Couldn't put this one down
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We are fortunate indeed that there are people like Richard van Emden, with that rare ability to transmit through print their own enthusiasm for their subject to that of their readers. As the last rays of dusk set on this unique generation, not surprisingly Britain's Last Tommies is told with great dignity and respect. It was a fact that for sixty or so years following the end of the Great War, no veteran ever spoke of his experiences; as children we were warned by our parents not to ask about it and, with the tantalising exception of an occasional anecdote relating to training or whilst off duty, the horrors and suffering witnessed by these men went unrecorded. It is only a newer generation of historians like van Emden who have used their reservoir of communications skills and personal resources to tease with any success from these last survivors a second hand glimpse of the enormity of what took place in 1914-18, events which continue to shape our lives still.
One doesn't have to be a military history buff to understand and appreciate this book, as it does not demand too much of its reader. I read it on the plane and at the beach; this is one of those "can't put down" books; the narrative flows freely and without excessive repetition, a remarkable achievement as the story nevertheless weaves effortlessly across battlefronts and timelines bringing vividly to the reader's imagination the brutal ebb and flow of human conflict in an industrialised age. Having read the book, the reader is left wondering how, if they too had been born at the same time, they might have coped with the unprecedented privations and demands made so long ago upon the youthful shoulders of these proud and dignified old men, the last heroes of the Great War.
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A classic of WWI oral history
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Richard van Emden has done it again, with another riveting collection of first-hand stories from the trenches and beyond. As we say goodbye to the last of the Great War veterans, van Emden's work becomes increasingly precious.
His respect for these men shines through every page as he lets them tell their own stories, providing just enough context to maximise the drama and relevance of each scene. By the end, the reader mourns their passing along with the author.
A timeless record of humanity in the face of insanity.
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