WW 1 books..

[Wodin]

The biggest collection of anything I own is my WW1 library..must have around 300 or so books on the subject.


So here is a quick top picks list for you all...anything on here is HIGHLY recommended. I've tried to list lesser known books but not obscure enough for you to never be able to find them.


Hint try and stay away from books written in the sixties..the recent books on the subject are some of the best, because the Myths are shattered and put into correct perspective..no lions led by donkeys rubbish. Bloody Victory is a great new read for instance on the Somme.


All of Jack Sheldons German Army series. Six so far..Somme, Yrpes, Vimy, Passchendeale, Cambrai and Western front 1915. This series is amazing a must own for all military history nuts..especially so for WW1 fanatics.

The Other side of the Wire Vol 1 by Ralph Whitehead (Only 750 published and all signed..still some left at Amazon. Well worth the money..I've never come across so well researched and detailed book as this one (even has loads of photos of individual soldiers who are quoted or mentioned in the book)..a stunning achievement..Vol2 will be out soon and a must buy for me).

Liaison 1914 by Edward Speers (He is interviewed in the BBC Great War series from the sixties)

Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps by Ralph Barker

War the Infantry Knew by Capt Dunn

Tommy by Richard Holmes

Battlefields of the First world War by Peter Barton

Douglas Haig: War Diaries and Letters 1914-1918 by Gary Sheffield

The Chief: Douglas Haig and the British Army by Gary Sheffield

Beneath Flanders Field by Peter Barton

Bloody Victory William Philpott

With Our Backs to the Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918 by David Stevenson

Under Fire by Henri Barbusse

Frenchman in Khaki by paul maze

Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger

Price of Glory Alistair Horne

Playing the Game by Christopher Moore-Bick

Old soldiers never die by Frank Richardson (Another one interviewed in the Great war series from the sixties)

The Somme by Peter Hart and Nigel Steel

Somme Mud by E P F Lynch

Brothers in War by Micheal Walsh

War Diary Of The Master Of Belhaven 1914-1918 by Hon Ralph G. A. Hamilton

War Letters to a Wife by Rowland Feilding

50th battalion in No Mans Land by Wheeler

To Conquer Hell: The Battle of Meuse-Argonne 1918 by E Lengel

The Great War: 1914-1918 by Ian F.W. Beckett


To name a few..

[Ozgur Budak]

I dont have many WW1 books but "The Defeat Of Imperial Germany, 1917-1918" by Rod Paschall was an excellent piece of work. It specifically focuses on late war operational tactics and challenges the established thought of unimaginative ww1 commanders.

Another nice book is "Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War" by Edward J. Erickson. As far as I know this is the definitive WW1 Ottoman Army book in English. As a native Turkish speaker I must say it is not an original study. It is rather a translation of Turkish General Staff's military history series but it plugs a huge gap about a major WW1 combatant in English.

Another nice one is a monographical study of the battle of Loos by Peter Doyle; "Battle Story: Loos 1915".

[scots greys]

I am reading Home Before the Leaves fall, A New History of the German Invasion of 1914. By Ian Senior, Osprey Publishing.

only read 2 chapters The Schlieffen Plan and Plan XVII The french Plan.

[Embis]

Snip....
Old soldiers never die by Frank Richardson (Another one interviewed in the Great war series from the sixties)

....snip

I must say that this is well worth a read (although its by Frank Richards, rather than Richardson)

Quite unusual because so many of the eyewitness accounts are written from an officers point of view and this one is from the point of view of a chap in the ranks.

One of my favourites is the Siegfried Sasoon trilogy, "Memoires of a fox hunting man", this includes his war diaries. Reading the build up from his child hood to life in the trenches really makes you feel immersed in the period.

[Wodin]

Whoops silly me..been awhile since I read it.

You really need to buy War the Infantry Knew by Cpt Dunn if you enjoyed this book. It's the MO memoirs from the same battalion as Frank and Robert Graves. It's a must read for any WW1 fanatic.

Snip....
Old soldiers never die by Frank Richardson (Another one interviewed in the Great war series from the sixties)

....snip

I must say that this is well worth a read (although its by Frank Richards, rather than Richardson)

Quite unusual because so many of the eyewitness accounts are written from an officers point of view and this one is from the point of view of a chap in the ranks.

One of my favourites is the Siegfried Sasoon trilogy, "Memoires of a fox hunting man", this includes his war diaries. Reading the build up from his child hood to life in the trenches really makes you feel immersed in the period.

[-72-]

Check out 'Gallipoli' by Alan Moorehead

I haven't read it yet, but I have read the first of 3 volumes he did on the desert in WWII (in this case it covered to about Spring 1941), and if Gallipoli is anything approaching that -it has to definitely be worth checking out. It also is probably readily available 2nd hand (I got my copy about 6 years ago in a Half Price Books in suburban Kansas City -of all places for an Australian to find a book on Gallipoli...).

[gabeeg]

Ozgur,

"Ordered to Die" is not an inexpensive book...but I want it... Where did you purchase your copy, it is over $100 U.S. on Amazon...even used. Hoping to find something a little less steep.

I bought " Battle Story : Loos 1915 " when I saw it as a new release for my Nook (and I had just bought F14). I have not read it yet and it was lower on my back list....but if you are recommending it I may have to raise it to my next read (I am currently reading the Winter War book that came with Squad Battles Winter War...pretty good read and a nice bonus with the game).

Anybody have any suggestions on a more narrative history type book on WWI?

[Ozgur Budak]

Ozgur,

"Ordered to Die" is not an inexpensive book...but I want it... Where did you purchase your copy, it is over $100 U.S. on Amazon...even used. Hoping to find something a little less steep.

I bought " Battle Story : Loos 1915 " when I saw it as a new release for my Nook (and I had just bought F14). I have not read it yet and it was lower on my back list....but if you are recommending it I may have to raise it to my next read (I am currently reading the Winter War book that came with Squad Battles Winter War...pretty good read and a nice bonus with the game).

Anybody have any suggestions on a more narrative history type book on WWI?

Harry,
As far as I know there is no paperback version of "Ordered to Die". The hardcover price is quite expensive. I have the Turkish translation of that book. The same author has another very good book: "Defeat in Detail" . It is about the Ottoman Army in the Balkan Wars. I have a couple of battle memoirs on the battle of Sarıkamış which I believe you would find interesting. Unfortunately all of them are in Turkish.

[gabeeg]

Ozgur,

When you are done translating them...please send me a copies ;)

I will look up "Defeat in Detail"...hopefully someday I will find an affordable "Ordered to Die".

It is hard to find English language books on Turkish military history outside of WW1 Palestine and Gallipoli...or they are too expensive (See the book already discussed and "A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Atatürk"...which is 85 U.S. on Amazon). I have a couple books in my library on Caucasian and Turkish wars/battles but they are all really light or are politically motivated/slanted. I wish there were more available WWI/Late Ottoman period books for us Engish readers written from the Turkish point of view.

[Landser34]

Here is a list of books that i have physical copies and ebooks that i have read in the last year.

1 The Kaiser's Battle by Martin Middlebrook
2 Devil Dogs by George B.Clark
3 1918 : Year of Victory by Malcolm Brown
4 Infantry in Battle By Infantry Journal 1939
5 The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Capt. J.C.Dunn
6 The Battle of Loos by Phillip Warner
7 1918: The Unexpected Victory by J.H.Johnson
8 Gallipoli By Alan Moorehead
9 A Storm in Flanders by Winston Groom
10 Gallipoli By John Masefield
11 1918: The Last Act by Barrie Pitt
12 1918 :The Year of Victories by Martin Evans
13 Over the Top by Martin Evans
14 To The Last Man; Spring 1918 by Lyn Macdonald
15 Attrition :The Great War on the Western Front-1916
16 Stalemate by J.H Johnson
17 The Somme by Malcolm Brown

Kindle books alot them you can down load free from Amazon
1 To Conquer Hell : The Meuse Argonne by Edward G. Lengel
2 Experiences of a Dug -out 1914-1918 by Sir C.E. Callwell (Free Download)
3 The Story of the Great War Vols.1-8 History of the European War from Official sources (Free Download)
4 The Somme : The Darkest Hour by Peter Hart
5 The First World War by Hew Strachen
6 Attack : An Infantry Subalterns Impressions of July 1st ,1916 (Free Download)
7 To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild
8 Passchendaele :Their Finest Hour by Fabio de Angelis
9 The Miracle at Belleau Wood by Alan Axelrod
10 The White Road to Verdun by Kathleen Burke
11 1915 :The Death of Innocence by Lyn Macdonald
12 The 23rd (Service Battalion Royal Fusiliers(1st Sportsman) by Edward Ward (Free)
13 Development of Tactics WWI by William Balck
14 From the St.Lawrence to the Yser with the 1st Canadian Brigade by Frederic C.Curry (Free)
15 Irish on the Somme "The Irish at the Front (Free)
16 The Somme by Martin Gilbert
17 The Red Watch With The Fist Canadian Division in Flanders J.A Currie (Free)
18 With Haig on the Somme by D.H Parry

There are more free books on Amazon for Free just have to look for them
and i dont want to list them all.