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Loading... November, 1918: The Last Act of the Great Warby Gordon Brook-Shepherd
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The title is slighly misleading, as this account begins in the late summer and ends on November 11, when the Armistice was declared. I would have liked the book to cover more of that month, so I could find out more about how the citizens (and armies) of Europe began to adjust to all of the momentous changes that had so suddenly come upon their world. However, a great deal of my curiotity about these changes derives from how vividly and clearly they had been described in this intense book. ( ) no reviews | add a review
The account of the Great War portrayed in this book spans the last hundred days of the conflict; from the surprise blow struck by the British at Amiens on 8 August, down to the signing of the Armistice which ended the war three months later. For the first time all of the sub-plots in the story are given their proper weight, as we see Germany's allies being knocked out one by one. The triumphs and tragedies are told in the words of the witnesses themselves, humble and mighty. Mr Brook-Shepherd's original eye-witness sources range from the eighty-nine-year-old former Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary (the last surviving member of Europe's old ruling order), to private soldiers who fought on both sides of the barbed wire. In describing the death of Old Europe and the suicide of the Empires, the author provides a far-reaching overview of the new world order that dawned in November 1918. The result is a panorama rich in colour and human interest which provides a background to the events of that year; an essential lesson for readers even today. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.4History and Geography Europe Europe Military History Of World War ILC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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