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Title: To the Last Man: Spring 1918 by Lyn MacDonald ISBN: 0-7867-0797-6 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 30 January, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: To The Last Man is good to the last page
Comment: Springtime in a Europe ravaged by war. On the Western Front the German army launches a massive offensive in the Amiens region of Northern France against the British Army. Lynn MacDonald continues in this tome her oral history of the Great War.
The eyewitness accounts of German, French and German participants in the horrific hell of Spring 1918 make this book a valuable addition to the history of the war. MacDonald has done a beautiful job of reporting on the hellacious sights, smells and utter Dantesque horror of trench warfare. This book would be an excellent addition to anyone's library who is interested in World War I from the perspective of both the common soldier and the generals at GHQ.
This is my first exposure to Macdonald and she has whetted my interest to read more of her work.
Americans are not as familiar with the great battles of World War I as they should be. Macdonald is a good start to begin. After reading the last paragraph I concur with William Sherman who opined that "War is Hell."
As the tragedy of war is unfolded on the pages of this book the reader is drawn into the vortex of the horror that is modern warfare.
Lynn Macdonald is a superb researcher, writer and historian. I recommend this book very highly.
PS-The maps are well drawn and helpful!
Rating: 3
Summary: To the Last Man: Spring 1918 - Lyn MacDonald
Comment: The book had a rather slow and indirect beginning. It didn't really grab me until perhaps toward the end of the first chapter. By then, the author provides more poignant first hand accounts of the German offensive of Spring 1918. Not all of the material before this point seems relevant.
This is admittedly an account from the British perspective with some added interviews and journal entries from German soldiers. An occasional account from the French, Australian or even American perspective is added for good measure. The detailed descriptions of the battle are fleshed out well by the abundant soldier's accounts. I'm sure more use of non-British sources would have created a broader picture of the campaign. However, the book works well within its limits. It is not highly analytical. Instead, it recounts the fortnight's events from the soldier's view. Lyn Macdonald adds clear details of troop movements and maneuvers.
To the common man's perspective, she adds some history of the politics of statesmen and generals. The most unfortunate player in this field is General Gough who, because of Lloyd George, took the fall for the Allies shortcomings. By Ludendorff's admission, his strategy was sound and helped to slow the German advance. Good show for making this point.
The book ends rather abruptly, turning on a brief discussion of the treatment of wounded prisoners. Only a little analysis is offered in the short concluding remarks. The heart of this book is good, but I think as a whole, it could have been better. This piece works best as a supplement to other, more weighty works.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very Engrossing Book
Comment: This book retells it like it was for the men in the trenches back in 1918. The firsthand accounts provide the common soldier's view not commonly found in most history books. Many memorable moments like the counter-attack made by the London-Scottish, and a Colonel Lowry's escape from the Germans during a rainy night. It is a very readable book and shows the futility of the tactics of the time. One of the best history books I've ever purchased.
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Title: Eye-Deep in Hell: Trench Warfare in World War I by John Ellis ISBN: 0801839475 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: September, 1989 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Death's Men: Soldiers of the Great War by Denis Winter ISBN: 0140168222 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: 1915: The Death of Innocence by Lyn MacDonald, Robert Cowley ISBN: 0801864437 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: A Storm in Flanders: The Ypres Salient, 1914-1918: Tragedy and Triumph on the Western Front by Winston Groom ISBN: 0802139981 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914-1918 by Anthony Clayton ISBN: 0304359491 Publisher: Cassell Pub. Date: 28 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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