world war one

Will Bird was working on a farm in Canada in 1915 when the ghost of his brother Stephen, killed by German mines in France, appeared to him in uniform. Rattled, Will rushed home to Novia Scotia and enlisted in the army to take his dead brother's place. He spent two years in the trenches of the Western Front. First published in 1930, Bird's account of the war was hailed as the most authentic account of the war experience at that time. Written in part as a reaction to anti-war novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front, which portrayed the soldier as course-minded, profane, and drinking alcohol to find courage, this book may have influenced Canadian authors such as Robertson Davies and Timothy Findley. Will Bird became a prolific author of history, travel writing, and fiction and is best known for his books on World War I and on the history of Nova Scotia.

Shows that the war, once it began, did not just become an unstoppable machine but that politicians deliberately took risks that led to war in July 1914. Far from being overwhelmed, political leaders on both sides remained very much in control of events throughout. The disturbing reality is that the course of World War I was the result of conscious choices---including the continued acceptance of astronomical casualties.

An overview of the causes, battles, and impact of World War I, the "War to End All Wars.".