Ghosts of War
A History of World War I in Poetry and Prose
Published on 7. November 2016
256 pages
978-0-7509-6971-0 (ISBN)
Description
The First World War produced a unique outpouring of prose and poetry depicting the stark realism of a brutal and futile war; no war before or since has been so extensively chronicled nor its misery so exposed. First-hand experiences in the trenches compelled poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen to write with a resolute honesty, describing events with more feeling and sincerity than the heavily censored letters that were sent home. Accounts of the Great War are typically written from an English perspective, but Ghosts of War encompasses a selection of contributions from across Europe and America, with an emphasis on the Scottish involvement. Using the words of over one hundred poets and writers, Andrew Ferguson recounts the war from its optimistic beginning to its sombre conclusion, bringing the conflict to life in a dramatic, emotive and, at times, humorous way.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Illustrations
15 Illustrations, black and white
File size
8,75 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-6971-0 (9780750969710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2016
The History Press Ltd
€18.50
Shipment within 10-15 days
Person
ANDREW FERGUSON is a patron of the Imperial War Museum. His first book, Scots Who Enlightened the World, received excellent reviews and he regularly speaks at literary and arts festivals.
Content
- Intro
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword by Nicola Sturgeon
- Acknowledgements
- Ghosts of War
- Maps
- Introduction
- The War Poets
- 1 Setting the Scene
- The Three Cousins
- Growing Tension
- Choosing Your Partner
- The Simmering Brew
- 2 The Overture
- Stirring the Ethnic Soup
- Sarajevo: June 1914
- The Austrian Ultimatum
- The Schlieffen Plan: Germany Declares War
- 3 The Curtain Rises
- Germany Invades Belgium: Britain Declares War
- 'Your King and Country Want You'
- Kitchener's Army
- The Human Cost
- 4 Act One: The Opening of Hostilities
- The British Expeditionary Force
- The British Arrive in France
- The First Battle of Ypres (19 October-22 November 1914)
- Life in the Trenches
- The Battle of the Falklands (8 December 1914)
- The Christmas Truce (24 December 1914)
- Austria's Wars
- The Russian Campaign
- 5 Act Two: The War in 1915
- The Western Front
- The Weapons of War
- The Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-27 May 1915)
- The Eastern Front
- Italy (Eventually) Enters the War (23 May 1915)
- War by Proxy - The War in the Colonies
- The Dardanelles Campaign (19 February 1915-9 January 1916)
- The War in the Air
- The Sinking of RMS Lusitania (7 May 1915)
- Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Festubert (9 May and 15-25 May 1915)
- No Man's Land
- Such is Death - A Sonnet by Charles Hamilton Sorley
- The Poppies in Flanders Fields
- The Battle of Loos: The 'Scottish Battle' (5 September-7 November 1915)
- When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead - Charles Hamilton Sorley
- The Meeting of Graves and Sassoon
- Christ in Flanders
- The Care of the Wounded
- The Defeat of Serbia
- Snow in France
- 6 Act Three: Haig Takes Command
- The Battle of Verdun (21 February-18 December 1916)
- In Memoriam: Private D. Sutherland
- The Battle of Jutland (31 May 1916)
- The Battle of the Somme (1 July-18 November 1916)
- The Baleful Bard - Ewart Alan Mackintosh
- The Arab Revolt (5 June 1916)
- 7 Act Four: The War in 1917
- The Winter of 1916-1917
- The Tsar Abdicates (15 March 1917)
- The United States Declares War on Germany (6 April 1917)
- The Battle of Arras (9 April-16 May 1917)
- 'A Soldier's Declaration'
- 'Dottyville': Craiglockhart Hospital
- The Third Battle of Ypres: The Battle of Passchendaele (31 July-10 November 1917)
- The Battle of Cambrai (20 November-7 December 1917)
- Ewart Alan Mackintosh
- 8 The Last Act
- The Michael Offensive (21 March 1918)
- The Battle of Amiens: The Allies Advance (8 August 1918)
- The Final Assault (26 September 1918)
- The Armistice is Signed (11 November 1918)
- 9 The Curtain Falls
- The Treaty of Versailles
- Britain After the War
- The Impact of the War on Scotland
- 'The Pity of War'
- Sources
