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Forgotten Voices of the Great War: A New History of WWI in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices/the Great War) | 
 enlarge | Author: Max Arthur
Publisher: Ebury Press
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (33) Used (44) Collectible (4) from £0.01
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 12536
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 322
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.9 x 1
ISBN: 0091888875
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9780091888879
ASIN: 0091888875
Publication Date: October 2, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Voices of the Lost Generation July 30, 2008
D. Evans
Forgotten Voices of the Great War is a collection of real life experiences of the First World War, as told by the ordinary people who lived through it.
I must admit that my knowledge of the First World War is a little blank. My only previous experience of this period was through school lessons about trench warfare, or by watching Blackadder goes forth. Therefore I can't make an analysis about the historical accuracy of the book. But what I can say is that I found it a very powerful and poignant work.
The author, Max Arthur, has spent several years listening to thousands of recordings of the men and women who lived during this period. These tapes were kept as archival records in the Imperial War Museum, after they were collected in 1972. These are essentially the voices of a lost generation. The book is divided into chapters that cover every year of the war, from 1914 to 1918. Within these chapters are accounts taken from individual campaigns or battles such as Gallipoli, The Second Battle of Ypres, or the Battle of Mons.
Arthur has sifted through these records to bring out the most varied and unique stories. We are told about gas attacks, boredom or banter between soldiers, but we also get to hear the points of view of people like Elizabeth Owen, who was a schoolgirl at the outbreak of the war. Many of these stories are touching and funny, while others can be truly horrifying. In the section on Gallipoli for instance, we get a story of the games played between British and Turkish soldiers, with some of them throwing tinned bully beef and strings of figs to each other as presents. In the same section it also tells you of the horrible and undignified deaths caused by dysentry and other diseases, which will probably be some of the most terrible accounts of the war you will ever read.
This is an incredibly powerful and important book. If you have ever wondered about life during the First World War, then this book should be the first one you read. Extraordinay.
 Not everyone can get to source documents May 23, 2008
Tony B (Kent UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is now part of a series collated from the IWM archives. Not everyone can get to source documents through time or distance. This book has brought some of the sources into the public arena. Naturally such short personal reminicences give a fragmented picture. If you want opinions handed to you, read a 'definitive' history. All history books, however good, are shaped by the author. If a book like this makes you question recived wisdom, it has done its job.
 Good, but difficult to put in context. May 22, 2008
Capt John Rowlands (Anglesey, Wales, UK)
This is an excellent collection of first-hand accounts of the Great War, from a variety of different contemporary contributors to that war.
The only problem with this book is that it divorces the account from much of the wider picture, so it tends to foster a 'I've read that book, I know all about WW1 now' sort of attitude. Perhaps it's just a reflection of our rushed aged, but I think the many other books, which describe some of the development of the war and intertwine similar first-hand accounts, do more justice to those milions who gave their lives on all sides, than a quick flit through this collection of stand-alone, very short stories.
Admittedly, the book has a very important role to play in appealing to those who may othwerwise not take an interest in WW1, so for that reason alone, it is a worthwhile production.
 Overrated January 21, 2008
LuLu (Ayrshire)
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am a social history student and a great war fanatic. I found this book extremely overrated. I bought it and read it cover to cover in a day, the content is good, primary sources etc. It really does sum up the experiences of life during the war by the people there. However, there is no analysis whatsoever, it's basically a skilful collaboration of sources. So from the point of view of a budding historian, all it is worth is some quotes for some essays. Anyone here could go in the archives of the IWM and pick up these sources themselves. All Max Arthur has did is put them in a book. Not impressed!
A book all true Brits should read July 30, 2007
jason crawford (Britain)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Firstly i won't ramble on about the way this book is brilliantly structured to give you the whole feeling of the sheer brutality of this shambolic war. I will express how humbled you will feel reading this extremely moving piece of work. The sheer sacrifice our forfathers gave should never be forgotton.In a society where youngsters have no respect for the elderly or this country in general this book should be force fed to every delinquent. This is a must read for all.
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