list of general officers and other useful detail. -- A rare English language guide to the French army. // Builds on the work on the first volume’s coverage of French regiments and divisions. // The first of two volumes including as well a listing of those divisions of the British, Italian and America armies coming under French command. A useful reference.
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
