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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but far from complete, June 9, 2000
This review is from: The First World War: A Complete History (Paperback)
An interesting, but far from "complete" history of the Great War. Gilbert's focus is on the human side , primarily British, of the war, something lacking in many other military books. However this is almost Gilbert's entire focus. The reader doesn't get a clear grasp of the larger events and their meaning. Gilbert gives the reader an almost day by day chronology of events, but doesn't focus on the total picture. It is a regurgitation of facts but with no clear meaning. The fact that Gilbert is the official biographer of Winston Churchill, has allowed him to accumulate a vast storehouse of facts and information on the 20th century. It appears that Gilbert now wants to pump out books at an ever increasing rate just to get every bit of the information out to the public. Instead of jumping from event to event, I would have preferred that he look at an event (battle, diplomatic initiative, etc.) completely and place it in the proper context of the war, and then go onto the next issue. An event of this size with so many simultaneous goings on needs to be presented in a clear order. Unfortunately he provides less order than he should have. Having said that, the fact that Gilbert is one of the foremost historians of the 20th century would suggest that this book should be read by those interested in World War 1. If only to get the human side of the soldiers fighting, this book is worthwhile. It should be read, however as a companion book to Keegan's excellent book on WW1, Tuchman's "The Guns of August" (the immediate causes of the war, Robert Massie's "Dreadnought" (for the long term causes of the war) among other books.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Hop, Skip, and Jump Approach to History, May 24, 2007
Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill's official biographer and is one of Britain's best historians. He has been prolific in his writing. He has 72 books to his name, and fully deserves the knighthood he received in 1995.
A trademark of Gilbert's history is his use of narrative. Generally, I prefer this approach in what I like to read and what I try to write. Biography, for which Sir Martin is best known, really demands this approach.
This book is well-written. His coverage is broad. He moves easily from the pounding of artillery on the western front, to the high seas where deadly u-boats patrolled. He looks at both sides and covers the social and political impact of this conflict on the various homefronts.
Despite those strengths, I would not recommend this book to the casual reader. Gilbert goes wrong with his use of narrative. It is so overwhelming in this book that it verges on being the literary equivalent of chronology. The problem is that when Gilbert might be discussing an event, say a battle, that transpired over a long period of time, he will spend two paragraphs on that topic and then move to another issue that might be on the other side of the planet. Then two paragraphs later he has moved on to a third topic, and three paragraphs later he brings up a fourth issue. He often will not return to the first event for 10 or 20 pages. The result is that it becomes quite difficult to keep track of what is happening. With his hop, skip and jump approach, readers do get an idea of the relentless crush of the war, but at the expense of comprehension.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good General History, probably worth an extra half star, January 9, 2000
This review is from: The First World War: A Complete History (Paperback)
While not a "Complete History" (I dare say that the publisher describes the book as such and not the author), I would recommend this book to specific audiences. This would be an excellent text for high school students and other interested, but not necessarily obsessively so, general readers wanting a competant and humanistic look at the First World War. Although the book is anglo-centric, Gilbert does manage a reasonable job on the Eastern Front. He does not, however go into to too much detail about the French, beyond the Marne, Verdun and the Mutinies. Similiarly, the role of non-British Dominion forces, such as the Australians, tends to be downplayed (for example, numerous British Corps commanders are mentioned, yet Sir John Monash, commander of the Australian Corps after it was established in 1918, does not rate a mention). However, he does manage to cover most theatres of war (particularly where the British were fighting), in a sensible amount of detail. He includes a decent series of maps which are sensibly located at the back of the book. Where Gilbert succeeds best is in his ability to humanize the events taking place. He does this by drawing on the narratives of individuals caught up in events greater than themselves. Many of these surface later in history, including Hitler, De Gaulle, Rommell, etc. He also draws on the war poets to help illustrate the psychology and spirit of the men in the field. Gilbert also draws on the diaries of British war nurses and Austrian painter Oskar Kokoshka which, again, give differing perspectives which inceases the depth of the narrative. In summary, I would heartily recommend this book to the general reader or someone needing a general reference to the Great War.
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