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Somme
Somme
Oct 4, 2024 5:21 AM

Author:Lyn Macdonald,Alison Dowling

Somme

Brought to you by Penguin.

'There was hardly a household in the land', writes Lyn Macdonald, 'there was no trade, occupation, profession or community, which was not represented in the thousands of innocent enthusiasts who made up the ranks of Kitchener's Army before the Battle of the Somme...'

The year 1916 was one of the great turning-points in British history: as the youthful hopes of a generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive, and traditional attitudes to authority were destroyed for ever. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. Yet while there were good political reasons to launch a joint offensive with a French Army demoralized by huge casualties at Verdun, the raw troops on the ground knew nothing of that. A hundred and fifty thousand were killed in the punishing shellfire, the endless ordeal of attack and counter-attack; twice that number were left maimed or wounded. Here, almost for the first time, Lyn Macdonald lets the men who were there give their own testimony. Their stories are vivid, harrowing, sometimes terrifying - yet shot through with humour, immense courage and an astonishing spirit of resilience.

'What the reader will longest remember are the words - heartbroken, blunt, angry - of the men who lived through the bloodbath...a worthy addition to the literature of the Great War...'Daily Mail

Over the past twenty years Lyn Macdonald has established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are based on the accounts of eyewitnesses and survivors, told in their own words, and cast a unique light on the First World War. Most are published by Penguin.

© Lyn MacDonald 1983 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

Somme expresses the full range of meaning of the word 'grim'...I doubt if there are any better than this

—— John Terraine , Daily Telegraph

A worthy addition to the literature of the Great War

—— Daily Mail

Monumental... powerfully intelligent... not just a masterful narrative... but also an authoritative and disturbing morality tale

—— Chicago Tribune

'A sobering account of the 1918 flu epidemic, compelling and timely'

—— Boston Globe

'Majestic, spellbinding treatment of a mass killer'

—— Kirkus

'History brilliantly written... The Great Influenza is a masterpiece'

—— Baton Rouge Advocate

Simultaneously devastating and astounding... incredible

—— Stylist

A terribly poignant work that conveys the brutal reality of the time through intimate connection with a young person

—— Kirkus Review

Moving [and] riveting... this epic, layered story of survival serves as an important Holocaust document

—— Publishers Weekly

Moorehead skilfully weaves…threads of individual stories together to create a web of interconnected lives… broad narrative is dotted with flashes of detail; the colour of a piece of clothing, the wording of a letter… Moorehead captures a sense of hope and vitality among the women of the Resistance, fighting with courage and determination for a future they believed in

—— Elsa Maishman , Scotland on Sunday

Moorehead … takes up the story of four friends in Turin who decided passive resistance was no longer enough [against Mussolini’s reign] and joined a growing partisan movement based in the remote valleys of Piedmont. This is a bittersweet tale, not of betrayal, exactly, but of subtle excision from the script

—— The Tablet

A House in the Mountains is a page-turner… This book is to be welcomed as a highly readable story in its own right, and as an accessible introduction to the role of women in the Resistenza

—— Christian Goeschel , BBC History

A deeply-researched, fast-paced account of the Italian Resistance, a story not widely known to the general reader

—— History of War

This is a highly satisfying conclusion to the author's series. Excellent, well-presented evidence of the incalculable strengths and abilities of women to create and run a country

—— Starred Review , Kirkus

[A] moving finale of a quartet of books on resistance to fascism

—— Economist

[An] encyclopedic new account... a vivid, meticulous tapestry, densely weaving the threads of German and Soviet military strategy, political calculation from Washington and London to Moscow, and war's pitiless human cost

—— Julian Evans , The Telegraph

[Dimbleby] skilfully tracks the shifts and turns of the campaign, sparing no detail . . . a riveting account

—— Tony Rennell , Daily Mail, Book of the Week

Dimbleby tells the story of strategic miscalculation and (self-)deception on all sides, and then Hitler's 'war of extermination', magnificently

—— Allan Mallinson , The Spectator

Amazing . . . fascinating

—— Jeremy Vine

My best history book of 2021 -- a masterful account of maybe the biggest event ever . . . essential!

—— Lee Child

A very open and honest account of a centenarian's life . . . You cannot help but be amazed

—— Who Do You Think You Are?

Embark on an enchanting journey into our country's past hundred years through the remarkable life of Captain Sir Tom Moore

—— Eastern Daily Press

This minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand

—— BBC History Revealed, Book of the Month

It's a wonderful book, so absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking, I didn't want it to end

—— Maureen Waller, author of London 1945: Life in the Debris of War

The story of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 is well known, but McKay's searing account is in a league of its own. His research is first-class, his writing elegant and emotive. He is brilliant at portraying the city's prewar beauty, grimly powerful on the horror of the firestorm, and moving and thoughtful about Dresden's rise from the ashes. By the end, I was itching to jump on a flight to Germany. That tells you about the skill and spirit of this terrific book

—— Dominic Sandbrook , The Times/Sunday Times Books of the Year
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