1914-1918 Voices and Images of the Great War [Paperback]

Lyn MacDonald (Author), Shirley Seaton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140146741 | ISBN-13: 978-0140146745 | Publication Date: May 16, 2005

This book uses personal accounts and illustrations, mainly from the author's own archives, to cover all aspects of World War I-from departure of the Old Contemptibles to fight the Kaiser in 1914, young men eagerly enlisting, high hopes of 1915 that fizzled out at Gallipoli, to the bloody fields of Flanders. It runs through the battles of the Somme and Passchendaele to the coming of the Americans, fighting in the closing months of the war, joyous celebrations of Armistice Day and burial of the unknown warrior in the aftermath. The authors have drawn on the experiences of the men who fought, touching on subjects as diverse as propaganda, fear, morale, bravery, bawdiness, filth, and frivolity and the stark contrast between attitudes of civilians at home and the men at the front. Newspapers, magazines, letters, diaries, songs, poems, as well as a wealth of first-hand anecdotes and personal accounts by the soldiers themselves are included in this book.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Not a history per se, this is an array of contemporary material that tells its own story. Arranged chronologically are the letters, diaries, and anecdotes relating to the Great War as well as the songs, poems, and newspaper and magazine accounts by which the British people defined their war. The technique that worked so well for MacDonald in They Called It Passchendale ( LJ 4/15/84) works less well her. There is too much reliance on British Empire sources to be an overview; indeed French sources are noticeably lacking; and the inclusion of some American and German speakers forces the reader to identify each entry to avoid confusion. That said, with its fine illustrations and period advertisements, this makes a nice supplement to most collections.
- George F. Scheck, Naval Underwater Systems Ctr. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Global (May 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140146741
• ISBN-13: 978-0140146745
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,035,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MacDonald's "Voices and Images" Speaks Volumes, December 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 1914-1918 Voices and Images of the Great War (Paperback)

This one book is what led me to become a Lyn MacDonald fan who has eagerly collected and read each one of her books as they became available. She is one of the foremost experts on the WWI and as such, has brought to life in this one volume, the stories of the men who risked all in this long ago conflict.

This book is dedicated to the individual soldier and the collective experience. As such, it is not straight history and is all the more compelling for it. If you are looking for something more detailed, this is not the book for you.

What this book does offer is glimpses into the lives and deaths of the soldiers who participated. From heroes who won the Victoria Cross to deserters who were shot at dawn, each tale, snapshot or drawing provides a vivid introduction to the personal aspect of war.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An incomplete oral history, June 29, 2000

By 

Bud Sewell "saintjerome" (Edmond, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1914-1918 Voices and Images of the Great War (Paperback)

"Voices & Images of the Great War" was great idea. The formula of presenting first-hand accounts of the experience of war has worked well for such authors as Cornelius Ryan (Longest Day, and A Bridge Too Far). But acclaimed World War I authority Lyn MacDonald proved to me that she should stick to her day job of writing straight history.

First of all it should be noted that despite the ambitious (or ambiguous) title, the scope is rather limited for this work. Except for two Germans and one American liaison officer, one finds here only the words of soldiers from the British Empire - and only on the western front. I have no problem with that per se, but there are alot of voices - French, German, American, civilian - and images left out. Actually, a narrow focus is preferred. Oral histories are nearly impossible to produce on a large scale and are much more effective when they focus on specific battles or campaigns such as D-Day or Iwo Jima. I think to write a book like this also requires more journalistic training than Ms. MacDonald appears to have.

As written, the book moves chronologically through the war and each event is retold sometimes through personal narratives, sometimes through letters. In true military fashion, we are given name, rank and unit of each man, but beyond that we are not introduced. After reading each entry, one often wonders what happened to these letter-writers, whether they survived the war or what they made of their lives after. One isn't rewarded. The images mentioned in the title are present, but there are not very many and they are unlabeled. The result is confusing because you aren't sure whether the photo is the actual image of the writer or merely representative. On infrequent occasions the photos are tilted to one side or the other, lending an air of the scrapbook.

Despite all of this book's shortcomings, the stories are there and they speak with undeniable clarity. If you purchase this book do it for these great men.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Photographs, April 17, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1914-1918 Voices and Images of the Great War (Hardcover)

This is a magnificent book. To be sure it isn't complete, perhaps Ms. MacDonald can be persuaded to do a similar book on the French and American activities in the Great War. Come to think of it, some more books on the air war and the sea war would be nice as well.

I can't call this a history exactly, it is instead a series of letters, recordings, and reports from the people who were there. I suspect that a lot of these came from the Imperial War Museum which is creating a collection of such things.

What I really can't imagine is where she was able to contain the huge number of truly amazing photographs. So many pictures you see of that war are reprints from a magazine and show the moire patters of being re-scanned, these do not.

This has to be one book in your collection on the Great War, but I think you will find it to be a book that you pull down quite often, if for no other reason than the photographs.