Customer Reviews

No Man's Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War (World War I)

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Toland provides an outstanding look at the politics, tactics, strategy, and personalities of the last year of WWI. He also provides good "background material" on the earlier years of the war without bogging the reader down with too much detail. The book almost reads like a novel - highly engrossing.

This gripping account of the last year of the First World War is well worth reading. Author John Toland focuses on the Western Front and describes tactics, strategies, politics, economics and personalities. Readers see how in March of 1918 a weary but still-powerful German army, fortified with fresh divisions from Russia, broke through the lines of the exhausted French and British. The Germans sensed victory, but they were stopped cold in July by a combination of British and French grit, plus fresh divisions newly arrived from the USA. As the author shows, the tide soon turned, the Allies surged ahead, and by November of 1918 the war ended with the Armistice. Readers get a feel for trench warfare in all its mud, blood, and horrors. We see how German civilians were short of food due to the British blockade, and how British tanks began to make a difference - a fact the Germans remembered two decades later. The author also describes the war's politics, and we see that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proved an effective wartime leader despite his semi-pacifism.

John Toland (1912-2004) was a popular non-academic historian who wrote superbly readable history. Readers of this gripping narrative might also consider THE LAST 100 DAYS, THE RISING SUN, HITLER: A BIOGRAPHY, and several other stellar efforts by this very capable author.

...the final year of the Great War is told through the eyes of those who were there; top brass, officers and men in the trenches. Beginning with the last great offensive by the Germans through to the armistice, Toland tells the story in great detail. Never boring, however--the horror and futility of war is there, but it's not written in a fingerpointing style. The reader can make his or her choice.

The Americans are shown in a good light, as they took to the battlefield with great ardor, but with the knowledge this was to be no walk in the fields. In fact, the players on both sides are examined honestly.

Political considerations are also examined, including the collapse of Russia and the rise of Lenin and Bolshevism. The turmoil within the German royal family is highlighted, and the situation at home is shown to be dire in the final weeks leading up to November 11th.

A heady, solid work; a must-read for students of history or anyone who has more than passing interest.

Renowned military historian-writer, John Toland's NO MAN's LAND looks at the fighting and behind the scenes political maneuvering that brought WWI to its end in 1918. The first one hundred pages of the book fly by, but then like the conflict itself, things slow down in the middle before picking up in the end. Toland presents a running theme for each of the protagonists--Petain/unreliable; Lloyd-George/politcal; Perishing/unflinching; Haig/solid; Ludendorff/smart; soldiers/miserable. What actually happened and what the governments wanted the people to think happened are often two different things. But, the reality that is common to all is that this was one nightmare of a war, the brutality
of which is unrivaled in history.

Excellent WW1 book, very well written. A great source of insight into the last 15 months of that terrible conflict. John Toland is an excellent war historian. I would recommend any of his books.

...yet quite accessible to a more casual reader. Toland provides a broad strategic overview of the conflict but also tells the story from an intensely personal outlook as well.

The book was purchased as a gift for Christmas. So all I can say is that I'm satisfied with the seller who had the item I was looking for. The service was prompt & easy. Thank you Harvest Books!