Progress of the War (Reading)

The ninth month of the year means ‘tis time to review how my Great War reading is shaping up. The summer has seen not only a terrific book on the Italian-Austrian front (The White War), but at least two books on the naval action, so two-thirds of my target areas have been taken care of. The war in the east is still a dark mystery, but an upcoming read (Collision of Empires) should address that nicely. Little of my reading has come from the possible list I drew up back in January, but  that’s quite all right – so far the year’s best read in this area has been an unexpected one, again The White War.  In the months to come I’ll be reading about the Eastern Front, and taking on The Great War in Modern Memory at the very least.

1. The First World War, John Keegan
2. La Feu (Under Fire), Henri Barbusse
3. The Great War in Modern Memory, Paul Fussell
4. The Great War at Sea, Richard Hough
5. To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War, ed. Vincent O'Hara et al
6. Wipers: A Soldier's Tale from the Great War, Jeff Simmons
7. Forgotten Voices of the Great War, Max Arthur
8. The Eastern Front, Norman Stone
9. Rites of Spring: the Great War  and the Birth of the Modern Age, Modris Eksteins
10. World War 1 Companion, Mathias Strohn, editor.
11. Collision of Empires, Prit Buttar
12. Silent Night,  Stanley Weintraub 

+ Conscience, Louisa Thomas
+  An Ice Cream War, William Boyd
+ The White War,  Mark Thompson
+ Castles of Steel, Robert K. Massie
+ The Red Baron,  Manfred von Richthofen