Buy Used

$5.83

+ $0.00 shipping

Used: Good | Details

Sold by owlsbooks

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Over There: The United States in the Great War, 1917-18 Hardcover – February 1, 1999

by Byron Farwell (Author)

7 customer reviews

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$5.98

$2.14

Hardcover
from $2.14 33 Used from $2.14 7 New from $5.98 4 Collectible from $14.95

When the United States finally declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, the British and French armies were at a point of total exhaustion; within two weeks the French troops had mutinied, leaving the Western Front practically undefended. In the same month, Lenin arrived in Moscow on the heels of the Russian Revolution and vowed to make peace with Germany.In the course of a few months the American army would grow from 200,000 ill-equipped and untrained men to over one million, but it was longer still before the French and British commanders took General Pershing and his recruits seriously. Byron Farwell's informed and colorful narrative covers all phases of the American effort, from the home front, where the war introduced rapid technical and social changes that were difficult to absorb, to the desperate encounters in the front lines of Belleau Wood and the St. Mihiel salient, where American troops proved their valor and altered the course of the war.The author, whose previous books include Stonewall Jackson and Queen Victoria's Little Wars, paints a vivid and memorable picture of the intense national experience whereby America came of age in the twentieth century.

Over There: The United States in the Great War, 1917-18

Available from these sellers.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

David Fromkin

93

Hardcover
63 offers from $5.00

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A wonderfully concise history of America's first conflict overseas, Over There successfully balances a great body of scholarship with the need to tell a good story. It starts out in 1914, with the United States unprepared (both physically and politically) to fight, then tells how, in 1917, the country quickly created a combat force that helped break a long stalemate on the Western front of Europe. Farwell, a veteran author of military history, offers important insights into the nature of the Great War: "Strategy was replaced by logistics and battles were fought with strange, unfamiliar weapons of previously unimagined frightfulness," such as tanks, planes, and flame-throwers. Despite these technological advances, other aspects of the war were strikingly primitive. Officers on the front sometimes relied on carrier pigeons to send messages to headquarters, even releasing these poor birds in the middle of intense combat.

Farwell has the good sense to populate his narrative with cameo appearances by familiar figures such as Harry Truman, who fought with an artillery company, and Dwight Eisenhower, who narrowly missed seeing combat and regretted the war's end because, as a West Point-trained trooper, he desperately wanted to fight. Farwell also offers a glossary of soldier slang (to "read a shirt" was to inspect it for lice, for example). An appendix describes the exploits of "rough-cut hillbilly hero" Sergeant York, as well as the famed "Lost Battalion," which was trapped behind enemy lines without food for more than 100 hours, suffered terrible casualties, and refused to surrender. In all, Over There is hard to beat as introduction to the American role in the First World War. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Although breaking no new ground in research or interpretation, Farwell (Armies of the Raj, etc.) does a workmanlike job of narrating the WWI battles in which U.S. soldiers fought, thus providing a good summary of the relatively brief history of U.S. forces in the Great War. The very worst land battles of the war were fought by the French, British and Russians during the years of American neutrality (1914 through early 1917). In 1916, the French absorbed one million casualties at Verdun. In the same year, the British lost 66,000 men in just the first day of fighting at Passchendaele, Belgium; a million Russian soldiers died during Brusilov's breakthrough on the Eastern Front. In comparison, the total American casualties by the end of war in November 1918 were just 52,947 killed and 202,628 wounded?in key fights such as the second battle of the Marne, the turning back of Ludendorff's troops at Soissons and the liberation of the hotly contested Saint-Milhiel salient. Pershing's doughboys also opened the Saint-Quentin Canal complex of the main Hindenburg Line, captured the bastion of Blanc Mont near Rheims and? most importantly?dove into the hell of the Meuse-Argonne front to forestall German retreat to the Rhine. Farwell's accounts of these engagements are accurate and well written. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition edition (February 1, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393046982
ISBN-13: 978-0393046984
Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
Average Customer Review: 7 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2555 in Books > History > Military > World War I
- #14809 in Books > History > Military > United States
- #28905 in Books > History > Europe

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		43%
4 star		29%
3 star		0%
2 star		28%
1 star		0%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top customer reviews

Five Stars

Bynoracon June 9, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

my husband loves it

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

An OK introduction, educated readers will want more

ByChris Gibbson July 30, 1999

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

In OVER THERE, Byron Farwell has written an interesting, entertaining survey of America's participation in World War I. In addition to an overview of great events here and in Europe, there are sketches of civilian and military leaders, plus anecdotes about combat and the daily lives of our soldiers in camp and in the trenches. There are chapters on minorities, the U.S. Navy, and on attempts to control venereal diseases. Farwell is especially good on Pershing's efforts to create and maintain a separate American army.
The more demanding reader will, however, find that OVER THERE disappoints in several areas. There are no source notes. These are often scorned as scholarly affectations (though not by Farwell), but even the "general reader" might like to know where the author got his information. Thus, when he states on p. 213 that 1,481 airplanes took part in a certain action, this conflicts with THE WEST POINT ATLAS OF AMERICAN WARS, vol. 2 (Map 68) which makes it 600 airplanes. Without arguing which is the correct figure, Farwell's source for his figure would help. The bibliography is simply inadequate. Relying largely on secondary sources, with a few memoirs and government documents, the author has ignored several basic works on his subject. These include Ferrell's WOODROW WILSON AND WORLD WAR ONE, Robert Cuff's excellent THE WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD, and David Kennedy's essential OVER HERE. Nor does he include a host of other important works by Breen (Council of National Defense), Danbom (farmers), Link (Wilson), Beaver (Newton Baker), and Greenwald (women). He seems not to have consulted government reports by the Council of National Defense, the Food and fuel Administration, and the Office of the Provost Marshal General (on conscription). Consultation of these and many others might have given Farwell's account more perspective. For example, use of Fite & Peterson's OPPONENTS OF WAR, Luebke's BONDS OF LOYALTY, and Preston's ALIENS AND DISSENTERS could have lent greater depth to Farwell's analysis of domestic opposition to American participation in the war.
The book could have been better edited to avoid irritating errors. Thus Mangin's Tenth Army was massed on the western end of the Aisne-Marne salient, not the eastern (West Point Atlas, Map 66). The writing style is uneven and inclined to go off on tangents. We don't need to be reminded quite so often that Pershing failed to capture Pancho Villa in 1917. And the author's remark about George Bush's handling of the Iraq event, however accurate, probably doesn't belong here.
One final matter, quite beyond the author's control: the soldiers on the dust jacket appear to be carrying Enfield rifles. I know many American soldiers did, but the picture implies that the men on the cover could very well be British and not American at all, whch doesn't seem right for such a book.
Farwell's book will serve the general reader who knows little of America's role in World War I and is looking for an easy introduction. Anyone looking for more would be advised to look elsewhere. Those interested in a real challenge should consider Niall Ferguson's controversial THE PITY OF WAR.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

good book

Byoldgeezeron August 23, 1999

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Easy reading about the American contribution to WWI. Nothing fancy, actually just right for somebody like me, learning more about WWI. The author has the gift of clarity in narrative, plain English at its best.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A good intro or overview

ByA customeron January 11, 2000

Format: Hardcover

This books is a good introduction or overview of America's involvement in World War I. It's clearly written and not to dense, although I have noticed several editorial errors throughout the text (one paragraph refers to the same person with two different names). I also like that Farwell has included chapters about the home front during the war, giving us an idea of what the rest of America was doing during the war, not just the soldiers. If you're looking for a strictly military history of World War I or a book that goes into a lot of detail about the war, this one isn't for you. Likewise, it doesn't cover much of the three or four years before America entered the war (which is beyond the scope of this book). But it is enjoyable and informative reading that can serve as a springboard for further study of WWI.

0Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Farwell's insightful history is a delight to read

ByA. H. Mitchellon July 5, 1999

Format: Hardcover

Over There cronicles the United States' contribution to allied efforts in World War I, both in Europe and here at home. Farwell's book is well researched and insightful. Especially interesting is Farwell's contention that by not forcing the Germans into a total surrender (as some generals wanted) we set the stage for World War II by allowing the Germans to put their own spin on the war's end. He draws a comparison to our recent decision during the Gulf War not to force Hussein out of power, thus enabling him to continue his antics in the middle east. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in 20th Century history and World War I in particular.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

An excellent, insightful book

ByKevin Welkeron October 15, 1999

Format: Hardcover

I have always been a Civil War buff, but in order to "expand my historical horizons" I read this book. I had a Great grandfather that fought in the war and I wanted to learn more about it. This book was a wonderful and entertaining book to read. It gives the reader an insight on how the average soldier spent his time during and away from the war. The book focuses on not only the horrors of the war, but it also contains many humerous stories that had me laughing out loud! I sincerely enjoyed this book. Anyone with a curiosity for this time period should read it.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Ignores the historical significance of the flu pandemic

ByA customeron October 24, 1999

Format: Hardcover

Although Mr. Farwell provides an excellent narrative about the participation of the United States in the Great War, he neglects to discuss one important aspect of the conflict. The great flu pandemic. In fact, the flu caused the Americans many more deaths than did battle wounds. I have read about three fourths of the book as of now, and the flu has been mentioned twice. I find this totally inadequate. By ignoring the flu, he makes his entire book worthless.

11 comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: Pantyhose

Buy Used $5.83

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Over There: The United States in the Great War, 1917-18 Hardcover – February 1, 1999

Customers who bought this item also bought

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

Product details

Customer reviews

Top customer reviews

Buy Used

$5.83