Engraved shell-cases, bullet-crucifixes, letter openers and cigarette lighters made of shrapnel and cartridges, miniature airplanes and tanks, talismanic jewelry, embroidery, objects carved from stone, bone and wood - all of these things are trench art, the misleading name given to the dazzling array of objects made from the waste of war, in particular the Great War of 1914-1918 and the inter-war years. And they are the subject of Nicholas Saunders's pioneering study which is now republished in a revised edition in paperback. He reveals the lost world of trench art, for every piece relates to the story of the momentous experience of its maker - whether front-line soldier, prisoner of war, or civilian refugee. The objects resonate with the alternating terror and boredom of war, and those created by the prisoners symbolize their struggle for survival in the camps. Many of these items were poignant souvenirs bought by battlefield pilgrims between 1919 and 1939 and kept brightly polished on mantelpieces, often for a lifetime. Nicholas Saunders investigates their origins and how they were made, exploring their personal meaning and cultural significance. He also offers an important categorization of types which will be a useful guide for collectors.

Trench art is the evocative name given to a dazzling array of objects made from the waste of industrialized war. Each object, whether an engraved shell case, cigarette lighter or a pen made from shrapnel, tells a unique and moving story about its maker. For the first time, this book explores in-depth the history and cultural importance behind these ambiguous art forms. Not only do they symbolize human responses to the atrocities of war, but they also act as mediators between soldiers and civilians, individuals and industrial society, and, most importantly, between the living and the dead. Trench art resonates most obviously with the terror of endless bombardment, night raids, gas attacks and the bestial nature of trench life. It grew in popularity between 1919 and 1939 when the bereaved embarked on battlefield pilgrimages and returned with objects intended to keep alive the memory of loved ones. The term trench art is, however, misleading, as it does not simply refer to materials found in the trenches. It describes a diverse range of objects that have in some way emerged from the experience of war all over the world. Many distinctive objects, for example, were made during conflicts in Bosnia, Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Korea. Surprisingly, trench art predates World War I and it can be made in a number of earlier wars such as the Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the Boer War. Saunders looks at the broader issues of what is meant by trench art, what it was before the trenches and how it fits in with other art movements, as well as the specific materials used in making it. He suggests that it can be seen as a bridge between the nineteenth century certainties and the fragmented industrialized values and ideals of the modern world. This long overdue study offers an original and informative look at one of the most arresting forms of art. Spanning from 1800 to the present day, its analysis of art, human experience, and warfare will pave the way for new research.

A look at the items crafted by soldiers, prisoners, and civilians from war waste and other items during World War I and the years leading to World War II. Engraved shell-cases, bullet-crucifixes, letter openers and cigarette lighters made of shrapnel and cartridges, miniature airplanes and tanks, talismanic jewelry, embroidery, objects carved from stone, bone and wood—all of these things are trench art, the misleading name given to the dazzling array of objects made from the waste of war, in particular the Great War of 1914-1918 and the inter-war years. And they are now the subject of Nicholas Saunders’s pioneering study. Saunders reveals the lost world of trench art, for every piece relates to the story of the momentous experience of its maker—whether front-line soldier, prisoner of war, or civilian refugee. The objects resonate with the alternating terror and boredom of war, and those created by the prisoners symbolize their struggle for survival in the camps. Many of these items were poignant souvenirs bought by battlefield pilgrims between 1919 and 1939 and kept brightly polished on mantelpieces, often for a lifetime. Nicholas Saunders investigates their origins and how they were made, exploring their personal meaning and cultural significance. He also offers an important categorization of types which will be a useful guide for collectors. Praise for Trench Art “The array of art created from a combination of terror and boredom is astonishing. Nicholas writes knowledgeably and movingly on his subjects, and the photos and layout are first class.” —Steve Earles, Hellbound.ca

Trench art is the evocative but misleading name given to a dazzling array of objects associated mainly with the First World War and the inter-war years (191439). Many items are recycled battlefield debris, notably artillery shell cases, often decorated with Art Nouveau motifs. Other objects, made from bullets and shrapnel, include letter-openers, cigarette lighters, enigmatic crucifixes, and artful miniature aeroplanes and tanks. Equally ingenious are talismanic and 'sweetheart' jewellery, embroideries, and items carved from stone, bone and wood. This book describes the different types of trench art, the techniques used to make them, and their historical and personal values to the soldiers, prisoners-of-war and families who made and bought them. Long ignored, trench art reveals a lost world of the Great War and its aftermath.

Since ancient times, wars have inspired artists and their patrons to commemorate victories. When the United States finally entered World War I, American artists and illustrators were commissioned to paint and draw it. These artists’ commissions, however, were as captains for their patron: the US Army. The eight men—William J. Aylward, Walter J. Duncan, Harvey T. Dunn, George M. Harding, Wallace Morgan, Ernest C. Peixotto, J. Andre Smith, and Harry E. Townsent—arrived in France early in 1918 with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Alfred Emile Cornebise presents here the first comprehensive account of the US Army art program in World War I. The AEF artists saw their role as one of preserving images of the entire aspect of American involvement in a way that photography could not.

"Trench art" is a highly evocative term conjuring up the image of a mud-spattered soldier in a soggy trench hammering out a souvenir for a loved one at home while dodging bullets and artillery shells. This is an appealing but very false conception of the reality of this art form. A few types of trench art could be made easily in a trench during lulls in the fighting, but the hammering involved in making many trench art pieces would have been greeted with unwelcome hostile fire from the enemy. Trench art items made during wars were in fact created at a distance from the front line trenches either by soldiers "at rest" behind the front lines, by skilled artisans among the civilian population, by prisoners of war, or by soldiers.

"There was no way to anticipate the horrors of the holocaust that awaited us on the Dog Green Sector." --Dr. Harold Baumgarten It was the bravery and heroism of the 116th Infantry that began one of the longest days of combat in American war history. In the face of heavy fire and despite suffering the loss of eight hundred men and officers, the 116th Infantry overcame beach obstacles, took the enemy-defended positions along the beach and cliffs, pushed through the mined area, and continued inshore to successfully accomplish their objective. Dr. Harold Baumgarten, a multidecorated survivor, gives his eyewitness account of the first wave landing of the 116th Infantry on D-Day, June 6, 1944. As the spokesman for soldiers who perished on the sand and bloody red waters of the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach, it is his mission to make sure these men are never forgotten.

Two marines share their experiences of serving in Afghanistan and dealing with the shock of returning home to civil society. The Marines of First Battalion, Ninth Marines earned their macabre moniker “The Walking Dead” in the Vietnam War. Into Helmand with the Walking Dead follows the experiences of two Marine infantrymen from 1/9 fighting in Afghanistan. Following the 11 September attacks in 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom catalyzed the longest war in United States history. The lives of thousands of Afghans, Americans, and many others were forever altered due to the ensuing war. The book is a brutally honest portrayal of life and death in the Marine infantry both at war in Afghanistan and upon returning to the home front, where issues of reintegration and suicide become a reality. This is the tale of the young Americans who became infantrymen and conducted America’s foreign policy in its most ruthless and straightforward manner. But war, in and of itself, is only playing a small part. The culture and environment from which they reentered civil society would leave them uncertain, and confused as to the cataclysm they had just left. This book is a testimony to their experience and the legacy of war on their generation.

Inspired from assorted first-hand accounts, this fictional story of World War I is an anthropomorphic retelling of that global conflict and the soldiers who experienced the horrors of the front lines and high seas. While horse drawn carts and trains were ordinary sights, automobiles, tanks, submarines, and airplanes made their wartime debuts alongside machine guns, poison gas, and flame throwers. While the nightmares of World War I and the aftermath are sometimes forgotten, this book asks the reader to look again and remember the dead, and to weigh their number against those who would choose war. Conceived as a long, continuous camera pan through the trenches and beyond, the reader is soon buried in mud, corpses, and ruin, emerging on the other side with blurred recollections of lost comrades and a nagging sense of pointless destruction. Ian Densford's graphic watercolors paired with a spattering of onomatopoeic utterings create an unforgiving tale of the "war to end all wars."