The image of the innocent British soldier (or Tommy) setting off with a spring in his step in 1914 to fight the Great War would not last long.Indeed that initial euphoria would soon give way to a deep-seated bitterness as these young men endured the horror of the First World War.In a new edition of this extraordinary book, the uncensored letters, diaries, documents and many photographs tell the story of the British soldier (nicknamed Tommy) in their own words.While there are flashes of their wit and humour, the overwhelming feeling is that of a generation who felt let down by their superiors and left to perish.There are visceral, terrifying insights into life in the trenches and agonising descriptions of the squalor and privations of war.This haunting account also looks at the aggressive drive to recruit more soldiers through the Pals Battalion or Chums Battalion. Friends from the same town or village; professional bodies, or work colleagues among others were encouraged to enlist en masse. They would fight together alongside their friends or colleagues. Many of them would sadly die together and leave communities wild with grief for a lost generation, robbed of a future having barely had a past.With a concise analysis of the British Army in the First World War, we are reminded of the terror of war, the fury, the fear and the frustration of what has been described by some as a war typified by the devastating assessment: lions led by donkeys.

Escaping certain death—not once but several times—lies at the core of the riveting, real-life story of an American soldier during World War II. In One Man's War: The WWII Saga of Tommy LaMore, a B-17 pilot vividly details his experiences in war-ravaged Germany, from the horrific to the romantic and beyond. LaMore's saga began when his plane collided with another B-17 above France and went down. He then entered the French Resistance, where he employed his knowledge of explosives to bomb German operations. After an informant turned him in, he faced a death sentence and was sent to a Polish death camp. LaMore endured the camp's gruesome conditions and eventually escaped, just days before the Germans machine-gunned every man in the camp. LaMore's love story unfolds as he describes liberating a women's slave labor camp and instantly falling in love with one of the detainees. LaMore chopped off her hair, dressed her like a man, and freed her from the camp. After just three days together, the couple agreed to marry once Rosa checked on her family's well being in Poland. They jumped separate trains and never saw each other again. Years later, LaMore learned that Rosa had become a freedom fighter against the Communists and had been executed. Intrigue, passion, and loss imbue LaMore's fascinating tale and make One Man's War a compelling read not only for history aficionados and WWII scholars but also for those who are fascinated by the bittersweet nature of love in times of war.

Examines the day-to-day life and experiences of the typical American soldier during World War II. Includes a glossary of terms and a brief chronology of the major campaigns of the war.

Shares excerpts from the personal diaries and photographs of British soldiers to depict the daily life of a Tommy in the trenches between 1914 and 1918.

The First World War has left an almost indelible mark on history, with battles such as the Somme and Passchendaele becoming watchwords for suffering unsurpassed. The dreadful fighting on the Western Front, and elsewhere in the world, remains vivid in the public imagination. Over the years dozens of books have been published dealing with the soldier's experience, the military history and the weapons and vehicles of the war, but there has been little devoted to the objects associated with those hard years in the trenches. This book (new in paperback) redresses that balance. With hundreds of carefully captioned photographs of items that would have been part of the everyday life for the British Tommy; from recruiting posters, uniforms and entrenching equipment to games, postcards and pieces of 'trench art', this book brings to life the experience of the Great War soldier through the objects with which he would have been surrounded.

Between 1916 and 1918, Lance-Corporal George Timmins, a British-born soldier who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote faithfully to his wife and children. Sixty-three letters and four fragments survived. These letters tell the compelling story of a man who, while helping his fellow Canadians make history, used letters home to remain a presence in the lives of his wife and children, and who drew strength from his family to appreciate life's simple pleasures. Timmins's letters offer a rare glimpse into the experiences relationships, and quiet heroism, of ordinary soldiers on the Western Front.

In the early days of the First World War two volunteer Pals Battalions were raised in Bradford and this is their remarkable story. David Raw's account is based on memoirs, letters, diaries, contemporary newspaper reports, official records and archives, and it is illustrated with many maps and previously unpublished photographs. He recaptures the heroism and stoical humour displayed by the Bradford Pals in the face of often terrible experiences, but he also recounts the tragedy, pain, suffering and grief that was the dark side of war.

The most popular mystery writer of all time concocted a rich recipe of intrigue, character, and setting. All of Agatha Christie's 66 detective novels are covered here in great detail. Each chapter begins with general comments on a novel's geographical and historical setting, identifying current events, fashions, fads and popular interests that relate to the story. A concise plot summary and comprehensive character listing follow, and each novel is discussed within Christie's overall body of work, with an emphasis on the development of themes, narrative technique, and characters over the course of her prolific career. An appendix translates Poirot's French and defines the British idiomatic words and phrases that give Christie's novels so much of their flavor.