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Mud, Blood and Poppycock: Britain and the First World War (Cassell military trade books)

Mud, Blood and Poppycock: Britain and the First World War (Cassell military trade books)

by Gordon Corrigan (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2003

    $11.93
Synopsis

The popular view of the First World War remains that of 'Blackadder': incompetent generals sending our soldiers to their deaths. Alan Clark quoted a German general's remark that the British soldiers were 'lions led by donkeys'. But he made it up. Indeed, many established 'facts' about 1914-18 turn out to be myths woven in the 1960s by young historians on the make. Gordon Corrigan's brilliant, witty new history reveals how out of touch we have become with the events of 1914-18. First, he shows how necessary our commitment was, contrary to Niall Ferguson's THE PITY OF WAR. He reveals that the British embraced technology more quickly and more effectively than the Germans, no more so than in our adoption of the tank. And his depiction of the army at war rests on his own life-long career as an infantry officer.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 431
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Cassell
Published: 10 Jul 2003
ISBN 10: 0304359556
ISBN 13: 9780304359554
Book Overview: Very readable and laced with dry humour Reveals why and how the British Army defeated the Germans Punctures the 'Blackadder' mythology of British incompetence

Media Reviews
'... convincing and highly revisionist... Myth after myth about [the generals] collapses before Corrigan's minute and wittily presented research... Corrigan peppers his book with statements that read outrageously at first but which he then backs up with devastating statistics ... This punchy book does not go over the top.' -- Andrew Roberts MAIL ON SUNDAY 28/9/03 'This fine revisionist book on the First World War amounts to a frontal bayonet charge on a well dug-in enemy, with no quarter given. The title 'Mud[...etc]' gives a hefty hint as to the book's content: a highly effective rebuttal of the Lions led by Donkeys school... Corrigan is a combative, persuasive and very readable historian.' -- Gary Sheffield THE INDEPENDENT (2/8/03) 'Gordon Corrigan has set out to expose this popular view, or myth as quite simply not in accordance with fact. To this task he brings a mass of evidence coupled with an ability to write clear, crisp, highly readable narrative... MUD(etc) should be in every school library - and studied with an open mind by all who teach the young about the Great War.' -- Correlli Barnett DAILY MAIL (18/7/03) '..this is no mere hagiography or turgid, blow-by-blow account of battles which, frankly often seem repetitive. Corrigan's book is a fascinating read because he sets it up as a trial by jury. Each chapter (and they can be read in what order you please) takes a specific 'myth' of the Great War and subjects it to a test of evidence. The result - even if you want to disagree with Corrigan's overall thesis - is gripping.' -- George Kerevan THE SCOTSMAN (19/7/03) 'Corrigan has fashioned a pugnatious case, stripping away many of the misunderstandings and falsehoods that have settled as if they were established truths in the popular imagination.' -- Graham Stewart THE SPECTATOR (9/8/03) 'The generals were all incompetent buffoons who didn't care who they sent to their death. That's the accepted view of British leadership in WW1. Not so says Gordon Corrigan in his revisionist account of the war.' LIVING HISTORY (Aug 03) 'Any historical novelist planning a novel about the First World War who doesn't buy this book deserves Field Punishment Number One.' HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW (AUG 03) 'It is hard to quarrel with arguments so clearly and rationally presented, arguments well sustained by detailed evidence from official records... The seriousness of the author's theme is, however, pleasantly lightened by shafts of humour and the inclusion of amusing asides... This readable yet scholarly book will provoke discussion but may have come too late to change received opinion of the Great War.' SOLDIER (lead review) Aug 03 'Corrigan's depiction of the army grounded in his own experience. A fascinating and refreshingly different book.' THE ARMOURER (Sept/Oct 03) 'This is a welcome addition to the revisionist view of World War One. Corrigan tackles head on the myths propounded by author such as Alan Clark... he produces a more balance view of the events of 1914-18... A good argumentative tone is struck thoughout the book.' MILITARY ILLUSTRATED (Oct 2003) 'Gordon Corrigan's Mud Blood and Poppycock offers a witty and revisionist history of Britain and the Great War.' HISTORY TODAY (November 03)
Author Bio
The author was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1962 and retired from the Brigade of Gurkhas in 1998. He is a member of the British Commission for Military History and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. Gordon Corrigan presented C5's WEAPONS OF WAR series on TV.