First World War

Upon his arrival in France in February of 1917, twenty-one-year-old Lieut. Warren Skey purchased a small Au Jour le Jour to record his day-to-day experiences as a gunner, who packed ammunition, loaded on horses, to the guns at the front. He was serving with the 48th Howitzer Battery of the 2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery during World War One. Almost a hundred years later author Marianne Goodfellow would discover her great-uncle Warren's wartime diary forgotten among some family memorabilia-and so she set out to read it.Exhaustively researched, richly supplemented with visual documentation, and sensitively written, Horses, Howitzers, and Hymns tells of the courage and the suffering of the men and horses of an artillery brigade. But it is also the remarkable personal story of one young man and his family-Warren's father, the Reverend Skey, served in France as a military chaplain during the last year of the war-and their abiding ties to St. Anne's Anglican Church in Toronto. And it is, above all, the story of the author's deeply felt connection to the great-uncle she never knew:I like to think of him now, not with his fellow lieutenant or signaller shot dead beside him, but rather, riding his horse over the French countryside in springtime or hearing those hymns on church parades that reminded him of home.Lieut. Skey was awarded the Military Cross for his rescue of wounded men and horses at Passchendaele. Both Warren and his father returned home safely after the war.

'Eine brillante Biographie.' Die ZEIT'Liest sich wie ein Roman. Churchill entsteigt den Seiten wie in einem guten Spielfilm. Dazu trägt die Tatsache bei, dass die Historikerin mehrere Jahre in Großbritannien gelebt hat und die Engländer mit ihren Besonderheiten bis hin zur Schrulligkeit mag. Diese Sympathie für die Briten geht aber nie auf Kosten der kritischen Distanz!' Neue Zürcher Zeitung'Franziska Augstein hat eine glänzende neue Biographie geschrieben.' Denis Scheck

Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925) zählt als SPD-Vorsitzender von 1913 bis 1919, als Wegbereiter in die Demokratie 1918/19 und als erster Reichspräsident von 1919 bis zu seinem frühen Tod 1925 zu den herausragenden Persönlichkeiten der deutschen Demokratiegeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Er prägte die Politik seiner Zeit, sah sich als Beauftragter des ganzen deutschen Volkes und nutzte seine Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten zur Stabilisierung der jungen Republik.Walter Mühlhausens vielbeachtete Biografie erschien erstmals 2006. Sie setzt bis heute wissenschaftliche Maßstäbe und stützt sich auf die akribische Auswertung eines breiten Quellenfundus. Mühlhausen analysiert neben Eberts Erfolgen und Verdiensten auch Fehler und Fehleinschätzungen und beschreibt dessen Persönlichkeit vor dem Hintergrund einer von tiefen Krisen geschüttelten Republik. Die 3. überarbeitete Neuauflage erscheint 2025 zum 100. Todestag Friedrich Eberts mit einem einordnenden historiografischen Vorwort und neuen Bildern.

Krieg dem Kriege und ein Leben für den FriedenErnst Friedrich (1894-1967) führte ein Leben, in dem sich die die erste Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts spiegelt. Vom Kleinbürger, der sich als Arbeiterkind ausgab, zum Anarchopazifisten, vom Schauspieler zum Gründer des ersten Antikriegsmuseums: Friedrichs Weg führte ihn durch die Grauen des Ersten Weltkriegs und die Wirren der Weimarer Republik, der Nazizeit und ins Exil.Agnes Imhof schildert seine Biografie so fesselnd wie eindrücklich und beleuchtet seinen unermüdlichen Kampf für Frieden und Freiheit, den er mit politischem Engagement und einzigartigem Lebensmut verband.- Die erste umfassende Biografie über Ernst Friedrich, einen Wegbereiter des Pazifismus- Ein faszinierendes Kaleidoskop der Weimarer Republik und der Friedensbewegung

Kennen wir unsere deutsche Geschichte? Frank Fabian berichtet provokativ und spannend, wie es wirklich gewesen ist. Von den Anfängen bis zur Wiedervereinigung entkleidet er Mythen und Mythologien. Er nennt die wahren Gründe für den Aufstieg der Germanen, beleuchtet die Biografien von Karl dem Großen, Martin Luther oder Otto von Bismarck und entschlüsselt die Lügen über die Weltkriege. Unwahrheiten, Halbwahrheiten und Irreführungen, um die jeder wissen sollte, kommen so ans Tageslicht. - Der Geschichts-Bestseller - jetzt als Sonderausgabe!- Lebendig erzählte Geschichte, spannend wie ein Thriller- Die größten Geheimnisse der deutschen Geschichte- Persönlichkeiten und Geschehnisse der Vergangenheit neu bewertet

Die erste Monografie über einen der Hauptverantwortlichen für den Holocaust hinter der Ostfront im Sommer 1941.Der Werdegang Erich von dem Bach-Zelewskis entspricht in vielerlei Hinsicht einer klassischen Karriere der Gewalt im NS-Staat, gleichwohl hatte er seine Besonderheiten: mit 15 Jahren Freiwilliger im Ersten Weltkrieg, Kämpfer für die völkische Bewegung während der Weimarer Zeit, brutale Rache an politischen Gegnern zu Beginn der NS-Herrschaft, Organisator der Novemberpogrome in Schlesien. Als Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer Russland-Mitte koordinierte Bach-Zelewski die Ermordung der jüdischen Bevölkerung entlang des Mittelabschnitts der Ostfront und als Chef der 'Bandenkampfverbände' entwickelte er die Strategie der Entvölkerung ganzer Landstriche, die er im August 1944 bei der Niederschlagung des Warschauer Aufstands anwendete.Auf der Basis akribischer Quellenarbeit zeichnet Jan Kreutz diese Verbrechen minutiös nach. Anhand von teils erstmals ausgewerteten Selbstzeugnissen zeigt er, wie Bach-Zelewski die von ihm angewendete Gewalt schreibend verarbeitete und sich dabei mehrfach neu erfand. Indem die Studie autobiografisches Schreiben als Teil des Gewaltprozesses begreift, fügt sie der Diskussion um die Täter des Holocaust einen neuen Aspekt hinzu.

Shortlist, Cundill History Prize<BR><BR>"The extraordinary untold story of how a disillusioned American diplomat named William C. Bullitt came to Freud's couch in 1926, and how Freud and his patient collaborated on a psychobiography of President Woodrow Wilson." -Wall Street Journal<BR><BR>"A vivid shaggy-dog story about a curio that illuminates the possibilities (and perils) of studying the psychological soundness of presidents-a discipline as relevant as ever." -The Atlantic<BR><BR>"Excellent...Nearly a century since Wilson's death, Weil's monograph is the first to offer a comprehensive historical account of Bullitt's career-long engagement with Wilson." -American Literary History<BR><BR>When the fate of millions rests on the decisions of a mentally compromised leader, what can one person do? Alarmed by President Woodrow Wilson's irrational handling of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, a US diplomat named William C. Bullitt asked this very question. With the help of his friend Sigmund Freud-and the cooperation of interviewees in Wilson's inner circle-Bullitt set out to write a psychological biography of a troubled president. In¿The Madman in the White House, Patrick Weil resurrects this forgotten portrait.<BR><BR>The manuscript was completed in 1932, but the book was not published until 1966, in a heavily redacted edition. By that time, the mystique of psychoanalysis had waned and Wilson's legacy was unassailable. Critics panned the book, and Freud's descendants denied his involvement. But in 2014, Weil discovered the original manuscript, which leaves no doubt as to Freud's role-or the significance of Bullitt and Freud's analysis. Reassessing the notorious psychobiography, Weil finds a powerful warning about the influence a single unbalanced personality can have on the course of history.

My Second Year of the War, a classical book, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

‘A thrilling narrative that creates an extraordinary picture of female resistance’ The Lady<BR>‘Fascinating’ Kavita Puri, BBC History Magazine<BR>‘A fierce, intense picture of this aspect of the war . . . it will stay with me’ Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome<BR><BR> On the evening of 31 March 1916, a 23-year-old woman was led from her prison cell in occupied Brussels. She wore a long blue coat and walked ‘like a soldier’. The chaplain asked if she would like a blindfold before her execution. ‘I am not afraid of looking into the rifles,’ she replied. ‘I have been expecting this for a long time.’<BR>  <BR> This is not a traditional history of the First World War. It is the untold story of the women of the resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict.  <BR>  <BR> Rick Stroud describes how the actions of eight exceptionally brave women affected the course of the war. Before the Germans invaded, they were ordinary people: some, like Gabrielle Petit, were working-class; some, like Edith Cavell, were from the bourgeoisie; and some. like the Princess de Croÿ, were from the upper echelons of society. The youngest was only twenty-one. The women took enormous risks and produced extraordinary results: they established underground networks, transmitted coded information, carried out sabotage attacks and helped to repatriate Allied soldiers. What they did was dangerous and exhausting and the penalties were severe: three faced the firing squad.<BR>  <BR>Recounting their heroism and their inevitable tragedies, I Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles is an enthralling story, beautifully told. In revealing the inspiring work of these remarkable women, Rick Stroud will introduce you to an entirely new version of the ‘war to end all wars’.

Through the vivid diary entries and artwork of Harold W. Pierce, this book offers a gripping firsthand account of a young soldier's journey through World War I.April 1917. Eighteen-year-old Harold W. Pierce leaves school to join the U.S. Army, specifically the National Guard infantry company from heavily forested Warren County in northwestern Pennsylvania. He's big for his age and he's determined to serve his country. Thirteen months later, having trained at the steaming hot tent city of Camp Hancock in Georgia, Pierce and the rest of the 28th Division's 112th Infantry Regiment is on its way to England and then to France. He's one of the First Battalion's scouts so he'll see the war from a different perspective than the rest of the infantrymen, which includes his older brother Hugh.What Pierce sees, hears and feels will fill the small diary he keeps in his pocket. His descriptions become a diary of 79,000 words. His descriptions, his insights, his fears and his hopes bring the war to life as a young man experiences it. This young man, though, has a keen ability to express and describe that goes beyond his years: The abject terror of being in the middle of a sustained artillery barrage, his fear as he desperately tries to dig in as machine gun bullets fly inches over his head, and the relief he feels when an artillery round splits the air where he would have been if he had not - inexplicably - stopped walking.Pierce has moments when he does not want to answer the runner's call of his name, when all he wants to do is sleep in a safe shelter. But he does answer and he goes on the patrol that all are convinced will be a one-way mission.Pierce survives it all, becoming a state police trooper in Pennsylvania after the war and later the chief law enforcement instructor for that state's Public Service Institute until his retirement in 1966. In 1979, the diary was printed in serialized form in a small Pennsylvania newspaper. Throughout his life Pierce took to canvas to depict a variety of scenes from the World War. Included in this book are six of those paintings. Pierce died in 1983.

Jean Jaurès (1858-1914) - eine Schlüsselfigur der französischen Linken - kämpfte für Gerechtigkeit für die Schwachen und Ausgebeuteten und gegen Kolonialismus und Kriegstreiberei. Sein Einsatz für Frieden, Sozialreformen und Antikolonialismus ist auch heute noch beispielgebend. Der Mitbegründer der Französischen Sozialistischen Partei und der Tageszeitung L'Humanité überzeugte mit seinem rhetorischen Talent - weit über Parteigrenzen hinaus. Als Verfechter eines Reformsozialismus auf humanistischer Grundlage setzte er sich leidenschaftlich für den Pazifismus und gegen den drohenden Ersten Weltkrieg ein. Am Vorabend der Urkatastrophe des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde er 1914 in Paris ermordet, sein Mörder 1919 freigesprochen.Die 'Biografische Miniatur' erinnert zum 110. Jahrestag seiner Ermordung nicht nur an das Leben und Wirken eines Antimilitaristen und Sozialisten, sondern macht auch viele seiner Texte und Zeitdiagnosen erstmals in deutscher Sprache zugänglich. Diese sind aktueller denn je.Jean-Numa Ducange, geb. 1980, ist Professor für Zeitgeschichte an der Universität Rouen. Er hat sich auf die Geschichte der Französischen Revolution, der französischen und deutschsprachigen Linken sowie des Marxismus spezialisiert.

Discover Michael's new travel adventure, Michael Palin in Venezuela, available now.<BR><BR>'I cannot remember the last time I read a book so immediately absorbing and affecting. Michael Palin has never been better - which is, of course, saying a great deal.' BILL BRYSON<BR>___________________________________<BR><BR>From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, he was determined to find out more about him.<BR><BR>The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.<BR><BR>Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.<BR>___________________________________________<BR><BR>PRAISE FOR EREBUS:<BR><BR>'Beyond terrific. I didn't want it to end.' BILL BRYSON<BR><BR>'Magisterial . . . Palin brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people.' THE TIMES<BR><BR>'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' CHRIS EVANS<BR><BR>'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' LORRAINE KELLY

"...concentrates on the social fabric of the interwar era, including submarine service and Navy life in general, civilian attitudes, and speculations about Breault's reaction to receiving the medal." -Historical Miniatures Gaming SocietyCelebrating 100 years since the first submariner received the Congressional Medal of Honor, dive into pre-World War II submarine history through the first comprehensive, analytical, investigation into the life and times of Henry Breault. From 1900-41, Breault's life is reconstructed as lived through his Official Military Personnel File, census records, newspaper clippings, and connecting previous research. Breault's childhood, his enlistments in the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve and the United States Navy are carefully reconstructed. From there, the conditions aboard the submarines he served on, his relationship with friends and family, his relationship to the women in his life, and his concept of masculinity and material identity allow us to better understand his life in the context he likely understood them. This book provides a new template for microhistorical observations into subjects whose primary sources are official military documentation to help better understand enlisted submariners.

Originally published under the title An Airmans Outing, this magnificent title chronicles the daily life of the Flying Officer during the Great War. Touchingly dedicated to The Fallen of Umpty Squadron R.F.C., Bott chronicles the lives and losses of his squadron as they carried out their duties over France in 1916. A modest and unflinching account of Great War aviation, Bott neither aggrandises nor dismisses any achievement of his crack squadron. A squadron that suffered so heavily, holding the record for casualties sustained by any flying squadron during three months, from the beginning of the war to the end of 1916 - a testament to the bravery and determination of the men who continued to serve within it.Tinged by this sadness, My War in the Air 1916 still conveys the aspirations of the British Royal Flying Corps in their early days, and the hope its many flying aces placed in the establishment, as a powerful tool to defend and protect. As W. S. Brancker states inside, War has been the making of aviation; let us hope that aviation will be the destruction of war.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is T. E. Lawrence's memoir of his involvement in leading a portion of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman empire during World War I. The empire had joined the side of Germany and the Central Powers in the war, and Britain hoped that a successful revolt would take the empire out of the war effort. Britain had also promised the Arabs that, if they were successful, England would recognize a single Arab state.Lawrence convinced the Arab leaders, who had historically not shown a willingness to work together, to join forces in supporting Britain's strategy in the area. His memoir is part travelogue, part philosophy treatise, and part action novel. It details his movements and actions during his two-year involvement, his relationships with the various Arab leaders and those who fought with him, and his thoughts-and doubts-during that time. It's a gripping, highly readable tale made famous by the movie Lawrence of Arabia, and one that Winston Churchill called "unsurpassable" as a "narrative of war and adventure."

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), of serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire of 1916 to 1918.It was completed in February 1922, but first published in December 1926. Charles Hill has called Seven Pillars "a novel traveling under the cover of autobiography", capturing Lawrence's highly personal version of the historical events described in the book.An advertisement for the 1935 edition quotes Churchill as saying "It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure it is unsurpassable." The book was adapted into the film Lawrence of Arabia (1962)."Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is a song by heavy metal group Sabaton about Lawrence, released in July 2019 on the album The Great War.In Tony Parsons' novel, The Murder Bag (2014), the Seven Pillars is referenced as part of the curriculum at Potters Field school and has a formative influence on a group of former pupils. (wikipedia.org)

America's Youngest Soldier, originally published in 1958 as In Spite of Hell, is the gripping account of Ernest L. Wrentmore, the youngest soldier in the American Expeditionary Force during World War One. Wrentmore served with honor despite his age (two months shy of his thirteenth birthday at the time of his enlistment in September 1917), and despite the horrors he witnessed in the trenches in France. Wrentmore saw front-line service on three battle fronts, and was cited for bravery for delivering a message, under fire, that made it possible for his unit to advance. Wrentmore was wounded twice and severely gassed; and on the night of October 17, 1918, he was evacuated from the field of battle during the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive.When World War Two began, the author was recalled to active duty from a successful business career, and served as an officer with the Air Force in the North African and Mediterranean campaigns. He continued his service in the Korean War and retired as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Wrentmore passed away on December 11, 1983, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The back surface of his tombstone reads: "Youngest soldier to have served with American Expeditionary Forces in WWI, 12 years of age."

On 22 July 1916 Lieutenant Arthur Stevens of the 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, sat down to write a letter to the chaplain of his old school, Bloxham School in Oxfordshire. Informing him of the death of Gordon Peecock, an officer in the same battalion as well as a contemporary at Bloxham, he had a favor to ask of the Rev. Hugh Willimott: 'As his closest friend out here, I would like to ask you to remember him at the altar.' Peecock was killed by machine gun fire coming from Prussian positions to the North of Ovillers on 7 July, a week into the Battle of the Somme. By the time the school received Stevens' letter the summer holidays had begun, and so it was not until the first Saturday of term in September that Gordon Peecock's name was remembered in the school chapel, and by this time Arthur Stevens too was dead, killed in early August at Pozières, a couple of miles away from where Gordon was killed. Arthur Stevens was 19 years of age.Taking one small boarding school in rural Oxfordshire, this book tells the story of the 80 Bloxhamists who died in the Great War, tracing their lives from school to the grave, but it also examines the experiences of those who served and survived and looks at the way in which the lives of those at home were affected by the war. The authors take the story up to the present day to study the way in which the remembrance of those who fell has changed over the years, and what these changes tell us about how we view the war.The two authors are uniquely well qualified to tackle this subject, having dedicated many years to researching the lives of the men whose stories form the centerpiece of this book. This research project, often a long and difficult process, is itself part of the story of how the 80 men continue to be commemorated at their old school.

What does war do to the human soul? In The Soul Of The War, celebrated war correspondent Philip Gibbs delivers a searing, first-hand account from the trenches of the Western Front, laying bare the courage, camaraderie, and heartbreak of British soldiers in France during World War I. This war journalism classic edition captures the raw immediacy and moral complexity of the conflict, blending vivid reportage with profound insight into the lives and morale of men facing the unimaginable between 1914 and 1918.Gibbs's narrative is both intimate and panoramic, drawing readers into the mud and fear of the front lines while reflecting on the larger currents shaping Europe's fate. His eyewitness accounts, revered alongside those of Siegfried Sassoon, offer a rare window into the daily realities of combat-moments of courage and loss, flashes of hope, and the enduring question of what it means to remain human amid devastation. For students of military history, lovers of world war i nonfiction, and anyone fascinated by the resilience of the human spirit, this complete text edition stands as an essential document of the Great War.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today-a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Whether you are drawn by the literary power of classic war reportage or seeking a deeper understanding of soldier life and the legacy of the British army in France, The Soul Of The War remains a cultural treasure for every generation.

This heart-felt narrative, profusely illustrated with historical images and detailed captions, chronicles highlights in the life of Ralph Douglas Clark whose career as an Atlantic telegraph cable operator began in the tiny Nova Scotia seaport of Canso taking him to Panama, Ottawa, the Western Front in 1916, Halifax, Miami and Montreal. Drawing on the childhood recollections of his brother Mowbray, Doug Clark's "memory box", and data from notable historians, the author provides a vital addition to the library of anyone interested in a rural, seaside childhood, military history, and telecommunications.