Somme

Somme
Author: Lyn MacDonald
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 588
Release: 1993-06-24
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0140178678

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Passchendaele

Passchendaele
Author: Nick Lloyd
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 515
Release: 2017-05-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0465094783

The definitive account of Passchendaele, the months-long battle that epitomizes the immense tragedy of the First World War Passchendaele. The name of a small, seemingly insignificant Flemish village echoes across the twentieth century as the ultimate expression of meaningless, industrialized slaughter. In the summer of 1917, upwards of 500,000 men were killed or wounded, maimed, gassed, drowned, or buried in this small corner of Belgium. On the centennial of the battle, military historian Nick Lloyd brings to vivid life this epic encounter along the Western Front. Drawing on both British and German sources, he is the first historian to reveal the astonishing fact that, for the British, Passchendaele was an eminently winnable battle. Yet the advance of British troops was undermined by their own high command, which, blinded by hubris, clung to failed tactics. The result was a familiar one: stalemate. Lloyd forces us to consider that trench warfare was not necessarily a futile endeavor, and that had the British won at Passchendaele, they might have ended the war early, saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. A captivating narrative of heroism and folly, Passchendaele is an essential addition to the literature on the Great War.

The Roses of No Man's Land

The Roses of No Man's Land
Author: Lyn Macdonald
Publisher: Viking
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Military nursing
ISBN: 9780241952405

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE BBC DRAMA THE CRIMSON FIELD 'On the face of it, ' writes Lyn Macdonald, 'no one could have been less equipped for the job than these gently nurtured girls who walked straight out of Edwardian drawing rooms into the manifest horrors of the First World War ...' Yet the volunteer nurses rose magnificently to the occasion. In leaking tents and draughty huts they fought another war, a war against agony and death, as men lay suffering from the pain of unimaginable wounds or diseases we can now cure almost instantly. It was here that young doctors frantically forged new medical techniques - of blood transfusion, dentistry, psychiatry and plastic surgery - in the attempt to save soldiers shattered in body or spirit. And it was here that women achieved a quiet but permanent revolution, by proving beyond question they could do anything. All this is superbly captured in The Roses of No Man's Land, a panorama of hardship, disillusion and despair, yet also of endurance and supreme courage. 'Lyn Macdonald writes splendidly and touchingly of the work of the nurses and doctors who fought their humanitarian battle on the Western Front' Sunday Telegraph Over the past twenty years Lyn Macdonald has established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are based on the accounts of eyewitnesses and survivors, told in their own words, and cast a unique light on the First World War. Most are published by Penguin.

A Storm in Flanders

A Storm in Flanders
Author: Winston Groom
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1555847803

From the Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of Forrest Gump: “A fascinating, evenhanded, page-turning account” of Ypres’s pivotal WWI battles (San Francisco Chronicle). The Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders was the most notorious and dreaded territory in all of World War I—possibly of any war in history. After Germany’s failed attempt to capture Britain’s critical ports along the English Channel, a bloody stalemate ensued in this pastoral area no larger than the island of Manhattan. Ypres became a place of horror, heroism, and terrifying new tactics and technologies: poison gas, tanks, mines, air strikes, and the unspeakable misery of trench warfare. Drawing on the journals of the men and women who were there, Winston Groom has penned a drama of politics, strategy, the human heart, and the struggle for victory against all odds. This ebook features 16 pages of black-and-white historical photographs. “Everything nonfiction should be.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Groom reconstructs a forgotten military passage that serves as a cautionary tale about war’s consequences.” —Pittsburgh Tribune-Review “Groom’s account, full of detail and the smell of gunsmoke, is expertly paced and free of dull stretches.” —Kirkus Reviews “Moving . . . Inspiring . . . An important and brilliantly written book.” —Booklist

Ante's Inferno

Ante's Inferno
Author: Griselda Heppel
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1780882408

Twelve year-old Ante (Antonia) Alganesh has a problem. It’s lunchbreak and Florence’s gang are after her. Desperate for a place to hide, she climbs the forbidden staircase to the old organ loft, where a hundred years ago a boy tumbled to his death. No one will think of looking for her there... Except Florence. Petrified, Ante watches her enemy approach, leaning on the rotten hand-rail. She shouts a warning, but it’s too late. There’s a crash – and a boy appears from nowhere, just as a door opens in the wall behind them. All three find themselves in a tunnel leading to a river bank where people queue to be rowed across by a filthy old ferryman…Forced to bury their differences, Ante and Florence accompany the strange boy, Gil, on a journey he should have taken 100 years ago through the Underworld. Making their way past the Shopping Maul and Multivice Complex, attacked by Cerberus, Harpies, Furies and the Minotaur, all this is bad enough: far worse is the doubt gnawing at Ante’s heart...Ante’s Inferno is a gripping combination of fantasy, Greek mythology and adventure, for children aged 9-12 years old. Author Griselda is inspired by C. S. Lewis and Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. Ante's Inferno won the Children's award in the People's Book Prize 2013, and the Silver award in the 9-12 year-old category of the Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards 2012.

Freedom Walkers

Freedom Walkers
Author: Russell Freedman
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009-02-28
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0823421953

A riveting account of the civil rights boycott that changed history by the foremost author of history for young people. Now a classic, Freedman’s book tells the dramatic stories of the heroes who stood up against segregation and Jim Crow laws in 1950s Alabama. Full of eyewitness reports, iconic photographs from the era, and crucial primary sources, this work brings history to life for modern readers. This engaging look at one of the best-known events of the American Civil Rights Movement feels immediate and relevant, reminding readers that the Boycott is not distant history, but one step in a fight for equality that continues today. Freedman focuses not only on well-known figures like Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., but on the numerous people who contributed by organizing carpools, joining protests, supporting legal defense efforts, and more. He showcases an often-overlooked side of activism and protest-- the importance of cooperation and engagement, and the ways in which ordinary people can stand up for their beliefs and bring about meaningful change in the world around them. Freedom Walkers has long been a library and classroom staple, but as interest in the history of protest and the Civil Rights Movement grows, it’s a perfect introduction for anyone looking to learn more about the past-- and an inspiration to take action and shape the future. Recipient of an Orbis Pictus Honor, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book Award, Freedom Walkers received five starred reviews. A map, source notes, full bibliography, and other backmatter is included.

Walking Ypres

Walking Ypres
Author: Paul Reed
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2017-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526709422

The medieval city of Ypres will forever be associated with the Great War, especially by the British. From 1914 to 1918 it was the key strong point in the northern sector of the Western Front, and the epic story of its defense has taken on almost legendary status. The city and the surrounding battlefields are also among the most visited sites on the Western Front, and Paul Reeds walking guide is an essential travellng companion for anyone who is eager to explore them either on foot, by bike or by car. His classic book, first published as Walking the Salient over ten years ago, is the result of a lifetimes research into the battles for Ypres and the Flemish landscape over which they were fought. He guides the walker to all the key locations Ypres itself, Yser, Sanctuary Wood, Bellewaarde Ridge, Zillebeke, Hill 60, Passchendaele, Messines, Kemmel and Ploegsteert are all covered. There are walks to notable sites behind the lines, around Poperinghe, Vlamertinghe and Brandhoek. And, for this second edition which he has revised, updated and expanded, he has provided new photographs and included two entirely new walks covering the Langemarck and Potijze areas. Walking Ypres brings the visitor not only to the places where the armies clashed but to the landscape of monuments, cemeteries and villages that make the Ypres battlefields among the most memorable sites of the Great War.

Passchendaele

Passchendaele
Author: Norman Leach
Publisher: Coteau Books
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781550503999

This fully-illustrated, easily-accessible, account of the battle of Passchendaele presents the background and details of Canada's coming of age in The Great War. During WWI, the battle for the tiny Belgium town Passchendaele was one of the most significant tests of Canadian courage and expertise. British Commander-in-Chief General Douglas Haig had devised one of the most controversial stratagems of the entire war: Allied forces would attack headlong into the heavily fortified German entrenchments, capture the town of Passchendaele and its highlands, and drive toward the coast to destroy German submarine bases. General Arthur Currie's Canadian Corps was called to the front for this attack. After their victories at Vimy Ridge and Hill 70, the Canadians had earned the nickname storm troopers for, like a storm, they could not be stopped. Even for the battle-hardened Canadians, Passchendaele was a living hell. Many drowned in the mud before ever seeing the enemy. Others died from deadly chlorine gas, and others from artillery shells that rained down in numbers over 175 per square metre. The Canadians seized Passchendaele, succeeding where all others had failed, and displaying high standards of leadership, staff work and training.The Corps had suffered 16,000 casualties; nine Victoria Crosses were awarded to acknowledge the extraordinary heroism. Though the actual value of the campaign is debated to this day, one thing is certain: Canadians had been tested against the worst horrors of the Great War, and they had proven their valour.

To the Last Man

To the Last Man
Author: Lyn MacDonald
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2015-06-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0241972183

'Hers is a formidable achievement.' - Sebastian Faulks This is the account of the battle, the retreat and the stand at Amiens which saved the city, secured the line, and caused Ludendorff to call off his offensive in the spring of 1918. But mostly it is the story of the men who took part: the Commanders, the weary, resolute British Tommies, the exultant Germans, the French poilus rushed up to stiffen the defence and the still unblooded Doughboys from the U.S.

The Great War

The Great War
Author: Isobel Charman
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 582
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1448185939

During the First World War three quarters of a million British people died – a figure so huge that it feels impossible to give it a human context. Consequently we struggle to truly grasp the impact this devastating conflict must have had on people's day-to-day lives. We resort to looking at the war from a distance, viewing its events in terms of their political or military significance. The Great War: The People's Story is different. Like the all-star ITV series it accompanies, it immerses the reader in the everyday experiences of real people who lived through the war. Using letters, diaries, and memoirs – many of which have never previously been published – Isobel Charman has painstakingly reconstructed the lives of people such as separated newly-weds Alan and Dorothy Lloyd, plucky enlisted factory-worker Reg Evans and proudly independent suffragist Kate Parry Frye. A century on, they here tell their stories in their own words, offering a uniquely personal account of the conflict. The Great War: The People's Story is both a meticulously researched piece of narrative history and a deeply moving remembrance of the extraordinary acts of extremely ordinary people.