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Great Britain's Great War (2000)

by Jeremy Paxman(Favorite Author)

4.17 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

review 1: Having never really been a fan of Jeremy Paxman's previous work it was with some trepidation that I decided to pick this book up, but I'm glad I did. He covers the key aspects of the Great War in just enough detail for the more knowledgeable reader without putting off someone with little previous interest in the subject, a fine balance. Most importantly for me where other books falter by discussing the war in the context of 1914-18 failing to acknowledge the impact in its aftermath, Paxman does continually refer to the wars lasting impact.For anyone with the slightest interest in the Great War I would definitely recommend this book
review 2: I adore Jeremy Paxman for the same reason that many loathe him - I find his smug arrogance rather refreshing, and delight... more in his occasional bursts of wry humour. This book has the latter quality in abundance (perhaps surprisingly, considering the grim topic at hand), which makes for a delightfully engaging read. I adore the little "Paxmanian" touches scattered throughout the book, for example, his description of the Entente Cordiale resulting in "The grandest diplomatic hoop-la...with much doffing of unusual hats," and the poem he chose to include about "that shit Schute" made me laugh aloud. I also loved his tongue-in-cheek photo captions, though I do wish there could have been an additional photo section in the middle (mainly because he kept describing various handsome officers who I wanted to see for myself, but I did look them up after, and I must concur that Rupert Brooke was a fine looking lad (Siegfried Sassoon, not so much)). The book does contain much of the same content as his rather excellent BBC series, which I also very much enjoyed, though the book gives him a chance to flesh out the more interesting stories, and give some additional insight into the personalities of the main generals. I'm not normally much for military history, preferring social history covering the period of the war, but Paxman managed to blend the two together in a way that successfully held my attention. It's probably a bit basic for serious military scholars, but for someone wanting to learn more about the motivations and mind-set behind the Great War, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it. less

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