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Growing up in Texas, we never really studied the Great War. We skimmed it, knew it happened and then moved right into WWII. As an adult, I have learned more about the Great War and enjoy reading and watching documentaries on it.
But what a lot of the books I've read have lacked is the personal touch - the day-to-day life of people on the homefront and on the front lines. The Great War changed everything and the evolution of that change during the war years is intriguing.
I recently wanted a documentary that was built around letters and diaries from that time and I found it very interesting. It added the real human factor into it. NOw, I would LOVE to read books, diaries and letters from that time period.
Does anyone have an recommendations for books of letters, diaries, etc. that cover the Great War years?
Amazon has a number of WW1 memoirs freely available as Kindle but they can be read on a computer.
Any book written by Peter Hart incorporates a great deal of letters and journals within a larger context of what is occurring on the battlefield. He focuses on air, sea, and different land campaigns.
There are many many more depends on what your area of focus is as in British and then whether Western Front, Air, Sea, Gallipoli, Homefront and elsewhere. Have read 100s and can recommend more if you can advise.
The classic memoirs of WW1 from the English side are not diaries or letters but narratives but they are very well written with intense flavor regarding the environment.
And that is only the tip of the Western Front infantry stuff. there is much more. Mostly beautiful writing as it by those educated prior to television or film so descriptive powers are at their best but without the excess of 19th century writing.
The classic memoirs of WW1 from the English side are not diaries or letters but narratives but they are very well written with intense flavor regarding the environment.
And that is only the tip of the Western Front infantry stuff. there is much more. Mostly beautiful writing as it by those educated prior to television or film so descriptive powers are at their best but without the excess of 19th century writing.
Goodbye to all That sounds great. do you know of anything similar that shows things from the side of the homefront or even possibly from the Nursing Corps perspective? I find both of these areas particularly interesting.
There are a few well regarded home front diaries as experienced by those not in uniform. Tend to be by politicians, upper class estate owners or religious office holders- Anglican Ministers
Several years ago I read The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. It's a memoir from that era, not especially about the war but as a young boy growing up with that as a background. There were several references in that book that have stuck with me , a very poignant read.
I strongly recommend "Ghosts have warm hands " by Will Bird, a Canadian who served n France , with the 42nd Battalion of the Black Watch. Memorable on a number of levels, it depicts the funny, sad, and horrible facts of life as a soldier in that war.
He went on to a long career, as a both a newspaper writer, and novelist with 15 books to his credit.
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