Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8029 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 322 pages

Amazon.co.uk
Max Arthur's compilation of First World War memories, Forgotten Voices of the Great War, offers a reminder of the scale of human experience within the 1914-18 conflict. Arthur, a military historian best known for his history of the RAF and his account of the Falklands campaign in 1982, has assembled hundreds of excerpts from the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum. Officers, rank-and-file troops, Australians, Americans, war widows, women in the munitions factories, and German soldiers too, all left oral testimony of their experiences, and these interviews provide the basis of the book. Arthur has put them in chronological and campaign order, and provided a general commentary, but beyond that, has left the rich and moving record to speak for itself.

The sheer humdrum ordinariness of modern warfare--the mud and rain, the relentless loss of life and inevitability of death, the pointless routine of attrition--come over in the matter-of-fact recollections of so many. But so too does the humanity and morality of the ordinary soldier--a factor that rather belies the recent emphasis amongst some historians on how soldiers loved to kill. Arthur might have intruded more. No biographical information is given about the owners of these "voices", nor does he say when, where and how this oral testimony was gathered.

These quibbles aside this is a worthwhile read and should encourage people not only to observe a minute's silence on Remembrance Day, but also to spend a few hours in the Imperial War Museum itself. --Miles Taylor

Review
'This extraordinary book is crammed with details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence', Daily Telegraph .'The stories of these now long-dead vets simply jump off the page', FHM .'The words of the soldiers are as fresh as if they were written yesterday...extraordinary', Deborah Moggach, Mail on Sunday .'Everyone who loves oral history will enjoy the often harrowing accounts contained in this book', History Today .'A compelling account of a world not to be forgotten', Despatches

Andrew Motion, The Times
"These stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating"

Customer Reviews

Forgotten Voices of the Great War
This is a remarkable work. Max Arthur has distilled hundreds of hours of interviews into small pieces which he then assembles in to a patchwork gradually forming a picture of the Great War. No knowledge of the details of the war are needed; this is a view from ordinary people from all sides, including women of the Land Army and medical staff.
The voices are of their time which adds to the sense of authority. These men are confused, weighed down, horrified, but they keep their feelings very much to themselves, if indeed they actually allow themselves the luxury of feeling. It describes a world of chaos, mud and endless discomfort, poor sleep, infection and yet this becomes their home, somehow preferable to being back in England. Their are tales of heroism, but none of the voices see themselves as heroes.
This book is in the great tradition of oral history, and has now been written so future generations can gain a glimpse through the words of those who were there.

The best of its kind?
Max Arthur uses the Imperial War Musuem sound archive to great effect to enable people who lived through the time of the Great War to tell their story. In fact this is perhaps the greatest strength of an excellent book in that it captures a period in time with the authenticity only one written by people who lived through it can.
Although primarily recalled through the memories of military personnel we also hear from a cross section of non-combatants ranging from school children to conscientious objectors. Max Arthur has created a living time capsule of the first world war and the result is an enlightening book which deserves high praise and a wide readership.

White Feather
"Almost the last white feather I recieved": thus one of the contributers remembers two women on a bus; one of whom gave him a white feather. He had returned from the front and was sat in civies. "For a brave soldier" said the woman who handed him the feather. Cleaning his pipe with it he handed the feather back. Those who took part in this conflict came home, tongue-tied; wanting to get back to the real reality with their mates at the front. They had no words for the folks back home. The folks back home were being served with patriotic post cards and the exploits of the cross-eyed pin-up Kitchener. So many mistakes are made by the ignorant and unwitting. This book seeks to help us to understand the mistakes made by all in the propogation and sustation of this dreadful conflict. If you you are just beginning to research this subject 'The GreatWar'. This is where you you must begin your studies.