Product Description

Passchendaele is the third volume in the ongoing project to
recover and publish the unseen battlefield panoramas of the First World
War. Includes newly discovered German collections and as yet unpublished
British images. Today bearing the single name Passchendaele, the 1917
British summer offensive in Belgian Flanders has entered the English
language as the epitome of all that was both wretched and noble about the
Great War. The remains of no fewer than 200,000 soldiers still lie unfound
within the narrow boundaries of the battleground. Here are the battlefields
of the Ypres Salient as you have never seen them before, from the start of
the battle to the desolation of 1918. Peter Barton presents over 50
extraordinary panoramas of the conflict, including 20 German scenes that
that have not seen the light of day since the war. All the panoramas were
taken at huge personal risk by specialist photographers. They reveal what
no other photographs have - the view beyond both British and German trench
parapets - and a great deal more. Also included are unpublished
testimonies, letters and memoirs from many of the units who served, sourced
from archives across the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere, with
stunning mapping, plans and diagrams throughout and equivalent aerial
photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48561 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-26
• Binding: Hardcover
• 468 pages

Good Book Guide
An authoritative survey.

Navy News
hauntingly magnificent

Ancestors magazine
Well worth investing in

Customer Reviews

Ypres As It Really Was.
Despite the obvious allure and importance of the panoramic images in this book, it is the text, not the pictures, that bring Ypres alive. The author cleverly intertwines the images with a detailed but rarely dull account of the development of this front. A particularly poignant and effective element is the liberal inclusion of letters from ordinary soldiers in the field. Many of these are very powerful, often sad, and sometimes surprisingly positive in the light of overwhelming adversity. An incredible sense of politeness, consideration for those at home, and stoicism is present in those letters, despite the littering of corpses around those fighting.

My grandfather fought here, and his brother was shot right next to him in a dash across no-man's land. I felt I had a very real, and much more complete impression of what it felt like to be stuck in those trenches for months and years on end. A week commonly saw over 3 million shells thrown by the British side alone, and one can only stand in awe at the psychological tenacity of the soldiers. Because the soldiers' letters actually relate to the day being described in the story of the battles, you don't have to make it up - they tell you what was going through their minds that very day. The text also refreshingly looks at the soldiers as feeling humans, rather than just 'resources' of a battle as has been common in the glorify-war days past.

So, great images, but the text is even better. A real must-have.

Well worth it.
Based on the good reviews, I bought this book. I am not disappointed, the book is a very good production. The unfolding of the events well told in the form of pictures, maps, dialogue and personal accounts. Highly recommend.

top quality
This is yet another great example of Peter Bartons work, there has been a great deal of time and research put into this book, there are some fantastic panoramic views of the salient, along with quite a few unseen photographs, complemented with a great narrative.
I would highly reccomend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject of the great war.