Exceptional portrayal of the events and the conduct of WWI.
594009
Too much detail on the specific actions of each combatants military units in the war.  Gets difficult to follow.  Would have preferred more emphasis on a macro view of the causes and/or a micro view of the average citizens life at home or in the trenches.
3748272
This WWI historical fiction opened my eyes to a piece of history I wasn't very familiar with. Yes, I learned about WWI in school, but this book made me feel like I was thereand it wasn't pretty. I slunk around in the trenches with French soldiers. I soared in rickety fighter planes with a Canadian pilot and watched men and burning planes fall from the sky. I followed spies around and discovered how they sent their secret codes and felt the drama of wondering if they would be caught as the sun rose each new day. I watched in horror as men got gassed and saw what those poisons did to their bodies. I saw the plight of the German people as supplies ran low and they slowly starved in a drawn out war they couldn't win. Sowards really did her homework and wove a riveting tale with interesting threads of facts that not only fascinated me, but educated me as well. Julian and Evette are the main heroes in this book (their childrens stories are told in previous books like Espionage). Claire, Warren and Howard McDougal also take up a fair amount of the stage as well in this story that captivated my imagination and heart. I highly recommend this one.

***I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
1557165
Harrop's rendition of the events, the victims, the use of the language of the day, the character development and the ending were all woven into a story of tremendous intrigue. As a reader, I was taken back to the times and places with graphic imagery and style. A difficult subject written with such reality that it completely involves the reader from start to finish.
1074320
Witness to Gettysburg is a personal account of one specific period of our American history:  the Civil War.  The actress portraying Miss Hattie is also the researcher and the writer.  Taking the time to investigate the nuances of this period in time took months and the facts, tone and "feel" of the presentation brings those facts to life.

"Miss Hattie" is a real person, and the presentation of the nuances of this period shows in the dress, the descriptions of life, the battlefield, and those participating--both in the war and in the life surrounding the war.  Factually accurate, "Miss Hattie" personalizes the horror of war, the needs of the time, the inventions and organizations created and the accomplishments of "ordinary" people doing the extraordinary.

In a world of the expedient, the quick and the recycled, this personal account of the tearing of the fabric that is the United States will provide grist for comparisons to values and attitudes today.  Storytelling is not really for the faint of heart for it conveys, when researched for accuracy, a deep description of the hearts of our ancestors, their reasons for action and their commitment to others.
1552188
I loved reading about the accounts of the different soldiers. It puts things into perspectives of how asinine the war really was as told through their eyes. It's a shame we do not learn as much about WW1 in school because it almost seems like we are in a full circle from the last century.
4081367
An excellent adaptation. Gets to the heart of the tragic loss that was World War One. A very good screenplay; beautifully acted; excellent cinematography; powerful score; great attention to period detail and costumes; and, of course, superb direction. Highly recommended.
103330
The story was a great vehicle for talking about all the world changing activities of the early 1900s: WWI, the situation in Ireland, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, as well as the sinking of two passenger liners. The protagonist is a strong woman and well portrayed. Bisutera it bothered me that, for all her independent mindedness, she still needed to have a man in her life.
2494864
This excellent book tells the story of the creation of the idea of commemorating the "unknown soldier" against the backdrop of the personal stories of three of the tens of thousands of missing and presumed dead soldiers (1 British, 1 German and 1 American). The tales of the three young men killed in their prime are told with a good blend of humanity and history.  The impact upon their families (especially in the case of the American airman) is addressed as well.  This is one of the best books on the First World War, capturing some of the history of the war, its beginning and course and much of the human toll the war took in the numbers of killed, maimed and otherwise traumatized by the mechanized killing over four long years.
1081650
This book gives a literate and intimate portrayal of a slice of Civil War history using space-time scales of yards and miles, hours and days. The chosen slice is significant for being a prototype of trench warfare later seen in WW1, but also for the harshness of the terrain and the weather. The perspective alternates impartially from one to the other side of lines. The deliberations and moment-by-moment decisions of the generals are shown colored by their clearly revealed personalities. The emotional vicissitudes of the men, both blue and gray, predicated by the ebb-and-flow in their fortunes of war, are told with compassion. The rendering of battle interludes, battle scenes and their aftermath are both gripping and wrenching, and made more so by being told in the present tense. The author's passionate interest in the area and time, and the evident depth of his research, are matched by his storytelling ability. I found it hard to put the book down.
309427
Okay, this is not a review of the DVD, but the version of this program as it's shown on Netflix. This is a fantastic series about WWI, told through the actual words of people who lived through it, with some additional background info for context. Sometimes the episodes can be hard to watch, as the suffering is not skimmed over (thought it's not exploited for gory effect, either). The design is a bit flashy, but that's probably good for educational purposes, as kids today are used to fast-moving imagery. The production design and acting are top-notch (each character speaks in his or her own language, with voiceovers and subtitles), and the stories at least touch on I think every nationality that was involved in WWI; they don't just focus on Germany, France and England. They also give attention to homefront activities; basically they try to cover every aspect of the war, not just the battles, but the way war touches a variety of lives--people of different occupations, ages and classes--in unexpected ways.
1449716
Descriptive writing captures a period and a place with which most of us are unfamiliar.  Although I didn't like the treatment of the ending, that's the only part of this long journey through WWI with two Australian nurses and their companions with which I took objection.  Well worth a serious read.
2348576
There's a reason this movie was nominated for and won so many awards. Its a must see, especially if you like WWI movies from the human perspective.  Other movies I compare it to and loved as well are "Run, Boy, Run" and "Remember".
3106940
The book describes the Somme campaign up to the end of 1916 through the eyes of German officers and soldiers. Much of the text is apportioned to translations of German firsthand accounts that the author has sifted into a structure framed by his own commentary which provides the background information and supplementary knowledge to complete the picture.  The first hand accounts are impressive in themselves for they have lost none of the vitality in translation by the author, himself a product of the German Staff College, and very much retain the expression and idiom that their German authors would have used.  The eye witnesses record their experiences and events in factual terms which combine humanity with humour in even the darkest moments such as the medical party covering the dead in No Man's Land with quicklime and being sworn at when they accidentally start to cover the men of one of their own patrol parties too.

The chapters lead the reader chronologically through the campaign capturing the mood of the German defenders. The eye witness accounts record the artillery dominance and initial allied air superiority making all movement extremely hazardous and forcing the defenders to live deep underground with the inherent dangers of being buried alive by British delayed fuse 380 mm (15") heavy artillery shells. The German soldiers frustration at being pinned down is expressed in their longing for `Tommy' to attack and the opportunity to return the favour in kind. Despite this underlying tension the accounts reveal that when the two sides did come face to face in capture or injury the prevailing attitude by both sides was one of fair play.

The author sets the eyewitness accounts in the wider context of the strategy of General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, and the changes that were effected after his removal in August 1916.  His policy of not giving up ground was unsustainable and with his replacement, Field Marshal von Hindenburg, came a concept albeit not immediately recognisable as such, of mobile defence. The text is well supported with footnotes and the Appendices contain further useful backgound information including a detailed description of the composition and structure of the German Army in 1914.

This book provides a fascinating insight into the German Army during this fiercely contested campaign and many of the characteristics and qualities of the German Army today are evident in the accounts of the servicemen of that time.  The reader is whisked around the battlefield and installed in a German front row seat at the centre of the action.  Whether historian or current observer, this vivid account is a study of Germans as much as a tribute to the soldiers of the Somme.
754137
The author does an exceptional job of humanizing the characters and describing the situations that these characters lived through.  The reader must be ready to be challenged by the vivid descriptions of war; not just the details of battle but the characters moral journey.
4646058
The author was able to capture the important events of the Second World War in a lucid fashion.  Lovers of history will find this book an interesting and memorable work of art.
4023660
A humanizing look at the consequences of the IRA's controversial approach to Civil Rights. The performances are engrossing and the story unfolds quickly in a non-linear narrative. The story telling is obviously skewed to sympathize with the IRA's cause though not as heavy-handed as in other films.

An excellent companion viewing would be "The Wind that Shakes the Barley".
4209955
During a recent trip to rural France, I was struck by the fact that every town, however small, had a stone memorial to its WWI dead, each with many names enscribed.  There is a reason for that and the reason is clearly explained in this book.  As you read "A World Undone", at first you are struck by the tremendous numbers of dead and wounded in each battle; 27 thousand killed here, 18 thousand there.  The carnage was unbeliveable.

Why did this happen?  The author makes this clear in many ways, sorting out a complex situation and laying out the elements of unspeakable diaster.  If you read one book on WWI, this should be it.

The causes of the conflict have always been obscure and complex, but this book explains the pre-war situation well and the forces, seemingly beyond control, that lead to the unstoppable clash of countries that were more alike each other than they were different.

I do have a few gripes.  The war in the air is given short mention.  The submarine campaign gets more coverage, but not by much.  These two aspects of the war were not key to the outcome, but were important as they led to use of subs and aircraft in WWII, which were decisive.

Another element missing is the motivation of the foot soldiers, who did most of the dying.  What caused them to hurl themselves against impregnable defenses again and again for no gain?

All in all, a very logical, lucid account of a war with was anything but.