dropbear123 t1_ixih4u3 wrote on November 23, 2022 at 6:10 PM

Finished The Western Front by Richard Holmes

>4.5/5 rounding down for Goodreads.

>Very good. Written alongside a documentary series so it is accessible. It is good at describing the details of the battles as well as broader analysis on things such as the conditions that led to trench warfare. Mostly focused on the British perspective but does have a good chapter on Verdun. Plenty of maps and photos that are pretty good in quality. Sometimes it mentions the historical debates about things like tactics or leadership, but this book is 20 years old now so views and scholarship have probably changed a bit since then. It does have a further reading list as well for each chapter but again it is an old book and will not have newer books on it. Overall I'd say it is a good place to start if you are interested in the Western Front of WWI.

>Sidenote - Holmes' Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-18 is very good but a lot longer and more indepth and I'd also recommend reading that if you are interested in WWI. His books 'Sahib: The British Soldier in India 1750-1914' and 'Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket' are also very good.

Finished today The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman

>3/5. For a £1 Kindle book it was fine but I wouldn't recommend specifically seeking it out.

>OK from a story telling point of view but it is very old and there are probably newer and better books on the subject. For example her descriptions of the situation on the Western Front were pretty simplistic and bad. A lot of the book focuses on what was going on in Mexico as well as US-Mexico relations and US-Japanese relations prior to Zimmerman sending the telegram. These parts felt fine to me but I don't know a lot about the Americas or the Mexican revolution in this period so I probably won't have noticed anything wrong or any outdated historical views. Also a lot on the lives and feelings of the various diplomats, ambassadors and advisors.

On Kindle I've now started The Western Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918 by Nick Lloyd but it will probably take me a long time to read (I read his Hundred Days: The End of the Great War earlier this year and really liked it and would recomend it if into WWI). Physical I've started The Last Corsair: The Story of the Emden by Dan van der Vat which seems fine so far (40 pages in) and is rather shorter.

sunshinedaydream56 t1_ixt19lf wrote on November 26, 2022 at 2:52 AM

Do you think “the western front by Nick Lloyd” that you are currently reading on kindle would be accessible for someone just starting to get into WWI history? My fiancé has expressed interest in learning more after watching the all quiet on the western front movie, but he’s not like a history “buff” per se

dropbear123 t1_ixu4sf9 wrote on November 26, 2022 at 10:52 AM

While it is very good based on what I've read so far I'd say no it isn't accessible. It's very indepth and heavy on the operational details (army movements, generals etc). I'd say The Western Front book by Richard Holmes I mentioned is probably more accessible. If books about WWI that aren't focused on the Western Front are ok then I'd say 'Short History of the First World War by Gary Sheffield' or 'The First World War by Hew Strachan' are good options (but Strachan has another book called First World War - Vol 1 To Arms which I'd avoid because it's like 1000 pages) .