The Post-Office Girl

The Post-Office GirlThe Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig, Joel Rotenberg
ISBN: 1590172620
Published by New York Review Books on April 15th 2008
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literary
Pages: 257

Len's Summary: First published posthumously in Germany in 1982, this is a novel about post-WWI Vienna and the frayed society left behind with the disappearance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Zweig (1881-1942), an Austrian Jew and author of The World Yesterday (1941) was forced into exile in 1934 and died by his own hand in Brazil in 1941. Stefen Zweig should not be confused with the German Arnold Zweig, author of the classic WWI novels Education Before Verdun and The Case of Sergeant Griska.

Beware of Pity

Beware of PityBeware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, Phyllis Blewitt, Trevor Blewitt
ISBN: 1590172000
Published by New York Review of Books on June 20th 2006
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary, Psychological
Pages: 353

Len's Summary: A powerful novel (first published in 1939) by Austrian master writer Zweig who traces the disintegration of an Austro-Hungarian Army officer even as Europe marches toward the 1914-18 cataclysm. At the height of his literary career in the 1920s and 30s, Zweig was one of the most famous writers in the world. Many of his books reflect nostalgia for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Return of the Soldier

The Return of the SoldierThe Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
ISBN: 9780141180656
Published by Penguin on June 1st 1998
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literary
Pages: 90

Len's Summary: A shell shocked British officer returns to his stately upper class English home suffering from amnesia. A view of the shifting nature of the British upper classes after the upheavals of the Great War.

Captain Conan

Captain ConanCaptain Conan by Roger Vercel
ISBN: 9781570037139
on February 25th 2008
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military, History, Military, World War I
Pages: 296

Len's Summary: First published in 1934, this novel of WWI of French troops on the Bulgarian front and postwar occupation duty in Bucharest won a Prix Goncourt and war made into a motion picture available on DVD and video tape.

The Great War, Book 1: American Front

The Great War, Book 1: American FrontThe Great War, Book 1: American Front by Harry Turtledove
ISBN: 9780307531018
Published by Random House Publishing Group on December 24th 2008
Pages: 608

Len's Summary: The first in a series of counter-factual historical novels set during WWI. This one finds a divided America on opposite sides of the conflict with Wilson’s Confederate States of America allied with Great Britain and the USA led by Teddy Roosevelt aligned with Imperial Germany. The second in this series is subtitled A Walk in Hell (ISBN 978 0 34544 0562 3).

August 1914

August 1914August 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
ISBN: 9781448191376
Published by Random House on August 7th 2014
Genres: Fiction, War & Military
Pages: 832

Len's Summary: A massive historical novel first published to near universal acclaim in 1971; a mixture of well-researched fact and fictional Russian characters involved in the disastrous battle of Tannenberg.

Not So Quiet…

Not So Quiet…Not So Quiet... by Helen Zenna Smith
ISBN: 9780935312829
Published by Feminist Press at CUNY on January 1st 1993
Genres: Fiction, War & Military, Biographical
Pages: 300

Len's Summary: First published in 1930, this is a bitter- sweet novel about British volunteer nurses (VADs) behind the Western Front. Advertised as autobiographical, it is likely based on the diaries of ambulance driver Winifred Young.

Emperor’s Tomb

Emperor’s TombEmperor’s Tomb by Joseph Roth, Michael Hofmann
ISBN: 081122127X
Published by New Directions on April 22nd 2013
Pages: 200

Len's Summary: Written by an Austrian novelist, essayist, journalist and war veteran about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during WWI and the post war-world of mitteleuropa. The second of two ironic novels tracing the saga of three generations the Trotta family; of world literary rank.

The Radetzky March

The Radetzky MarchThe Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
ISBN: 9781585673261
Published by Overlook Press on August 1st 2002
Genres: Fiction, General, Literary
Pages: 331

Len's Summary: First volume in the Trotta family saga tracing the decline of the Habsburg dual monarchy.

Loss of Eden Trilogy

Loss of Eden TrilogyLoss of Eden Trilogy by John Masters
ISBN: 9780070407817
Published by McGraw-Hill on January 1st 1979
Pages: 589

Len's Summary: Three novels Now God Be Thanked, Heart of War and By the Green of the Spring tracing the experiences of a family of aristocratic landed English gentry, their associates and servants during the Great War. Available from used booksellers. John Masters, a retired British Indian Army officer, is best known for his novels about India including The Night Runners of Bengal and Bwani Junction.

A Very Long Engagement

A Very Long EngagementA Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot
ISBN: 9780312424589
Published by Picador on November 15th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 336

Len's Summary: A young, polio-crippled Frenchwoman, Mathilde Donnay, investigates the web of deception that shrouds the fate of five soldiers condemned for self-inflicted wounds. All five, including her fiancé, are reported dead. Refusing to believe this, the shrewd Mathilde hires a private detective, enlists the help of family and acquaintance and travels far and wide to unravel the cover-up and find her missing lover. Told at many levels and in many voices, the is at once a war novel, mystery and a love story.. The author uses many techniques including documents, flashbacks and brief, but brilliant character sketches to paint a vivid vision of wartime and postwar France. Winner of the prestigious Prix Interallie in 1991, and a best-seller in France, this novel received well deserved praise in the United States when it was first published here in translation in 1996. A movie based on it was released in 2004 and was subsequently nominated for two Academy Awards.

The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War

The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World WarThe Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War by Jaroslav Hašek
Published by Amereon House on 1990
Pages: 429

Len's Summary: Hilarious classic satire first published in 1917 from a leading Czech author and WWI veteran about the adventures of a bumbling yet cunning Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Also available in Penguin paperback from Barnes & Noble. Buy this affordable hardcover copy for the fine illustrations.

Covenant with Death

Covenant with DeathCovenant with Death by John Harris
ISBN: 9780751557121
on April 1st 2015
Genres: Fiction, Classics, War & Military
Pages: 505

Len's Summary: Traces the fate of one battalion of Kitchener volunteers through training to the Somme. Available used from Alibris and other used booksellers.

Class 1902

Class 1902Class 1902 by Ernst Glaeser
ISBN: 9781570037122
on February 11th 2008
Pages: 326

Len's Summary: Another in the Joseph M. Broccoli WWI Series, this novel was first published as Jahrgang 1902, this book tells the story of the German home front as seen through the eyes of an under-draft-age youth.

In The Company of Eagles

In The Company of EaglesIn The Company of Eagles by Ernest Kellogg Gann
ISBN: 9780450003929
on August 1st 1969
Pages: 223

Len's Summary: Gann (1910-1991) barnstormer, commercial and WWII USAAF transport pilot was the author of The High and the Mighty, Fate is the Hunter and 19 other bestsellers and one of America’s premier novelists who specialized in aviation. This is the fictional tale of two combat fliers, one French, one German, fighting over the Chemin des Dames in the spring of 1917. Several of Gann’s books have been made into major motion pictures.

The General

The GeneralThe General by C. S. Forester
ISBN: 9781877853395
on January 1st 1982
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 263

Len's Summary: First published in 1936, this novel recounts the experiences in WWI of Herbert Curzon, a mediocre cavalry officer who rises from battalion command to head up a BEF army on the Western Front which collapses in the face of the German onslaught of spring 1918. Often thought to be the fictionalized story of General Hubert Plummer, this book makes an exceptional read. Forester is best known for the fictional Napoleonic War-at-sea Hornblower series and for his novel The African Queen set in WWI-era Africa.

The Good Soldier

The Good SoldierThe Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
ISBN: 9781467964562
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on December 17th 2011
Pages: 136

Len's Summary: A 1915 story of deception and betrayal set just before WWI; by an exceptional British author who also crafted the acclaimed tetrology Parade’s End about his WWI experiences, A Man Could Stand Up and Zeppelin Nights.

The Devil’s Lieutenant

The Devil’s LieutenantThe Devil's Lieutenant by M. Fagyas
ISBN: 978-0399102080
on June 1970
Pages: 392

Len's Summary: A murder mystery featuring the Austro-Hungarian officer corps in 1910 Vienna and elsewhere in the ramshackle, multinational and polyglot Habsburg Empire. Intrigue in the Imperial and Royal Army as Austria-Hungary stumbles toward war. A fast-paced and finely crafted fictionalized glimpse of a decaying Empire written by the daughter of an imperial officer.

Three Soldiers

Three SoldiersThree Soldiers by John Dos Passos
ISBN: 9780486434674
Published by Courier Corporation on June 18th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 309

Len's Summary: First published in 1921, a grim fictionalized depiction of life in the WWI era America Army by the author who typifies the Lost Generation.

Manhattan Transfer

Manhattan TransferManhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
ISBN: 9780618381869
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company on September 2nd 2003
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 342

Len's Summary: Considered Dos Passos’ greatest novel first published in 1925, this is a series of short stories, an expressionistic look at New York City in the 1920s; its protagonists, including returning Doughboys, struggle to live the American dream. Dos Passos, a leading member of “the lost generation,” was himself a WWI veteran, an ambulance driver in France and Italy.

One Man’s Initiation: 1917

One Man’s Initiation: 1917One Man's Initiation: 1917 by John Dos Passos
ISBN: 1598180800
on December 1st 2006

Len's Summary: A passionate indictment of war with colorful descriptions of France during the conflict, this was Dos Passos first novel. He served Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in France and with the American Red Cross Northern Italy before volunteering for the U. S. Army Medical Corps in 1918. Available used from several booksellers.

The Enormous Room

The Enormous RoomThe Enormous Room by E. E. Cummings
ISBN: 9780486421209
Published by Dover Publications on August 26th 2002
Genres: Fiction, Classics, War & Military, Poetry
Pages: 192

Len's Summary: An autobiographical account of Cummings’ arrest and imprisonment for alleged treason in France during WWI. Cummings served as an American volunteer driver in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps. First published in 1922.

The Riddle of the Sands

The Riddle of the SandsThe Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
ISBN: 9780141031279
Published by Penguin Adult on June 7th 2007
Genres: Fiction, Classics
Pages: 352

Len's Summary: An early spy novel written in 1903 by a Boer War veteran; the plot revolves around German plans to invade England discovered while sailing among the Frisian Islands. Childers (pronounced Chill-ders), an Irish patriot who smuggled arms aboard his yacht, was executed by the Free State authorities in 1922 during the Irish Civil War.

Fear: A Novel of World War I

Fear: A Novel of World War IFear: A Novel of World War I by Gabriel Chevallier
ISBN: 9781590177167
Published by New York Review of Books on May 20th 2014
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical, War & Military, Biographical
Pages: 305

Len's Summary: First published in French in 1930, this is the fictionalized account of the front-line experiences of a French poilou called up in 1915. The author, writing in the tradition of Henri Barbusse’s Le Feu, was a veteran of WWI. // The compelling story of a young French piolu who sees far too much of war. Translation from the original French.

One Of Ours

One Of OursOne Of Ours by Willa Cather
ISBN: 143828456X
on February 15th 2009
Pages: 352

Len's Summary: Reprint of a Pulitzer Prize-winning (1922) novel about a Nebraska farm boy who, alienated from his parents and rejected by his wife, finds his destiny on the Western Front. An American classic despite what have been described as stilted combat scenes.

A Month in the Country

A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country by J.L. Carr, Michael Holroyd
ISBN: 0940322471
Published by NYRB Classics on October 31st 2000
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical
Pages: 135

Len's Summary: First published in 1978, this is the story of a shell shocked WWI veteran who finds solace in restoring a work of art in a Yorkshire village church. This novel was made into a 1987 movie starring Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson available on Region Two DVD from Amazon.co.uk. Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize.

Through the Wheat: A Novel of the World War I Marines

Through the Wheat: A Novel of the World War I MarinesThrough the Wheat: A Novel of the World War I Marines by Thomas Boyd
ISBN: 9780803261686
on September 1st 2000
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 265

Len's Summary: A fine novel about U. S. Marines in World War I by a veteran first published by Scribner in 1923 and still in print. A contemporary of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Boyd never reached their level of expertise or popularity, though this is a memorable work of fiction.

A Sailor of Austria

A Sailor of AustriaA Sailor of Austria by John Biggins
ISBN: 9781590131077
Published by McBooks Press on January 1st 2005
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 375

Len's Summary: In which, without really intending to, the fictional protagonist Otto Prohaska becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire.

Le Feu: Journal d’une Escouade

Le Feu: Journal d’une EscouadeLe Feu: Journal d'une Escouade by Henri Barbusse
ISBN: 9781167914942
Published by Editions Payot on 2012
Pages: 380

Len's Summary: WWI centennial commemorative reissue of the winner of the 1916 Goncourt Prize, a novel of WWI which has become a classic; with an appendix containing the text of Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et decorum est. Le Feu is French poilu slang for “the front” and is not to be literally translated as “the fire.” Escoude is an infantry squad.

The Officers’ Ward

The Officers’ WardThe Officers’ Ward by Marc Dugain
ISBN: 9780753812846
Published by Gale Group on 2002
Pages: 192

Len's Summary: The story of the long treatment, and slow mental and physical recovery of French officers with severely disfiguring facial wounds suffered on the Western Front. Recently made into a fine motion picture now available with English subtitles on region two DVD from Amazon.co.uk.

The Patriot’s Progress

The Patriot’s ProgressThe Patriot's Progress by Henry Williamson
ISBN: 9780750936408
Published by History Press Limited on May 25th 2004
Genres: Fiction, War & Military
Pages: 288

Len's Summary: Story of a young British Tommy, who went on to be a noted nature writer. // One of two autobiographical novels describing the author’s experiences as an infantryman in WWI which turned him into a Pacifist. First published in 1930. Williamson is best known for his prize-winning 1927 novel Tarka the Otter.

A Century of November

A Century of NovemberA Century of November by W. D. Wetherell
ISBN: 9780472114313
Published by University of Michigan Press on September 9th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary
Pages: 164

Len's Summary: The story of a Canadian magistrate seeking the spot in Belgium where his son was killed in WWI.

Shoulder the Sky

Shoulder the SkyShoulder the Sky by Anne Perry
ISBN: 9780345456540
Published by Ballantine Books on September 28th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Thrillers, Suspense, War & Military
Pages: 338

Len's Summary: econd in Perry’s new WWI series opened with No Graves Yet. Now an army chaplain, Joseph Reavley investigates the mysterious death of an obnoxious London Times war correspondent whose body is found between the lines in Flanders. Second in a series.

No Graves As Yet

No Graves As YetNo Graves As Yet by Anne Perry
ISBN: 9780345484239
Published by Ballantine Books on 2004
Pages: 363

Len's Summary: Mystery novelist Anne Perry turns to WWI writing the story of the efforts of a British intelligence officer Matthew Reavley, and his Anglican priest brother Joseph to solve the mystery of their parent’s murder on the eve of WWI. Unimpressive. Pedestrian plot, character sketches thin; panned by several reviewers in the US and England.

Birds Without Wings

Birds Without WingsBirds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
ISBN: 9780307368874
Published by Knopf on August 24th 2004
Genres: Fiction, General
Pages: 630

Len's Summary: A novel by the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin about the twilight of the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia before, during and just after WWI. Bermieres presents a series of often quirky first-person accounts by characters in a multi-ethnic village. Interwoven is the biogrpahy of Mustapha Kamal Ataturk, founder of mono-ethnic Turkish Republic. A good read if not exactly good history.

The Vintage Book of War Stories

The Vintage Book of War StoriesThe Vintage Book of War Stories by Sebastian Faulks
ISBN: 9780099483465
Published by Vintage on 2005
Pages: 416

Len's Summary: Includes WWI short stories and excerpts from novels by Eric Maria Remarque, Siegfried Sassoon, Wm. Boyd and Pat Barker.

To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War

To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World WarTo the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara
ISBN: 9780345461346
Published by Ballantine Books on 2004
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 636

Len's Summary: The war seen through the eyes of a frightened British Tommy, General John Pershing, and Baron Manfred von Richthofen by the best-selling author of novels on the American Revolution and Civil War. Available from the History Book Club.

Red Horse Rode Out

Red Horse Rode OutRed Horse Rode Out by J. C. Arlington
ISBN: 9780741423429
Published by Infinity Publishing on 2004
Genres: Fiction, War & Military
Pages: 368

Len's Summary: A novel of the Lost Battalion.

Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs NovelPardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear
ISBN: 0805078975
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on August 10th 2005
Pages: 342

Len's Summary: This is the author’s third novel about post-WWI British private eye Maisie Dobbs, a former BEF nurse. Winspear’s first novel, Maisie Dobbs, was nominated for an Edgar and her second, Birds of a Feather, is now available in Penguin paperback. Both Pardonable Lies and Maisie Dobbs are available on disc and tape from Barnes & Noble.

The Crimson Portrait

The Crimson PortraitThe Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields
ISBN: 9780316785280
on December 1st 2006
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 296

Len's Summary: A novel about the pioneering treatment of soldiers with disfiguring facial wounds mixing medical fact with romantic fiction in WWI England.