General > The Great War

The WW1 Book/Article/Online Resources Thread

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Landlubber:
Let's use this thread for book, article, and online resource recommendations.

I'll kick it off:

If you're looking for a good one-volume book on the general history of the war, I recommend G. J. Meyer's A World Undone.  It's well written, somewhat humorous at times, and provides good background information on some of the war's causes and personalities.

Ok, at Ruckdog's request, we'll keep the book list up here in the first post.  Titles are arranged alphabetically by author's last name; click the book title to see the book on Amazon.  Feel free to continue discussing below.   :) Recommend that we limit discussions to books we have read, are reading, or want to read, in order to keep this thing manageable.

Coffman, Edward M.  The War to End All Wars

Ecksteins, Modris.  The Rites of Spring. 

Ellis, John.  Eye Deep in Hell.

Herwig, Holger. The Marne, 1914.

Howarth, David Armine.  The Dreadnoughts.

Massie, Robert K.  Dreadnought.

Massie, Robert K.  Castles of Steel.

Meyer, G. J.  A World Undone

McMeekin, Sean.  The Russian Origins of the First World War

McMeekin, Sean. The Berlin-Baghdad Express: The Ottoman Empire and Germany's Bid for World Power

Paice, Edward. World War I, The African Front: An Imperial War on the African Continent

Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August

Van der Vat, Dan. The Dardanelles Disaster: Winston Churchill's Greatest Failure

MajorMcNicol:
My favorite monograph of the pre- and post-war and the war itself is Modris Eksteins's The Rites of Spring.  I highly recommend it!

As was mentioned in another post, Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought and Castles of Steel are both WWI focused, the former focused more on politics and diplomacy before the war, the latter showing a naval bent.  I'm only about halfway through the giant Dreadnought, but it was enough to order Castles of Steel and keep it on my list.

My undergraduate history thesis was titled, "The Creation of the Image of the Scottish Highlander and the Army of the British Empire (1745-1918)," and ended up pulling a lot of WWI sources together.  It used to be published online in an undergraduate historical journal, but I can no longer find it online.  SO if anyone is interested in the thesis or the sources I used, I am happy to e-mail a copy! 

Ruckdog:
One of my favorites is Eye Deep in Hell by John Ellis. I read it for one of my academy history classes, and it has stuck with me to this day. This is not some discussion of great power political intrigue; it is a dirty, gritty, vivid, and horrifying account of what it was like to live, fight, and die in the trenches:

http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Deep-Hell-Trench-Warfare-World/dp/0801839475

On the naval side, I would recommend The Dreadnoughts from the old Time-Life Seafarers
Series. This was one of the first books on the subject I read, and is an excellent primer on the Anglo-German naval race. It is a bit basic, but it is well illustrated and I think it would be great for someone who is just starting to study the subject. Plus, you can snag a copy for less than $10:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0809427133/ref=cm_wl_huc_continue

Ruckdog:
Oh, one more thing: I've stickied this topic. It might be a good idea to make a summary list in the first post if we get a lot of suggestions :)

Landlubber:
All good stuff!  While I do like the broader, over-arching histories, eye-witness accounts are also fascinating--especially since no WW1 veterans are alive anymore.

Ruckdog, I started keeping a list in the first post in this thread, per your suggestion.

Keep 'em coming, folks.  And please continue to discuss; I'll keep the list up to date in the first post.

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