Michael Howard (2007) pens an excellent summary which allows me to gain a foothold into the subject. I found it a critical read as popular knowledge aMichael Howard (2007) pens an excellent summary which allows me to gain a foothold into the subject. I found it a critical read as popular knowledge accessible to English readers and viewers is Anglo centric and emphasises the Western Front. Also the state of imperial multi-ethnic territories are not clear to Cold War audiences.
So much of the origins of WW2 lie in WW1 that every student of the global hostilities should acquire a fundamental grasp of WW1. I’m embarrassed I didn’t earlier, especially after picking this up. I found this very short introduction excellent from the first page.
The conciseness was striking after having perused several Wikipedia and YouTube resources. And being unfamiliar, I had to consult those for useful clarification which is why I took a long while to read this, slowly and deliberately. I also read Tammy Proctor’s “World War 1: A Short History” which covers social aspects and civilian impact.
Howard recommends James Joll’s “The Origins of the First World War” next, and I’m looking forward to that. But first, I can finally resume Barbara Tuchman, “The Guns of August”.
Good pacing for a tough task. Prof Proctor says 20 years of explanations to undergraduate classes helped prepare her for this! And the audience is appGood pacing for a tough task. Prof Proctor says 20 years of explanations to undergraduate classes helped prepare her for this! And the audience is apparent from the writing. But she points to further reading at the end of each chapter.
I wanted an overview of WW1 as I needed some context before Barbara Tuchman’s “Guns of August”. This was helpful and provided insights into civilian impacts as well. I did wish there was greater context about the belligerents. And I read up online about the 1870 Franco-Prussian War separately which was helpful.
Well, all this is in aid of understanding WW2.and I was surprised by how much there was to learn.
I was introduced to “Regeneration” by a young friend Rachael Goh who had read this for her literature course. She had surprised me in conversation witI was introduced to “Regeneration” by a young friend Rachael Goh who had read this for her literature course. She had surprised me in conversation with her awareness of trauma and recovery in WW1. It’s something I had pieced together from non-fiction WW2 references to the Great War. And later, from depiction in film.
Here Pat Baker explores trauma, recovery, economic liberation of women, class distinctions and some politics of the war. She does this with characters partly pieced together from real life individuals – doctor’s who championed the empathetic treatment of PTSD before it was identified as such, and poets who confronted the horrors of war.
I hadn’t read the reviews so was surprised when I encountered Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon. Here I learnt the extent of Sassoon’s efforts at decrying the war and his nurturing of another poet, Wilfred Owen.
It’s an engaging book which I read in a few sittings during early hours of a very busy period, and helped me appreciate that aspect of that war with even more empathy. I look forward to the rest of her trilogy. It’s part of my attempt to understand the events that led to WW2.
It’s certainly a wonderful book for students to examine in literature.
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