Author:Denis Winter
Death's Men is the classic bestselling story of the First World War as told by the soldiers themselves - reissued for the 2014 Centenary.
Millions of British men were involved in the Great War of 1914-1918. But, both during and after the war, the individual voices of the soldiers were lost in the collective picture. Men drew arrows on maps and talked of battles and campaigns, but what it felt like to be in the front line or in a base hospital they did not know. Civilians did not ask and soldiers did not write.
Death's Men portrays the humble men who were called on to face the appalling fears and discomforts of the fighting zone. It shows the reality of the First World War through the voices of the men who fought.
'A raw, haunting read that puts you directly into the shoes of the men who rushed to volunteer at the start of the war' Guardian
'An engrossing view of what it was like to live in the trenches, go on leave, get wounded, et cetera, and features voice after voice from the ranks' Telegraph
Denis Winter was born in 1940 and read history at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Death's Men was first published in 1978, to critical and popular acclaim. This was followed by his book The First of the Few: Fighter Pilots of the First World War.
An extraordinary and immensely moving book
—— Stephen FryThis extraordinary book is crammed with details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence
—— Daily TelegraphThe words of the soldiers are as fresh as if they were written yesterday ... extraordinary
—— Mail on SundayThese stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating
—— The TimesThe stories of these now long-dead vets simply jump off the page
—— FHMA compelling account of a world not to be forgotten
—— DespatchesEveryone who loves oral history will enjoy the often harrowing accounts contained in this book
—— History TodayCrammed with such details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence
—— TelegraphTailor-made for classroom use as well as maximum impact on the general reader
—— TES, Book of the WeekAn impressive anthology of eye-witness experiences which does not short-change us on the horror and filth ... of that dreadful conflict
—— The Herald, GlasgowA rich and fascinating portrait of a genius whose life was tragically ended before its time
—— Gay TimesAuthoritative, wide-ranging and thoroughly readable.
—— Adrian Weale , Literary ReviewThe Good War…can feel one step away from the action but is no less compelling or valuable. His is a chronology of a war of our time; it holds one’s attention and he has done his research.
—— Lyse Doucet , New StatesmanThis year saw one of the most audacious biographies I can remember reading: Ruth Scurr's John Aubrey: My Own Life... What we are presented with is a wonderful artificial composite: a fascinating patchwork made up of extracts from Aubrey's notebooks, journals and letters, chronologically rearranged with consummate editorial and novelistic artfulness by Scurr. The result is haunting, memorable and, in the field of non-fiction, unprecedented.
—— William Boyd , TLS, Books of the YearScurr wrote the biography Aubrey didn't write - Aubrey's own - in a biographical form that is unique, new and gripping
—— AS Byatt , TLS, Books of the YearFor me, the academic historian, Scurr’s experimental “act of scholarly imagination” has already modified significantly my own historical understanding
—— Lisa Jardine , Financial TimesThe marriage of [Aubrey’s] words and Scurr’s is so smoothly achieved that I have no idea where one leaves off and the other intervenes
—— Allan Massie , ScotsmanScurr’s imaginative feat of retrieval has produced a perfect book for dipping into when you want a taste of what it was like to be alive in the 17th century
—— John Carey , Sunday TimesIt is a testament to [Scurr’s] skill that you quickly stop thinking about technique and instead slip happily into the company of the character she has created. The wealth of research and the seams between imagination and reality disappear from view. This is truly selfless biography
—— Daisy Hay, 5 stars , Daily TelegraphA game-changer in the world of biography
—— Mary Beard , GuardianA delightful read about the ebb and flow of thoughts in one extraordinary man’s mind
—— Claire Harman , Evening StandardDrawing on [Aubrey’s] manuscripts and letters, [Ruth Scurr] has fashioned, as chronologically as possible, an autobiography in the form of the diary that Aubrey never wrote. It fits him perfectly… Ms Scurr has done him proud
—— The EconomistAubrey was a delightful, self-deprecating man ... A conventional biography of Aubrey could easily have become a portrait of the time through which he had lived, allowing the man himself to be overshadowed ... Instead, Ruth Scurr has invented the diary Aubrey might have written, incorporating his own chaotic, sometimes scrappy literary remains to form a continuous narrative. ... lucky him to have been accorded a biography as whimsical as his own self
—— Clive Aslet , Country LifeScurr’s book illuminates and poignantly captures the voice of a man more often a “ghostly record keeper” in his own writing
—— Carl Wilkinson , Financial TimesJohn Aubrey brilliantly reconfigures the art of biography
—— David Abulafia , Times Higher EducationBold and imaginative recreation of the diary of the 17th-century antiquary. It shows how close a scrupulous and unselfregarding biographer can come to the savour of a life
—— Graham Robb , SpectatorA genuinely remarkable work of biographical innovation.
—— Stuart Kelly , TLS, Books of the YearI’d like to reread Ruth Scurr’s John Aubrey every Christmas for at least the next five years: I love being between its humane pages, which celebrate both scholarly companionship and deep feeling for the past
—— Alexandra Harris , GuardianRuth Scurr’s innovative take on biography has an immediacy that brings the 17th century alive
—— Penelope Lively , GuardianAnyone who has not read Ruth Scurr’s John Aubrey can have a splendid time reading it this summer. Scurr has invented an autobiography the great biographer never wrote, using his notes, letters, observations – and the result is gripping
—— AS Byatt , GuardianA triumph, capturing the landscape and the history of the time, and Aubrey’s cadence.
—— Daily TelegraphA brilliantly readable portrait in diary form. Idiosyncratic, playful and intensely curious, it is the life story Aubrey himself might have written.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailScurr knows her subject inside out.
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayThe diligent Scurr has evidence to support everything… Learning about him is to learn more about his world than his modest personality, but Scurr helps us feel his pain at the iconoclasm and destruction wrought by the Puritans without resorting to overwrought language.
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianAcclaimed and ingeniously conceived semi-fictionalised autobiography… Scurr’s greatest achievement is to bring both Aubrey and his world alive in detail that feels simultaneously otherworldly and a mirror of our own age… It’s hard to think of a biographical work in recent years that has been so bold and so wholly successful.
—— Alexander Larman , Observer