Myriad Faces of War

The Myriad Faces of War is a unique and compelling study of the First World War from the standpoint of British involvement. It explores the reasons for Britain's entry into the war, the nature and course of Britain's participation and the far-reaching repercussions of the war on British society. The result is a rich and comprehensive chronicle of the social, political, diplomatic and military aspects of the Great War. It is worth quoting the author, 'Nevertheless, if the Great War seems to reduce humanity to ciphers, this book does not doubt that its proper subject is man - or, rather, men and women, in high estate and low, in handfuls and large masses, in political and social military groupings. . . It relates how vast military campaigns, whose course could scarcely be perceived by those commanding them, appeared to humble occupants of the firing line. It tries to see how the war impinged on particular classes and a particular sex and how it affected lives: extinguishing some, touching others, scarcely at all, radically altering others, and affecting most pretty nearly - at least for the duration and often for a good deal longer.' The author triumphantly succeeds in this. This is one of the most important books about the Great War published in the last fifty years. 'The Myriad Faces of War is a lively and well-organized reappraisal of Britain's role in the First World War which is unusual in paying equal attention to the military and home 'front'. Trevor Wilson makes good use of official records and the wealth of unpublished documentary material from archives such as that at the Imperial War Museum. This vigorous, fresh and thoughtful survey of a great war which still arouses a peculiar fascination can be strongly recommended to general students of the subject, but specialists will also find much of interest in Professor Wilson's magisterial history.' Brian Bond, King's College, London 'This is first major study of Britain in the Great War to appear in over a decade. It breaks new ground in integrating this history of then Front and the Home Front and provides insights into the way the war was fought by common soldiers and endured by ordinary people both in and out of uniform. The landscape of war it describes will be of interest to military, political and social historians, as well as to the wide readership which remains fascinated by the Great War.' Jay Winter, Pembroke College, Cambridge 'Professor Trevor Wilson's mighty work on the first world war . . . is a truly significant contribution to our understanding of what the war meant to the British people . . . The Myriad Faces of War is a disciplined, unsentimental and thoughtful book - and it also retains strongly the human touch.' Spectator 'Wilson wries with compassion and wit . . . this is a book for the general reader as well as the scholar . .. it is by far the best study of Britain and the First World War that has yet been written.' London Review of Books 'Wilson ranges impresssivley over all major aspects of the conflict . . . it is a judicious, readable overview of a monster subject.' New York Times Book Review