Forgotten Voices Of The Great War: Amazon.co.uk: Max Arthur: Books

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Max Arthur's compilation of First World War memories, Forgotten Voices of the Great War, offers a reminder of the scale of human experience within the 1914-18 conflict. Arthur, a military historian best known for his history of the RAF and his account of the Falklands campaign in 1982, has assembled hundreds of excerpts from the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum. Officers, rank-and-file troops, Australians, Americans, war widows, women in the munitions factories, and German soldiers too, all left oral testimony of their experiences, and these interviews provide the basis of the book. Arthur has put them in chronological and campaign order, and provided a general commentary, but beyond that, has left the rich and moving record to speak for itself.

The sheer humdrum ordinariness of modern warfare--the mud and rain, the relentless loss of life and inevitability of death, the pointless routine of attrition--come over in the matter-of-fact recollections of so many. But so too does the humanity and morality of the ordinary soldier--a factor that rather belies the recent emphasis amongst some historians on how soldiers loved to kill. Arthur might have intruded more. No biographical information is given about the owners of these "voices", nor does he say when, where and how this oral testimony was gathered.

These quibbles aside this is a worthwhile read and should encourage people not only to observe a minute's silence on Remembrance Day, but also to spend a few hours in the Imperial War Museum itself. --Miles Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Very few men are still alive who fought in the trenches in the First World War. The words of the soldiers, however, are as fresh as if they were written yesterday...extraordinary."--Deborrah Moggach, "The "(London) "Mail on Sunday"
"These stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating."--Andrew Motion, "The Times" (London)
"This book really shows what it was like for us on the Western Front. It is remarkable. It really captures our voices, our spirit, and our memories."--Albert "Smiler" Marshall, Essex Yeomanry & Machine Gun Corps, 1915-1918
"Gripping and poignant."--"Daily Mail" (London)
"A compelling account of a world not to be forgotten."--"Despatches"
"The testimonies are vivid and many are compelling. They are gruesome and dark in places, with no holds barred when it comes to describing wounds and horrors at the front ... everyone who loves oral history will enjoy the often harrowing accounts contained in this book."--"History Today"
"This book is not just a particular, compelling and important record, it is in its own way as fine a memorial as the memorials in towns and villages to all those who never returned to their own country, and a reminder to future generations of the real horrors of trench warfare."--"Nautical Magazine"
"An impressive anthology of eye-witness expweiences which does not short-change us on the horror and filth, the pity and terror of that dreadful conflict."--"The Herald" (Glasgow)
"Tailor-made for classroom use as well as maximum impact on the general reader."--"TES, "Book of the Week
"'Oral history'--older people being encouraged to tape their memories--has opened up vast new vistas of social, political, and military research. Just look at the historian Max Arthur's fantastic new book, "Forgotten Voices of the Great War." It draws on the Imperial War Museum's sound archives to chronicle the First World War as it has never been chronicled before: through the vivid recollections of the poor blokes in the trenches."--Richard Morrison, "The Times "(London)

""Forgotten Voices" ... is a collection of transcribed interviews with survivors of the war. 'Ordinary men and women, ' the blurb calls them. 'Extraordinary' is more like it."--"The Times Books"
"An extraordinary and immensely moving book."--Stephen Fry

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76 of 76 people found the following review helpful

Forgotten Voices of the Great War 24 Nov 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is a remarkable work. Max Arthur has distilled hundreds of hours of interviews into small pieces which he then assembles in to a patchwork gradually forming a picture of the Great War. No knowledge of the details of the war are needed; this is a view from ordinary people from all sides, including women of the Land Army and medical staff.
The voices are of their time which adds to the sense of authority. These men are confused, weighed down, horrified, but they keep their feelings very much to themselves, if indeed they actually allow themselves the luxury of feeling. It describes a world of chaos, mud and endless discomfort, poor sleep, infection and yet this becomes their home, somehow preferable to being back in England. Their are tales of heroism, but none of the voices see themselves as heroes.
This book is in the great tradition of oral history, and has now been written so future generations can gain a glimpse through the words of those who were there.

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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful

White Feather 8 Jan 2004

By d f gardner

Format:Paperback

"Almost the last white feather I recieved": thus one of the contributers remembers two women on a bus; one of whom gave him a white feather. He had returned from the front and was sat in civies. "For a brave soldier" said the woman who handed him the feather. Cleaning his pipe with it he handed the feather back. Those who took part in this conflict came home, tongue-tied; wanting to get back to the real reality with their mates at the front. They had no words for the folks back home. The folks back home were being served with patriotic post cards and the exploits of the cross-eyed pin-up Kitchener. So many mistakes are made by the ignorant and unwitting. This book seeks to help us to understand the mistakes made by all in the propogation and sustation of this dreadful conflict. If you you are just beginning to research this subject 'The GreatWar'. This is where you you must begin your studies.

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful

Such a poignant book. 26 May 2003

By Richard

I've read many, many books on the First World War. I can't remember ever reading one that moved me so much though. The voices of those who fought really comes through in this book.
This book will make you appreciate the thoughts and feelings of those who fought in World War One.
The feelings of those forced to participate in firing squads for example,is something few books have dealt with so poignantly. One of the voices tells of his disgust at witnessing a friend shot as a deserter when he had volunteered for action in the first place and had fought bravely throughout. One moment of fear and madness was enough to bring a court martial and death sentence.
The voice continues to tell how the victim's parents were never told the truth, and never got to know that an English bullet had ended their son's life. In a sick ironic twist, the devastated father's response was to join up himself as he felt he had to avenge his son's death at the hands of the Germans.
There are countless examples like this in the book-tragic episodes that would otherwise have gone to the grave with the few soldiers aware of them.
I can't imagine anyone not being able to gain some insight or degree of empathy from reading this book.