Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76347 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-29
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
It is now more than ninety years since the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, and, incredibly, a very few of the six million men who served in that bloodiest of wars are still alive. In BRITAIN'S LAST TOMMIES can be found the stories of those men, and of those who lived to a very old age and died only recently. They tell in their own words of suffering and courage, of humour and comradeship and of experiences that some of them say they would not have missed for the world, in spite of the cost. Richard van Emden has interviewed veterans over many years and has not only recorded their words and given a brief historical background to each chapter, but, uniquely, included his own memories of these remarkable men, so that in the book we get to meet and know them. This book is a heartfelt tribute to those few old soldiers who today represent the sacrifices of a whole generation that gave itself in the cause of liberty in the course of the Great War.

Customer Reviews

Couldn't put this one down
We are fortunate indeed that there are people like Richard van Emden, with that rare ability to transmit through print their own enthusiasm for their subject to that of their readers. As the last rays of dusk set on this unique generation, not surprisingly Britain's Last Tommies is told with great dignity and respect. It was a fact that for sixty or so years following the end of the Great War, no veteran ever spoke of his experiences; as children we were warned by our parents not to ask about it and, with the tantalising exception of an occasional anecdote relating to training or whilst off duty, the horrors and suffering witnessed by these men went unrecorded. It is only a newer generation of historians like van Emden who have used their reservoir of communications skills and personal resources to tease with any success from these last survivors a second hand glimpse of the enormity of what took place in 1914-18, events which continue to shape our lives still.
One doesn't have to be a military history buff to understand and appreciate this book, as it does not demand too much of its reader. I read it on the plane and at the beach; this is one of those "can't put down" books; the narrative flows freely and without excessive repetition, a remarkable achievement as the story nevertheless weaves effortlessly across battlefronts and timelines bringing vividly to the reader's imagination the brutal ebb and flow of human conflict in an industrialised age. Having read the book, the reader is left wondering how, if they too had been born at the same time, they might have coped with the unprecedented privations and demands made so long ago upon the youthful shoulders of these proud and dignified old men, the last heroes of the Great War.

A classic of WWI oral history
Richard van Emden has done it again, with another riveting collection of first-hand stories from the trenches and beyond. As we say goodbye to the last of the Great War veterans, van Emden's work becomes increasingly precious.

His respect for these men shines through every page as he lets them tell their own stories, providing just enough context to maximise the drama and relevance of each scene. By the end, the reader mourns their passing along with the author.

A timeless record of humanity in the face of insanity.