Product Description

Authentic voices from the past illustrate this unique history of the Twentieth Century, written by Joanna Bourke and presented by Tim Pigott-Smith Eyewitness provides a rare and fascinating opportunity to hear the events of the century described by those who saw them happen. A wealth of BBC archive recordings, some never previously broadcast, is interwoven with an illuminating commentary by the historian Joanna Bourke. Published in ten volumes, Eyewitness examines the role and the life of the British people in each decade of the century. The Edwardian era ended in 1910 with the death of Edward VII, and George V was to preside over a violent and tempestuous age. Industrial action and suffragette violence increased, and divisions in Ireland hardened, leading to the Easter Rising and its bitter consequences. But the Great War dominated the decade and the century, as the blood of over 700,000 men was spilt on the battlefields. Voices of servicemen, factory workers and domestic servants alternate with those of the great and the good such as Lord Beveridge, David Lloyd George and Nancy Astor, to describe daily life in peace and war. Momentous events such as Scott s doomed expedition to the South Pole, Shackleton s crossing of the Antarctic, and the sinking of the Titanic are vividly described. Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past, speaking to the present.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #331094 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-07
• Released on: 2004-06-07
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 4
• Binding: Audio CD

The Times
"…mines the BBC’s sound archives to produce what will surely become the greatest oral history series…"

The Independent
"A wonderful idea and excellently executed ..best possible use of the medium and a great narrator"

The Guardian
"This must be as close to the horse’s mouth that history gets."

Customer Reviews

The second volume of this compelling series
I loved this first volume, and have now listened to it three times. This one is the second volume and covers the Great War and whats more it has four CDs in it, no doubt because there is so much more material to include. I have loaded this one into my CD player in the rear of the car and have listened to it twice through and am now onto the third run. It is so interesting, I would recommend this for any one interested in modern history. It is audio at its best. I am really looking forward to what gems have been uncovered for the third volume, which I have pre-ordered