- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Constable; illustrated edition edition (27 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841197459
- ISBN-13: 978-1841197456
- Product Dimensions: 31.6 x 25.6 x 4.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
671,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #86 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Holmes, Richard
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Review
"A review of this book does not do it justice. It simply has to be seen to be truly appreciated. This entire book is highly informative and should be considered by all with an interest in this area." -Timothy Baghurst, "The Traveler"
Lyn Macdonald author of 1914 and To The Last Man
'The book is a magnificent effort and most impressive - one could almost say unique'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book a few weeks ago and upon receipt wanted to write a review there and then – it looked that good! Having just finished it I can now comment. What can I say about this wonderful book that hasn’t been covered before in the professional reviews given by acknowledged experts?
Well, I can only give my opinion on what I have seen. I have been studying the western front for over ten years now and have made numerous visits to the battlefields. This book shows them in a completely different light and is revelatory in the utmost. Where many people would imagine there was a sea of mud and shell holes, there are church spires, fields of flowers and often little to show that ‘the war to end all wars’ is going on. Also, to see how the ‘front line’ itself varied through the different geographical and geological areas it passed through from the North Sea down to the Somme is fascinating. Some areas had trenches, some breastworks – it all depended on the ground conditions and water table.
What jumped out at me most in reading this book was how different parts of the front varied from each other. There was always fighting in and around the Ypres salient, yet just a few miles away there was a ‘live and let live’ policy and to read of one officer being so bored with his trench duty that he made a garden in the front line trenches and also hopped on his bicycle and cycled down to view the aftermath of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle was enlightening to say the least!
The vast amount of personal testimony, diaries and letters in this book add immeasurably to the work and provide an explanation to the backdrop of the panoramas. The work involved in cataloguing these panoramas is prodigious (8 years!) and coupled with the 370+ pages of writing, explaining everything you can see and what it was used for you certainly get an incredible amount of information by the author.
The two CD-ROMs containing over 200 panoramas work fantastically and it is such a pleasure to be able to zoom in on images, previously unseen to this generation, and get some idea of what the men who fought and died in these areas could see.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. For those interested in the Great War it is a must buy. You don’t even have to be an expert to appreciate the detail and attention that has gone into this work. Anyone could pick it up and read bits that would amaze them. Simply incredible, SO rewarding and without doubt the best new book I have seen on the Great War in the past few years. £35 for this – a total bargain.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As an amateur WW1 historian and battlefield visitor of more than 25 years standing I cannot enthuse too much about this book. Just when you think that nothing new can be written or printed about WW1 Peter Barton comes along with this masterpiece. Buy it read it and re-read it! The CD-ROMs are also excellent and offer many hours of browsing. In fact the book should come with a warning - "This book is totally addictive and your TV set will become instantly obsolete!"
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Actually I didn't buy it - it was a Christmas present, but having read it I would recommend it to anyone. I wanted it for the pictures of the front where my grandfather served. But in fact it is an extremely well-written, very readable account of the war from a different perspective than most. Rather than being chronological this is geographical, following the battlefields from north to south. Consequently you find out about sections of the front that are often not mentioned in most histories. And the panoramas are simply superb! Truly excellent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Absolutely Incredible
When I was invited to review this book I had only read a small portion of this amazing book. I can say that the general text is of course very informative and extremely well... Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2009 by J. Kirkham
First rate
As a first world war enthusiast and regular Battlefield visitor,and having read countless good and bad books on the subject i cannot rate this book highly enough,Peter Barton has... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2007 by Martin Clark
Fantastic book but CD-ROMs are not Mac compatible
I bought this book after reading the glowing reviews in Amazon, and can only agree it contains a wealth of information in well presented text, diagrams and photographs and is well... Read more
Published on 15 July 2007 by drbigalt
A must book
Whatever one learns of the Great War always seems to contridict what has been learnt before. What this book supplies is the missing link. The battlefeilds as they were. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2007 by Tony B
Cannot be devoured at one sitting
This masterpiece of research should form part of every WW1 student's library. Cannot be devoured at one sitting, best sampled in bite-sized portions, ideally at a large table with... Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2006 by Mr. Michael Metherell
An outstanding reference book for WW1
There is so much information in this book it often defies the reader to take too much on board. Sometimes the photos/dialogue struggle to join together but this is a must have... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2006 by Guy
What the soldier saw
A marvellous compendium of panoramas and photographs from both sides. The view from the trenches as seen by military observers. Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2005 by Tam
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