The story of World War I is brought to life through the gripping personal narratives of those at the center of the storm. World War I was waged by young people from twenty-eight countries in an era without the advantages of military "embeds," satellite phones, and streaming media coverage. Intimate Voices from the First World War fills in the gaps in the history of the world's first global confrontation with excerpts from recently uncovered letters and diaries of those on the front lines and their friends at home. In their reflections on the vastness of the enterprise of war, these combatants, victims, and eyewitnesses re-create the scope of the conflict with immediacy and tenderness. Written with the frankness and intimacy of words not intended for public eyes -- full of private passions, prejudices, humor, and vivid insights -- these communiqués speak to us directly from within the war itself and from all sides of the conflict. These marvelous historical narratives not only immerse readers in an ongoing dialogue about the meaning of human conflict but also serve as reminders of the individual perspectives and beliefs that sometimes get overlooked during times of global strife.

How do you tell the history of a war in which more than nine million combatants and nearly seven million civilians across the world died by bullet, fire, hunger and disease? How do you describe the experience of a war that ignited two revolutions, brought down four monarchies, scarred a generation and culminated in major political and territorial changes that cast shadows to this day? Departing from traditional histories, Intimate Voices from the First World War tells the story of the First World War entirely through the diaries and letters of its combatants, eyewitnesses and victims. Powerful individual stories are interwoven to form an extraordinary narrative that follows the chronology of the war, in words written on the battlefield and on leave, under occupation and under siege. Soldiers and civilians record with passion, fear and humor their experiences and intimate thoughts, never intended for publication. The book starts with the testimony of a Serbian teenager, one of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassins. Each chapter focuses on one important episode of the war told from opposite sides of the conflict. A German and a British soldier are dug into the parallel lines of trenches on the Somme. An Australian and a Turk describe brutal bayonet charges on the beaches at Gallipoli. A Polish woman endures a gruesome siege and an initially patriotic German schoolgirl, after being exposed to the loss and pain of war, gradually escapes into a world of adolescent love. The diaries and letters featured were uncovered during extensive research across twenty-eight countries for the groundbreaking television series The First World War, based on the work of Professor Hew Strachan, whose introduction starts this book. Gripping, immediate and moving, Intimate Voices from the First World War represents a major addition to First World War literature.

"One day I was walking with my friend Lazar Djukic, and I remarked that Ferdinand was coming soon [and] that it would be nice to prepare a warm welcome for him. In our language that meant assassination... Lazo simply said, -It can be done if someone wants it.' Up to that point the conversation was a bit of a joke but now my mind was set. All I needed was a gun." --from the prison diary of Vaso Cubrilovic, a member of a group of Serbian assassins who succeeded in killing Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, sparking WWI How do you tell the history of a war in which over nine million combatants and five million civilians from 28 countries died by bullet, fire, hunger, and disease? How to describe the scale of an event that ignited two revolutions, toppled four monarchies, decimated a generation and culminated in political changes that cast shadows to this day? Departing radically from traditional histories, Intimate Voices from the First World War tells the story of WWI on a personal and human scale. Through the private letters and diaries of soldiers, children, teens, wives, lovers, doctors, survivors, and victims --accounts unearthed during research for a worldwide 10-part television series--a compelling narrative takes shape that follows the war from beginning to end. Each chapter illuminates a crucial episode of WWI from multiple viewpoints. A starving Polish woman and a disgruntled Austrian officer tell of a long and brutal siege. Two Colonial soldiers--one Canadian and one African--send candid dispatches home from the Western Front. Two children--one German, one French-- live through the horrors of occupation, both in adolescent angst. The voices of a German school girl, an American nurse, a black South African laborer, and soldiers from every nation rise to form a chorus of compassion, hatred, hope, and grief. The result is a searingly honest and intimate look at "the war to end all wars."

An intimate narrative history of World War I told through the stories of twenty men and women from around the globe--a powerful, illuminating, heart-rending picture of what the war was really like. In this masterful book, renowned historian Peter Englund describes this epoch-defining event by weaving together accounts of the average man or woman who experienced it. Drawing on the diaries, journals, and letters of twenty individuals from Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Venezuela, and the United States, Englund’s collection of these varied perspectives describes not a course of events but "a world of feeling." Composed in short chapters that move between the home front and the front lines, The Beauty and Sorrow brings to life these twenty particular people and lets them speak for all who were shaped in some way by the War, but whose voices have remained unheard.

Peter Hart draws on decades of his work with British World War One veterans, offering an immersive and humane account of the Great War.

A second edition of this book is now available. In a compact but comprehensive and clear narrative, this book explores the First World War from a genuinely global perspective. Putting a human face on the war, William Kelleher Storey brings to life individual decisions and experiences as well as environmental and technological factors such as food, geography, manpower, and weapons. Without neglecting traditional themes, the author's deft interweaving of the role of environment and technology enriches our understanding of the social, political, and military history of the war, not only in Europe, but throughout the world.

“A masterpiece” (The Guardian) from the Nobel Prize–winning writer, an oral history of children’s experiences in World War II across Russia NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST For more than three decades, Svetlana Alexievich has been the memory and conscience of the twentieth century. When the Swedish Academy awarded her the Nobel Prize, it cited her for inventing “a new kind of literary genre,” describing her work as “a history of emotions . . . a history of the soul.” Bringing together dozens of voices in her distinctive style, Last Witnesses is Alexievich’s collection of the memories of those who were children during World War II. They had sometimes been soldiers as well as witnesses, and their generation grew up with the trauma of the war deeply embedded—a trauma that would change the course of the Russian nation. Collectively, this symphony of children’s stories, filled with the everyday details of life in combat, reveals an altogether unprecedented view of the war. Alexievich gives voice to those whose memories have been lost in the official narratives, uncovering a powerful, hidden history from the personal and private experiences of individuals. Translated by the renowned Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, Last Witnesses is a powerful and poignant account of the central conflict of the twentieth century, a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human side of war. Praise for Last Witnesses “There is a special sort of clear-eyed humility to [Alexievich’s] reporting.”—The Guardian “A bracing reminder of the enduring power of the written word to testify to pain like no other medium. . . . Children survive, they grow up, and they do not forget. They are the first and last witnesses.”—The New Republic “A profound triumph.”—The Big Issue “[Alexievich] excavates and briefly gives prominence to demolished lives and eradicated communities. . . . It is impossible not to turn the page, impossible not to wonder whom we next might meet, impossible not to think differently about children caught in conflict.”—The Washington Post