Customer Reviews

The Myriad Faces of War: Britain and the Great War 1914-1918

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First of all, the author was born in New Zealand, so why he is called an Australian I do not know. The book pays very little attention to the Dominions--it is written strictly from a British viewpoint and examines exhaustively events in Britain druing the war, as well as all aspects of the war which relate to England. There are more than 150 pages of text which follow the account of the Armistice, talking about the effects of the War on society, economics, etc. The book has footnotes (where they belong, at the "foot" of the page) but lacks any bibliography. I have read scores of books on the Great War, and consider it one of my favorite reading topics, but I found this one a chore to read at times. A better book written from a similar perspective is Blighty: British Society in the Era of the Great War, by Gerard J. DeGroot. Also more interesting in general I thought was The Deluge: British Society and the First World War, by Arthur Marwick.

This is just an _outstanding_ piece of research. I will admit my bias and acknowledge that I studied under Professor Wilson in 1986 (the year of its publication) and again in 1990, and admire both the man and the scholar, but by any measure this book is definitely one for any collection on World War I.

Not only is the research broad and deep, but extremely digestible, even for the general reader. Part of this is the way Wilson infuses detailed analysis of political, social, economic and military aspects of the campaign into his book with the human face of war in Britain - the impact on participants: all ranks, those back home (of all classes), plus attention to the lesser known aspects of the war.

I found the two chapters dealing with the Irish regular soldier - who joined with his elder brother (subsequently killed) before the war and participated in the battles of Mons, the Aisne and Neuve Chapelle - incredibly compelling and, in places, touching. The author was clearly a gifted raconteur, but his tale is gripping - and Wilson weaves it into his text expertly. Other human elements include the socio-economic-political impact of the war on the British economy (and thereafter), with numerous diary extracts sprinkled liberally throughout (from nurses, politicians, clergy, soldiers, unionists and conscientious objectors) offering anecdotal first-hand accounts. This is one of the great strengths of the book - and it gives the reader a much deeper sense of involvement in the text. At least, this was what I felt.

No book of this length can cover all aspects of such a complex conflict. Wilson's book does better than most, but those looking for opportunities to criticise this book will probably find some neglected aspect of the war to allow them to engage in critical comment. As an Australian, I would have liked more detail on Australia's contribution on the Western Front (for example, Fromelles), but I hasten to add Australia (and New Zealand) are given good general coverage throughout (especially the Gallipoli campaign). What detail is provided is contextualised superbly into the bigger picture throughout.

Wilson is (typically) generous in his praise of colleagues and research staff who assisted him with this prodigious undertaking. Particular note is given to Robin Prior, a former postgrad of Wilson's, who is now a professor of history an the University of NSW. The two have since collaborated on several other excellent analyses of World War I, most notably (and recently) The Somme, of 2005.

This is one of those books you just keep picking up and re-reading - and you keep finding new angles (often as a result of reading another book on the subject and rediscovering the clever subtlety of Wilson's wit, and his gentle prods of his colleagues!).