|
Graham, John W.,
ELEVENTH MONTH, ELEVENTH DAY, ELEVENTH HOUR: Armistice Day,
1918: World War I and Its Violent Climax.
. NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(NY: Random House, 2004). Photographs, maps,
notes, bibliography, index, 456 pp.
~~~ From Kirkus Reviews: An eye-opening study of the final hours of a war that threatened never to
end. The global bloodletting of 1914-18 was a phenomenal waste to begin with, or
so many modern historians believe; as Persico (Roosevelt's Secret War, 2001,
etc.) writes, "It may be that the only value to mankind coming out of World War
I was to provide the ultimate test of what human beings can endure under
monstrously inhuman conditions and yet maintain their humanity." Those
conditions were monstrous indeed, no thanks to the combat leaders on all sides;
Persico quotes, for instance, a British corps commander who complained that "the
men are too keen on saving their own skins. They need to be taught that they are
out here to do their job. Whether they survive or not is a matter of complete
indifference." More than five million on all sides died in the first five months
of the conflict alone, and the carnage continued unabated for three more years,
until by November 1918 the German Kaiser was finally persuaded to yield to the
Allies. Amazingly, and depressingly, once the arrangements were made for the
armistice to begin at the resonant 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,
the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, the British Empire, and the US
were ordered to fight on; Allied forces along the Western Front were even
commanded to attack only hours before the armistice was to go into effect, the
idea apparently being to secure as much ground as possible before peace broke
out. As a result, more died on November 11, 1918, than on D-Day a
quarter-century later. Persico reconstructs these closing-hour events with grim
irony, making them of a piece with dozens of instances of previous folly. And
though hefocuses closely on the final moments of the war, he ably encapsulates
the whole conflict in a highly readable narrative. First-rate, and evocative of
why the war to end all wars was anything but.
~~~ Hardcover OUT OF PRINT
|
Lowry, Bulitt,
ARMISTICE 1918.
. NEW copy,
trade PAPERBACK.
(Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1997).
Photographs, maps, notes, bibiography, index, 262 pp.
~~~ From Publishers Weekly: Beginning on October 3, 1918, with Germany's initial armistice inquiry to
President Woodrow Wilson, Lowry's exhaustive study follows the murky
negotiations based on Wilson's Fourteen Points that led to the Compiegne
Armistice signing on November 11, 1918. This is dense history, but Lowry, who
teaches history at the University of North Texas, makes much of his account of
the backbiting, threats, jealousy and ignorance, that arose from both national
and personal interests read like a novel. The Supreme War Council, whose key
members included Georges Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Marshall Ferdinand Foch and
President Wilson, was wary not only of the Germans' intentions (they seemed
"prepared to admit lack of success in the war, but not defeat" as Lowry puts it)
but also of one another-as each country differed in its goals (i.e., total vs.
partial disarmament, freedom of the seas, evacuation and reparations, leniency
vs. vengeance). While this isn't the first study of its kind, Lowry's is
definitive rather than derivative, with over 600 footnotes, an index and
selective bibliography. Though the book is occasionally weighed down by its own
density, Armistice 1918 will be invaluable to scholars and historians while
others will revel in its trenchant insight into the minds and machinations of
men and the inevitable consequences.
|
|
Arthur, Max,
FORGOTTEN VOICES OF THE GREAT WAR: A History of World War I in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There
. NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2004). Originally published by the Imperial War Museum, 2002.
With an introduction by Sir Martin Gilbert.
Photographs, index, 326 pages.
~~~ Forgotten Voices Of The Great War is a touching, searing, and above all mesmerizing
account of World War I, told in the voices of those who endured the tedium, heat, cold, pain, fear, and
loss of the world's most brutal trench warfare to date. ~~~ In 1972 the British Imperial War Museum set
about the momentous task of tracing ordinary veterans of the First World War and interviewing them in detail
about their experiences. The Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, which includes recorded firsthand accounts
of the experiences of American, British, Canadian, French, and German soldiers, as well as soldiers from the
British Commonwealth, has since grown to be the most important collection of its kind in the world. The
archive's recordings provide a vivid and compelling account of day-to-day life during one of the most
harrowing periods of modern times. ~~~ These recordings, many of which have remained unheard for decades,
contain the forgotten voices of a generation no longer with us. Only a small fraction of the material has
been used by historians. Now, thirty years later, after hundreds of hours in the archive and unlimited
access to the complete WWI audiotapes, acclaimed author Max Arthur and his team of researchers have
created this remarkable landmark history of the Great War-told in the words of the ordinary men and
women who experienced it in the raw.
|
 ~ SOLD ~
Bodart, Gaston and Vernon Lyman Kellogg.
LOSSES OF LIFE IN
MODERN WARS and MILITARY SELECTION & RACE DETERIORATION.
Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, England, 1916. Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace., VG. Some slight wear to
corners but overall a clean, tight copy. Small owner's stamp
on front end page and half-title page. Book otherwise
unmarked. Blue cloth covers with stamped borders, unfaded
gilt lettering on spine with Oxford imprint. 6.5x10 . Many
uncut pages. LOSSES OF LIFE IN MODERN WARS: AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
& FRANCE is by Gaston Bodart, LL.D. MILITARY SELECTION AND
RACE DETERIORATION is by Vernon Lyman Kellogg. Numerous
tables, index, appendix, 213 pp. A handsome volume.
|
Clark, John Maurice,
COSTS OF THE WORLD WAR TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
. NEW copy, hardcover, issued
without dust jacket.
(Scholar;s Bookshelf, 1970) . Reprints of
Economic Classics
Series. Originally published in 1931.
316 pp.
~~~
John Maurice Clark provided what is still the most detailed and thoughtful
estimate of the cost of the war; a total amount of about $32 billion. Clark
tried to estimate what an economist would call the resource cost of the war. For
that reason he included actual federal government spending on the Army and Navy,
the amount of foreign obligations, and the difference between what government
employees could earn in the private sector and what they actually earned. He
excluded interest on the national debt and part of the subsidies paid to the
Railroad Administration because he thought they were transfers. His estimate of
$32 billion amounted to about 46 percent of GNP in 1918.
~~~ Currently in print at $45.
|
Durham, Weldon B.,
LIBERTY THEATRES OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, 1917-1919.
. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006).
Photographs, appendices,
notes, bibliography, index, 227 pp.
~~~ The winter of 1917–18 found the United States
in a general upheaval. A large percentage of the world’s
population was at war and the United States itself was
fully occupied with an unprecedented mass mobilization of
its military forces, which were rushing headlong into an
era of modern warfare. It was in this setting that the
Liberty Theatres were opened. Created by the War
Department’s Commission on Training Camp Activities, these
theatres aimed to produce “morally uplifting” plays and
movies as a form of entertainment for thousands of
troops—ideally proving more effective than policing the
camps. In actuality, however, Liberty Theatres became
little more than public relations ploys. Ultimately,
although the theatres endeavored to provide a constructive
form of recreation and diversion, they — and CTCA — fell
far short of what had been promised. ~~~ Compiled from a
variety of government documents, camp newspapers and
entertainment trade journals, this volume provides an
in-depth look at the 42 Liberty Theatres created by the
War Department during 1918 and 1919. It discusses the way
in which these theatres were designed and run as well
as the relationship between CTCA’s somewhat idealistic
leaders and the theatrical professionals who handled this
day-to-day operation. Setting the military and the
American theatre within their respective historical
contexts, the book also explores the role of Liberty
Theatres with regard to both entities. Appendices contain
a listing of Liberty Theatre opening and closing dates;
Liberty Theatre expenses; gross receipts and estimates of
attendance; and
the average weekly receipts of Liberty Theatres.
|
Ebbert, Jean & Marie-Beth Hall,
THE FIRST, THE FEW, THE FORGOTTEN: Navy and Marine Corps Women in World War I.
. NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002). 189 pp.
~~~
Currently in print at $29.95.
|
|
Graham, John W.,
THE GOLD STAR MOTHER PILGRIMAGES OF THE 1930s.
. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006). Photographs, chronology,
notes, bibliography, index, 239 pp.
~~~ During the first World War, a flag with a gold star identified families who had lost soldiers. Grieving women were “Gold Star” mothers and widows. Between 1930 and 1933, the United States government took 6,654 Gold Star pilgrims to visit their sons’ and husbands’ graves in American cemeteries in Belgium, England, and France. Veteran Army officers acted as tour guides, helping women come to terms with their losses as they sought solace and closure. The government meticulously planned and paid for everything from transportation and lodging to menus, tips, sightseeing, and interpreters. Flowered wreaths, flags, and camp chairs were provided at the cemeteries, and official photographers captured each woman standing at her loved one’s grave.
~~~ This work covers the Gold Star pilgrimages from their launch to the present day, beginning with an introduction to the war and wartime burial. Subsequent topics include the legislative struggle and evolution of the pilgrimage bill; personal pilgrimages, including that of the parents of poet Joyce Kilmer; the role of the Quartermaster Corps; the segregation controversy; a close examination of the first group to travel, Party A of May 1930; and the results of the pilgrimage experience as described by participants, observers, organizers, and scholars, researched through diaries, letters, scrapbooks, interviews, and newspaper
|
|
Hayward, James,
MYTHS & LEGENDS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
NEW copy. Hardcover with dust jacket. (UK: Sutton Publishing Limited, 2002) Photographs, prints, cartoons,
notes, bibliography, index, 202 pages.
~~~ During the First World War, a rich crop of legends sprouted from the battlefields and grew
with such ferocity that many still manage to excite controversy today. This book is the first of its kind
to examine the roots of those stories, look at the reasons behind their creation and reveal the real truth.
Myths such as the Angel of Mons and the Comrade in White were essentially innocent creations. With no
radio or television and with newspapers heavily censored, rumours of mysterious happenings were rife,
and the supposed appearance of mystical guardian spirits sent to help weary soldiers gave hope to those
left at home in hard times. Other stories, such as the so-called Crucified Canadian, and the existence
of a German corpse rendering factory, were more sinister. In an age of new and startling technologies
such as poison gas, aerial and submarine warfare and the development of tanks, for many people such tales
were believable. In 1914, an acute spy mania gripped the British public, who thought that the country was
brimming with German spies. Xenophobia, denouncements and even attacks on Dachshunds were rampant.
Amazingly, there was also talk of enemy aircraft dropping poisoned sweets in an attempt to kill British
children. ~~~
Most atrocity propaganda was discredited and forgotten soon after the war, but many myths had long-lasting effects and some remain well-known. Did an entire battalion of the Norfolk Regiment vanish without trace at Gallipoli? Did thousands of Russian troops really pass through England with snow on their boots? Using a wide range of contemporary sources, James Hayward retells the story of each myth and examines the likely explanations. Supported by a selection of rare photographs and illustrations, the result is a refreshingly different perspective on the common 'mud and trenches' view of the First World War, shedding new light on many curious and unexplained legends.
~~~ Currently in print at $27.95.
|
Kennedy, Kathleen,
DISLOYAL MOTHERS AND SCURRILOUS CITIZENS: Women and Subversion during World War I.
. NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999). 192 pp.
~~~ Kennedy's unique study explores the arrests, trials, and defenses of women
charged under the Wartime Emergency Laws passed soon after the U.S. entered WWI.
These trials became important arenas in which women's relationships and
obligations to national security were contested and defined.
|
Malins, Geoffrey H.,
HOW I FILMED THE WAR.
NEW copy, hardcover issued without dustjacket. Battery Press, 1993; reprint edition.
Photographs, 347 pages.
~~~ Malins was the principal official photographer on the Western Front during WW I. This autobiography
covers Malin's activities at Neuve Chapelle, Ypres, Arras, St.Eloi, the Somme, Pozieries and Contelmaison.
This is the story of the making of official war films and its value is enhanced by a new 40 page
introduction by Dr. Nicolas Hiley, a noted authority on
World War I film.
|
|
Skinner, Richard,
THE RED DANCER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MATA HARI. FICTION.
Ecco Press, 2001. First American Edition. Hardcover with dust jacket. In new condition except for black
remainder mark on bottom edge of book. 263 pages.
~~ In 1895, Margaretha Zelle, a destitute young woman from The Hague, answers a personal ad placed by a Dutch army captain twice her age seeking a wife. After a speedy marriage she departs with him for a posting in Indonesia. Marred by violence, infidelity, bitter feuding, and their son's disturbing death, the marriage collapses. Returning to Europe, Margaretha travels to Paris, where, inspired by the exotic enchantment of Eastern dance, she reinvents herself as the erotic dancer Mata Hari ("Eye of the Dawn"), the likes of which the Continent has never seen. Just as the major European powers lurch toward explosive conflict, Mata Hari's reputation as a dancer and courtesan starts to attract the attention of powerful admirers from Madrid to Vienna, from Berlin to St. Petersburg. Entrapped, Mata Hari is drawn into a military intrigue that will affect the course of World War I. " ~~ From Publisher's Weekly: "The life of WWI spy Mata Hari is examined from the perspective of the historical figures who knew her in this intriguing first novel by a British journalist. Beginning in 1895, when opportunistic Margaretta (Gerda) Zelle of the Hague married Rudolph MacLeod, a captain in the Dutch army, and went with him to Indonesia, Skinner chronicles the rise of a femme fatale who eventually dined with royalty, had her portrait painted by master artists and passed herself off as an exotic dancer before engaging in a career of espionage. The novel is written in a series of linked chapters, alternately narrated by the protagonist herself, her disenchanted husband (who tells about Gerda's chronic infidelity, the death of their young son and the breakup of their marriage), one of her maids and an omniscient narrator. Ever resourceful, Gerda returns to Europe and reinvents herself as an 'Oriental dancer,' engaging in liaisons with military and public figures and finally being recruited by the German espionage service. She is killed by a French firing squad in Paris in 1917. Skinner's research is assiduous, encompassing many aspects of fin de siecle European and Asian life. He incorporates in-depth explanations of Javanese musical instruments (which Mata Hari integrated into her art) and such topics as the origins of Cubism, the process of 'dowsing' and the 1903 assassination of the king and queen of Serbia. Because Skinner chooses not to put himself inside his protagonist's head and maintains a dispassionate tone throughout, the tale is cool and distancing, but perhaps the legendary courtesan should remain an enigma.
|
|
Palmer, Svetlana and Sarah Wallis,
INTIMATE VOICES FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
William Morrow, 2003. NEW copy, except for black
remainder mark on top edge of book; hardcover with
dust jacket. Maps, photographs, bibliographic essay, 381
pages.
~~~ 'How do you tell the history of a war in which more than nine million combatants and nearly seven million civilians across the world died by bullet, fire, hunger and disease? How do you describe the experience of a war that ignited two revolutions, brought down four monarchies, scarred a generation and culminated in major political and territorial changes that cast shadows to this day?" Departing from
traditional histories, Intimate Voices from the First Wold War tells the story of the First World War entirely through the diaries and letters of its combatants, eyewitnesses and victims. Powerful individual stories are interwoven to form an extraordinary narrative that follows the chronology of the war, in words written on the battlefield and on leave, under occupation and under siege.
Soldiers and civilians record with passion, fear and humor their experiences and intimate thoughts, never intended for publication. The book starts with the testimony of a Serbian teenager, one of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassins. Each chapter focuses on one important episode of the war told from opposite sides of the conflict. A German and a British soldier are dug into the parallel
lines of trenches on the Somme. An Australian and a Turk describe brutal bayonet charges on the beaches at Gallipoli. A Polish woman endures a gruesome siege and an initially patriotic German schoolgirl, after being exposed to the loss and pain of war, gradually escapes into a world of adolescent love. The diaries and letters featured were uncovered during extensive research across
twenty-eight countries for the groundbreaking television series The First World War, based on the work of Professor Hew Strachan, whose introduction starts this book. Gripping, immediate and moving, Intimate Voices from the First World War represents a major addition to First World War literature.
~~~ Table of Contents as follows: The First Shots;
Setting Off to the Front; Children at War; The Siege of
Przemysl; The Eastern Front; Gallipoli; A Vertical War;
In the Bush; The Somme and Verdun; Empires at War; The
War at Sea; In Captivity; The Brown Shirt and the Red
Commissar; The Final Push; Victory and Defeat.
|
[Roosevelt, Theodore], Renehan, Edward J., Jr.,
THE LION'S PRIDE: Theodore Roosevelt & his Family in Peace & War.
.
Oxford University Press., 1998. NEW copy, hardcover with
dust jacket, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, 289
pages.
|
Weingartner, Steven (ed),
A WEEKEND WITH THE GREAT WAR: Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Great War Interconference Seminar. NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
Published by the Cantigny First Division Foundation and
White Mane Publishing Company, Inc. with the Great War
Society and the Western Front Association. 1995, 1996.
Photographs, notes, index, 296 pages.
~~~ This volume examines the crisis of 1914-18 in papers and related texts presented at a 1994 seminar jointly sponsored by the Great War Society and the Western Front Association. The contributors from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Russia explore a range of topics, including the mysterious death of German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen (Philip Markham), and the even more mysterious life of British master spy Sidney Reilly (Richard B. Spence); American heroes and Canadian prisoners (Desmond Morton); German soldiers (Dennis E. Showalter); French fortifications at Verdun (Gerard J. Demaison); the doomed cause of Russian liberals (Sergey V. Listikov); the Western Front as a bizarre parody of urban life (Robert Cowley), and the war itself as a radical expression of cultural modernism (Paul Fussell). The book features excerpts from panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions
in which the seminar's attendees took part. The result is a work that sheds much light on a dark but
fascinating chapter in twentieth-century history.
Weintraub, Stanley,
SILENT NIGHT: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.
The Free Press, 2001. Hardcover with dust jacket, in new condition except for black
remainder mark on bottom edge of book. Drawings,
engravings, photographs, 19-page essay on Sources,
index, 206 pages.
~~~ It was one of history's most powerful - yet
forgotten - Christmas stories. It took place in the
improbable setting of the mud, cold rain and senseless
killing of the trenches of World War I. It began when
German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees,
and British, French, Belgian and German troops serenaded
each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and
burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as
the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead. Silent Night, by renowned military historian Stanley Weintraub, magically restores the 1914 Christmas Truce to history.
|
|
|
