Teach Yourself The First World War

Description: "The Teach Yourself History" series offers an alternative to academic historical books, its content being extensive yet extremely accessible and the approach refreshingly different. The books are informative and compelling, and engage the reader from beginning to end. They assume no prior historical knowledge, and are full of anecdotes and details that provide a very personal appeal. "Teach Yourself The First World War" covers all aspects of the war from an international perspective. It follows its key developments, including the build up to the war, how it developed and the role of the different countries involved. It considers many intriguing aspects of the war, including life in the trenches, spies and espionage, the role of women, propaganda, weapons of war and the loss of life. It looks at the impact of the war on those involved and questions why Germany lost the war. The aim throughout is to give you a better understanding of the events that ultimately led to the slaughter of some nine million men and left a further twenty-nine million either wounded or missing. Review: "the perfect way to get to grips with the great historical events." -- The History Channel 20040701 Contents: 01 - Europe before 1914; 02 - The coming of war; 03 - The opening moves on the Western Front; 04 - Stalemate and a widening war; 05 - The men and their weapons; 06 - The Western Front - trench warfare; 07 - The Dardanelles fiasco; 08 - Issues of bravery and cowardice; 09 - The Eastern Front; 10 - The slaughters of 1916; 11 - The war at sea; 12 - Spads, Fokkers and Camels - the war in the air; 13 - 'Keep the home fires burning' - the home front; 14 - The propaganda war; 15 - Music, poetry and art of the war; 16 - 1917 - enter the United States; exit Russia; 17 - Palestine, Mesopotamia and the war against the Turks; 18 - 1917 - a year of disasters; 19 - The collapse of Germany and the end of the war; 20 - The cost - the balance sheet of war Author Biography: David Evans is an established writer and lecturer. He has also been a soldier in the army and a headmaster. He has written over 20 books covering aspects of modern European history and contributed to numerous television programmes.