Customer Reviews:
 Simply the Best August 11, 2008
Got this book at xmas,and already have read it twice.An incredible book,the best on the 1st world war i have read.It gets into the minds of the generals,as well as the ordinary tommies.If you like first war,buy this book!!
Ypres As It Really Was. March 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Despite the obvious allure and importance of the panoramic images in this book, it is the text, not the pictures, that bring Ypres alive. The author cleverly intertwines the images with a detailed but rarely dull account of the development of this front. A particularly poignant and effective element is the liberal inclusion of letters from ordinary soldiers in the field. Many of these are very powerful, often sad, and sometimes surprisingly positive in the light of overwhelming adversity. An incredible sense of politeness, consideration for those at home, and stoicism is present in those letters, despite the littering of corpses around those fighting.
My grandfather fought here, and his brother was shot right next to him in a dash across no-man's land. I felt I had a very real, and much more complete impression of what it felt like to be stuck in those trenches for months and years on end. A week commonly saw over 3 million shells thrown by the British side alone, and one can only stand in awe at the psychological tenacity of the soldiers. Because the soldiers' letters actually relate to the day being described in the story of the battles, you don't have to make it up - they tell you what was going through their minds that very day. The text also refreshingly looks at the soldiers as feeling humans, rather than just 'resources' of a battle as has been common in the glorify-war days past.
So, great images, but the text is even better. A real must-have.
Well worth it. January 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Based on the good reviews, I bought this book. I am not disappointed, the book is a very good production. The unfolding of the events well told in the form of pictures, maps, dialogue and personal accounts. Highly recommend.
top quality August 14, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
This is yet another great example of Peter Bartons work, there has been a great deal of time and research put into this book, there are some fantastic panoramic views of the salient, along with quite a few unseen photographs, complemented with a great narrative.
I would highly reccomend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject of the great war.
A superb history book July 25, 2007
50 out of 50 found this review helpful
I have a large collection of WWI books, including Peter Barton's previous two volumes that looked at panoramas of the Somme and panoramas of the Western Front. I was therefore surprised to find that this is not only is the best book of the series so far, but by far the best WWI book I have ever bought.
The book concentrates on the third battle of Ypres, commonly known as the battle of Passchendaele, which was fought in the summer and autumn of 1917. It has become a by-word for mud, death and suffering and is a highly emotive subject even today.
Although the book mainly looks at the third battle of Ypres, room is given to the first and second battles, giving the reader a feeling for how the later conflict developed. Peter Barton is also very even-handed in his approach, challenging the myths that have grown up around Passchendaele and putting the battle into a contemporary context.
However, it is in the maps, photographs and illustrations that this book excels. I was amazed by some of the aerial shots taken during the battle, which show a cratered, lunar landscape littered with the living and dead alike. Two pictures stand out for me. On page 264 the aerial shot of a lone British tank trekking across a "crater field" is haunting. This is matched by the horror of the photograph entitled "English Field of Death" on page 437. This German aerial photograph shows a muddy, blasted landscape typical of the latter stages of the battle. On closer inspection you become aware of tiny figures lying scattered around - all victims of this terrible conflict. In addition to the many photographs that have never been published before, the maps included show the objectives that the much maligned generals sought to achieve, whilst the "trench photographs" give an ordinary soldier's view of the battle.
I cannot rate this book highly enough. If you are at all interested in WWI you must add it to your collection.
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