The No1 Ethical retailer for Books, CD’s, DVD’s & Games
30 Day Refund Guarantee

Somme

Somme

by RichardvanEmden (Author)

  • Used

    Illustrated 2016

    $4.96
Synopsis

The offensive on the Somme took place between July and November 1916 and is perhaps the most iconic battle of the Great War. It was there that Kitchener's famous 'Pals' Battalions were first sent into action en masse and it was a battlefield where many of the dreams and aspirations of a nation, hopeful of victory, were agonizingly dashed. Because of its legendary status, the Somme has been the subject of many books, and many more will come out next year. However, nothing has ever been published on the Battle in which the soldiers' own photographs have been used to illustrate both the campaign's extraordinary comradeship and its carnage.

$4.96

Save:$26.37 (84%)

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
 Pages: 355
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Published: 30 Mar 2016
ISBN 10: 1473855217
ISBN 13: 9781473855212

Media Reviews
As featured in ''Conspiracy' to lure underage boys to war.' --The Sunday Times
Soldiers in the British Army risked severe discipline for taking photographs on the battlefield. This illustrated book for researchers, history buffs, and students offers a detailed impression of the fight for the River Somme in WWI, which was one of the most brutal fronts of the war, through the lenses of ordinary British soldiers with their own contraband cameras. The sepia photos (170 total) are accompanied by excerpts from soldiers' diaries, letters, and memoirs. The first-person recollections are separated by brief introductions and woven into an accessible chronological narrative. The book's introduction contains historical background on the war, plus information on the men's cameras and uses of the photos, which were often sold to journalists or sent to families of the dead and wounded. Through the photos and first-person accounts, the book chronicles events over a period of 20 months, from the year before the offensive began, through the four-month battle, and the four months after the battle. Author Richard van Emden has written 17 books on WWI history --ProtoView
This is a wonderful book, filled with new or rarely-before-seen sepia-tinted photos, many from the soldiers' own private collections. --World War One Illustrated, Summer 2018
Author Bio
RICHARD VAN EMDEN graduated from Newcastle University in 1988, and obtained an MA from Reading University in the following year. After working as a journalist he became a freelance writer and researcher. Having worked on several historically-based television series, he wrote his first book, Tickled to Death to Go which he has followed up with several highly acclaimed and commercially successful titles, including Britain's Last Tommies, Boy Soldiers, The Last Fighting Tommy, The Quick and the Dead, Meeting the Enemy and Tommy's Ark.