Aubrey Herbert was one of the most interesting figures of his age. He was twice offered the Albanian throne! Born almost blind, his sight even after surgery precluded him from official military service and he became a diplomat and politician. However in 1914 he attached himself unofficially to the Irish Guards on the outbreak of war on their way to France and was made an honorary Lieutenant. Despite his service overseas in France, the Dardanelles and then Egypt and Iraq, he remained an MP throughout the War. He was briefly captured in the Retreat from Mons and, after recovering from his wounds, he joined the Intelligence Bureau in Egypt before being attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division at Gallipoli. He personally persuaded General Ian Hamilton, the overall Commander, to agree a temporary truce with the Turks to enable the burial of the dead and the recovery of wounded men in no-mans-land. Later in Iraq, his efforts to buy the release of the beleaguered British garrison at Kut were less successful. His extraordinary war experiences brought him into close contact with a wide cast of characters, not least T E Lawrence, Compton McKenzie and leading military and political figures.

Behind the tangled alliances, feuding royals, and deadly battles are the nearly 100 riveting true stories of the men and women who lived, fought, and survived the first Great War. Based on the writings of soldiers, politicians, kings, nurses, and military leaders, Best Little Stories from World War I humanizes their foibles, triumphs, and tragedies—and chronicles how the emergence of fervent national pride led not only to ruthless combat, but a critical turning point in the twentieth century. Fascinating characters come to life, including: Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnavon, who turned her husband's Highclere Castle into a luxurious military hospital for British officers (and inspired the hit television show Downton Abbey). Otto Roosen, the high-flying German reconnaissance pilot, who was shot down not only one but twice—first by the Canadian ace Billy Bishop and then by a fellow German—and survived. Arthur Guy Empey, the American who volunteered for the British Army after the sinking of the Lusitania, then wrote a bestselling memoir about life in the muddy trenches of the western front.