Customer Reviews

The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness World War I: Over 280 First-Hand Accounts of the War to End All Wars

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One can read many books covering the campaigns and personalities of World War I and still come away with an incomplete picture of what the war was really about. The strategies, the national goals of the participants, and the political fallout - ushering in the destruction of empires that had lasted for hundreds of years, Bolshevism, fascism and Naziism, with all that was to come out of that - are all obviously important, but they do not reach down far enough into the basic and elemental experience of the common soldier in the field.

Jon E. Lewis has done a commendable job of editing over 180 first hand accounts of what the war was like, almost all of the pieces being written by average men and women who participated on every level of the conflict. The most poignant are from letters home, diary entries, and reminisces after the fact, coming from soldiers, nurses, and low-level commanders, telling of the hell of the trenches, the disease, the constant and maddening shelling, and the death, dismemberment, and maiming all around. The picture that arises out of the constant repitition of one account after another, is senseless, sickening, wasteful and pointless tragedy.

There are also excerpts of better-known memoires, particularly from Churchill, TE Lawrence, Foch, and finally, in a 33-page indulgence at the very end of the book, from Douglas Haig. Coming after 450 pages of slaughter and annihilation, so much of it caused by stupid and unimaginative "leadership" by such as Haig, this final summary of lessons learned and recap of the war effort as led by himself is enough to sicken one. It remains a mystery why this man was not lynched by his own soldiers.

The heros of the book are the average soldier in the field, bearing the brunt of the savagery day after day, dealing with conditions no animal could survive in, regardless of which side of the conflict they were on. For Lewis, there is essentially no difference in the experiences of a French vs a German vs an English vs a Russian soldier. Lewis does not deal in politics or assigning 'blame' to anyone, but rather deals at the micro level with the plight of everyman. The impact is crushing. One comes away from the book with a full and complete understanding of the old saying about the British army, 'lions led by donkeys.'

It's a powerful book and well worth the time invested. Lewis' spare editing and insightful though brief comments add to the wealth of material presented here as well, and overall has done an impressive job.

I have been studying World War 1 and this book is an excellant source of 1st hand accounts. It is well written and well worth the money.

Gripping account of the day-to-day lives of the soldiers in the trenches of WWI. It is inconceivable how these men and women could have put up with so much suffering and misery, year after year, without rebelling.

No matter what war was involved, all armed forces suffer Mentally, Physically,and Emotionally. True heroes, not wanting to be heroes, doing their duties, to protect, what was important. Those who lives were lost, I pray for you, my heart goes out to you, and the emptiness we all feel, when our sons, husbands, brothers, and whatever family labels are placed upon you, my blessings are not wasted. Bless you all...

The book is filled with first hand accounts of known events and little known events that occurred during the war. It is extremely interesting to read what people felt and lived during the conflict instead of hearing/ reading a historians account of what they believe happened. As the book is a compilation of letters and writings it is somewhat disjointed since it cannot logically weave a cohesive story but it makes up for that in riveting first hand accounts of the events and atrocities witnessed by its participants. Compared to a magazine with 30 pages of rehashed stories for 5.99, the 10.00 is well spent....

This book came just in time and in better condition than I expected. This book had a wealth of information.