Bibliography

Audoin-Rouzeau, Stephane & Becker, Annette. (2002). 14-18, Understanding the Great War. New York: Hill and Wang.

Originally written in French in 2000, the 2002 translation answers why the restraints on violence were removed in 1914. War is always violent, but Audoin-Rouzeau and Becker claim that the blame cant only go to the leaders but also to the common soldiers. The desire to eradicate the enemy came as much from below as it did from above.

I cant help wondering what its like to be a soldier in such an awful battle. "14-18" not only tells about the blood lust of the soldier but also of the civilians. It also goes through the psychology of the internment camp prisoners, used on a grand scale during the war.


Eisenhower, John S.D. (2001). Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I. New York: The Free Press.

Eisenhower tries to change the perception that the American Expeditionary Force was little more than a paper dragon that intimidated the Germans into accepting an armistice. He shows that what the Americans lacked in experience, they made up for with an excellent officers core, including Alvin York and George S. Patton.

"Yanks" was valuable in describing the often confusing military maneuvers and had many large, clear maps to aid the reader. It details the confusion of the politicians in Washington who were suddenly in the middle of a European war.

Ferrell, Robert H. (1985). Woodrow Wilson & World War One, 1917-1921. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

For an American president who gained re-election by campaigning on "He Kept Us Out of War," Wilson had to suddenly face the reality that staying out of the war forever was impossible. The book tells how President Wilson had to manage the task of mobilizing the United States into war.

Gavin, Lettie. (1997). American Women in World War One: They Also Served. Niwot: University Press of Colorado.

"American Women" tells the stories of the tens of thousands of women that served in the navy alone. Commonly called "Yeomanettes" these women were nurses, worked the telephone system, served as doctors and physical therapists. They did all of this despite poison gas, shells, Spanish flu, sexism, racism and long hours.

The role of women in war always seems to be short changed, despite the essential roles they played, even if they weren't carrying a rifle. This book was important in showing how women made important contributions to the American war effort.

Hart, Peter. (2008). The Somme. New York: Pegasus Books.

"The Somme" details how the British Army was badly unprepared for the slaughter to come when they planned to relieve the pressure on the French Army at Verdun. Training was poor, too many shells were duds and reliability of communications was spotty.

This book had a ton of information. It had interviews and quotes from soldiers and officers alike, often a few per page. It gave a soldiers view the battlefield, including somewhat humorous anecdotes regarding a German soldier that was saved by British artillery by luck of having been using the commode at the start of the bombardment.

Keegan, John. (1999). The First World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, INC.

"The First World War" is a book of criticism of strategy, mainly the invasion plan of German General Schlieffen. Keegan opines that Schlieffen was over confident that Great Britain would stay out of the war and that he didn't know how to move the 200,000 troops needed to invade Paris.

For people that are interested in the fine details of military strategy, this book discusses them in length.

Lengel, Edward G. (2008). To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

"To Conquer Hell" follows General Pershing and the American Army through the final months of the First World War. It showcases Pershing's dedication to the frontal assault despite machine gun fire, a tactic that has been heavily criticized in the past. Lengel is also critical of the tactic, saying it had "all of the elan of 1914, and twice the stupidity."

"To Conquer Hell" felt more personal than the strictly "military strategy" focus that "Yanks" had. It has personal stories about American soldiers first arriving in France and the sense of despair that pervaded the French people. Cultural misunderstandings between the Americans and French left a sour taste in the mouths of both peoples.

Marshall, S.L.A. (1985). World War I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

"World War I" follows the course of the war from the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It focuses on the Western front. At 483 pages, its a short read.

Neiberg, Michael S. (2005). Fighting the Great War: A Global History. New York: Harvard University.

"Fighting the Great War" shows how theoretical war met real war. As each new idea failed, each side relied more and more on attrition and incremental improvements in weapons and tactics to beat the enemy.

While "To Conquer Hell" was a "personal" book, "Fighting the Great War" was focused on weapons and technology. It would be an interesting book for gun and weapons enthusiasts.

Prior, Robin & Wilson, Trevor. (2005). The Somme. New Haven: Yale University Press.

"The Somme" focuses on the British Army on the Western Front. In the long history of the British military, the Somme was its bloodiest battle. "The Somme" tries to clear the names of the maligned divisional commanders and brigadiers, while putting more blame on the High Command and civilian War Committee.

This was a sort of British counterpart to the American focused "To Conquer Hell." It was valuable in terms of showing the ineptness of the supposed experts when it came to managing the British war effort.

Slotkin, Richard. (2005). Lost Battalions: The Great War and The Crisis of American Nationality. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

While we may simply think of American soldiers as "Americans," we forget that they weren't always treated that way in this country. This book follows two groups of New York regiments: one made up of African Americans and the other of recent immigrants. While many of them expected to be welcomed back to the U.S. with more rights and respect after the war, they were often wrong.

I thought "Lost Battalions" was interesting because it told what happened to soldiers after they came home. It also shone a light on minority troops, who fought and died just like Caucasian soldiers.

Stone, Norman. (2009). World War One: A Short History. New York: Basic Books.

"A Short History" is just that, a very concise book. The chapters are divided up by years (1914 to 1918) and information from Russia to the United States is covered all at once. While it doesn't give deep, detailed information, it does provide quick answers to questions.

This would be a good book for someone that is casually interested in the First World War. A scholar wouldn't look twice at it but for a casual reader, it would be an informative first look at a complex subject.

Stevenson, David. (2004). Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy. New York: Basic Books.

Stevenson takes a political look at the Great War, focusing on how the European leaders consciously chose to continue fighting despite terrible casualty numbers. The idea of defeat, especially to the German Empire, seemed worse than continuing the fight.

The economic rivalry between Great Britain and Germany between 1890 and 1914 helps clarify why the fight was seen as so important on both sides. Germany was a rising power and Britain didn't like the competition. This made the idea of a possibly victorious Germany after the war seem even more threatening to Britain.

Strachan, Hew. (2004). The First World War. New York: Penguin Publishing.

The continuing instability in regions like the Balkans can be traced back to the four year conflict. "The First World War" describes to us the expected subjects of such a subject but also tells us how the French treated deserters, how soldiers from African colonies had differing attitudes about the war than their colonial leaders and tries to answer the hard question: "Whose fault was it?"

I always like to get the opinions and memories of the overlooked people in a story. The colonial soldiers, made to fight for the people that controlled them, is an important part of the story.

Electronic Sources:

BBC. (2011). World Wars: Battle of the Somme: 1 July - 13 November 1916. April 6, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/battle_somme.shtml

The BBC gives a depressing look at how the British soldiers were led to slaughter on the first day of the Somme offensive. The battle was badly planned from the start and resulted in 60,000 British casualties in one day, 20,000 of which were fatal.


Discovery Communications. (2011). Futility of Trench Warfare at the Somme. April 6, 2011. http://military.discovery.com/history/ww1/somme/somme-2.html.

The Military Channel gives explicit descriptions of how the English troops were tangled in barbed wire and killed by machine gun fire as they approached the German lines. Its not a pleasant read but does give an unflinching look at the battle.

National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial. (2006). Mission and History. April 6, 2011. http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index.aspx?sid=110&gid=1&pgid=1114.

The "mission and history" page of the National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial is the definitive place to go for background on the museum. It explains the history of the museum and monument themselves.


History. (2011). Second Battle of the Somme ends. April 6, 2011. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/second-battle-of-the-somme-ends

The History Channel's look at the Second Battle of the Somme is less descriptive than the Military Channel's depiction but is heavier on numbers and statistics. This gives a good look at the intensity of the German offensive.

Video/Film Source:
Berthon, S. & D'Innella, A. & Martin, J. & Nugus, P. (Producers). (2005). World War I in Color. [DVD]. Available from www.capitalent.com

Using modern computer technology, the footage of the First World War has been brought to living color. Archive footage from around the world was used for the production of the TV series, which aired in the United Kingdom in 2003.

Words and pictures can only describe the chaos of war to a point. Film is really the ideal way to show the horror of such a mass disaster.

Review Sources:
Booklist Online