world war, 1914-1918

A narrative history of World War I for young readers that features archival photographs, and describes how advanced military weaponry impacted the course of the war.

The young Hungarian artist Bela Zombory-Moldovan was abroad on vacation when World War I broke out in August 1914. Called up by the army, he soon found himself hundreds of miles away, advancing on Russian lines--or perhaps on his own lines--and facing relentless rifle and artillery fire. Badly wounded, he returned to normal life, which now struck him as unspeakably strange. He had witnessed, he realized, the end of a way of life, of a whole world. Recently discovered among private papers and published here for the first time in any language, this reminiscence is a deeply moving addition to the literature of the terrible war that defined the shape of the twentieth century.

When a Serbian-backed assassin gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in late June 1914, the world seemed unmoved. There was nothing to suggest that the episode would lead to conflict, much less a world war of such massive and horrific proportions that it would reshape the course of human events. In fact, World War I might have been avoided entirely had it not been for a small group of statesmen who, in the month after the assassination, plotted to use the murder as the trigger for a long-awaited showdown in Europe. The primary culprits, moreover, have long escaped blame.

Documents the story of the early twentieth-century racecar driver and flying ace, covering such topics as his father's violent death, his physical challenges, his Medal of Honor decoration, and his dramatic postwar experiences.

By Christmas 1914, the wild wave of enthusiasm that had sent men flocking to join up a few months earlier had begun to tail off, and though the Regulars of the original Expeditionary Force had suffered 90 percent casualties, most, particularly the soldiers themselves, still believed that 1915 would see the breaking of the deadlock. Their hopes were shattered on the bloody battlefields at Neuve Chappelle, at Ypres, at Loos, and far away on the shores of Gallipoli. Generals failed to understand the importance of heavy howitzers and machine guns, convinced that wars were won by the cavalry. They could not imagine a war in which hundreds of advancing troops could be wiped out in minutes by machine-gun fire. As disillusionment began to set in and grim resolve replaced easy optimism, innocence was among the casualties in the trenches that ran through the Flanders swamps. The story of 1915 is stark, brutal, frank, sometimes painfully funny, always human. Above all it is history from the ground up, told from the point of view of the men themselves. The writer collected firsthand accounts of the experiences of ordinary soldiers, through diaries, letters and interviews with survivors--and it is the dogged heroism and sardonic humor of the soldiers that shine through the pages.

Presents a collection of poems, songs, and narratives composed by soldiers during World War I, accompanied by illustrations done by modern day graphic artists and cartoonists.

Edward Simpson, having developed a love of flying while helping his uncle build airplanes, heads to England to join the Royal Flying Corps. While defending his country in France during the First World War, he finds his friendships and beliefs tested.

Describes the World War I poets Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and others who used poetry to explain their experiences in the war.

A collection of critical essays about Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms.".