Such a great video! I was fascinated all the way through. This is the kind of booktube video I have been waiting for! Deep dives into nonfiction with thoughtful, entertaining analysis. It just doesn't get any better 😃
Thank you for this video. It's a favorite topic of mine. A few more recommendations: *July 1914 by Sean McMeekin - Sort of a prequel to Guns of August, but I felt it got to the point more quickly than Sleepwalkers. (Bonus is his Ottoman Endgame.) *The Road Less Traveled by Philip Zelikow - A one-of-a-kind look at how Woodrow Wilson failed to mediate an end to the fighting as early as 1916. *Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon - Fiction in rural Scotland that not only tells a strong character story but also shows how the war accelerated the end of tenant farming/crofting.
Agreed, July 1914 by Sean McMeekin is a must-read for anyone interested in the leadup to WWI, a particular interest of mine. Really enjoyed this video and both books covered.
Over the last two years I’ve become obsessed with learning about the two world wars. I literally can’t stop and I want to find ways to talk about it all the time. So your intro totally sucked me in. You aren’t alone!
I am one of the 85. When BookTubers talk about reading slowly and reflecting on about the books, being more of a math/science person, I always wonder how and what to think about my reading? Your video gave me a great framework for this and I took a bunch of notes. Coincidentally I am reading the novel In Memoriam by Alice Winn at the moment, while knowing abysmally little about the first world war. I will most definitely pick up both of these books after and see for myself how I think about them, and the history, and return to this video for more reflection. Really appreciate your effort and sharing your thoughts.
Have you visited the World War One museum in Kansas City, KS? Before I had, I was all about World War Two, mainly due to timing proximity. My grandfather fought in the Second World War so I had first hand experiences and dove into that fast and hard. But after visiting the *amazing* museum in KS, I realized the First World War was like a very chilling prequel. Which, of course, it was.
Jennifer, this was such a thoughtful and engaging video! Your comparison of Tuchman and Clark was sharp and accessible, and I loved how you balanced analysis with humor and personal insight. This wasn’t just a book review-it was a reminder of why history matters and how we can think critically about it.
Fantastic video! I want to read The Sleepwalkers since it came out. I really should finally get to it. And of course I made it through the whole video! I was on the edge of my seat!
Fellow WWI enthusiasts here! Thanks for a great video. I enjoyed your review and analysis comparing both books and how they addressed the subject matter. Looking forward to more of your videos!!
I adore this video and your analysis of these books and the first World War. I have had The Sleepwalkers on my library wishlist for months and while you were talking about it, I finally downloaded it to my e-reader. I'm German and Clark's approach sounds pretty similar to how I was taught this part of history in school, focusing on the twenty or so years before more than the war itself. But world war two is so dominant in our thoughts that I haven't really engaged with world war one since high school. I'm looking forward to getting back to it from an adult perspective. Thank you for this wonderful and thoughtful video!
I'm very glad you commented, because I've been wondering specifically about how WWI is taught in Germany. And thank you so much; I'm thrilled to find other nonfiction readers!
Wow, great video. I’ve had added both of these to my must read list. I’ve read other Barbara Tuchman books and enjoyed them and have known about the Guns of August for quite some time. Thank you again for a great video. If I could give it more than one thumbs up I would.
Fascinating and an education, as ever. I may have to pick up Sleepwalkers one day. I hope this isn't too personal and feel free to brush me back but your skin is *so glowy.* While I keep up with my skincare routine myself I don't always feel like doing it. So I'm always impressed when someone else has the dedication to be consistent. If you get to the Anne books, enjoy re-reading them. They're delightful and smart stuff in their way. Anne was my companion through my teens. Also, a character named Philippa Gordon in I think the third book was my first and most obscure book-crush. I never did finish the last one so I didn't even know it was a WWI book, I'll have to read it eventually. Well, it's always a pleasure.
Thank you for the video and analysis. After having it on my shelf for years, I finally managed to make it through THE SLEEPWALKERS last year. It's been decades since I read the Tuchman, though. One book I enjoyed for this period focuses on the royal relationships was Miranda Carter's GEORGE, NICHOLAS AND WILHELM: THREE ROYAL COUSINS AND THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR I. But I'm still digging into even more niche WWI topics, such as the naval war (Yes, I also enjoy the story of SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, but also the writing on the battles of Coronel and the Falklands) and the war on the Austro-Hungarian fronts. And there are even first person, period accounts worth digging into I've enjoyed (Mildred Aldrich's A HILLTOP ON THE MARNE and Bela Zombory-Moldovan's memoir, THE BURNING OF THE WORLD: A MEMOIR OF 1914.)
I agree with you on your comments about the Russian Tsar but I think “Nicholas and Alexandra ” by Robert K. Massie is really worth a read. It really discusses how this giant country slid into this war and eventually revolution because of the ineptness you discuss. Great video I will let a day pass to absorb it then watch it again. Thanks.
@@SMWBraden I was about to come in and say that of Dreadnought as well. 😅 Multiple times, i've gone to re-read a section of it, then just ended up reading the whole thing from the beginning. Minus some of the long biographical sections. Pretty amazing that a 1200 or page book can make you do that!
My husband is a lover of historical war books. He really loves understanding the different perspectives. Youre review was so good i immediately went out and bought both books for my man. And ill def have him watch your video. Well done!
YES the algorithm is algorithming. I'm thrilled to have stumbled upon this video as I too am obsessed with WWI history. Currently reading Nick Lloyd's Western Front (preordered Eastern front) and a collection of poetry from the era. I picked it up during my visit to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, which has a surprisingly good collection of literature and special editions. Subscribed, eager for more :D
I loved listening to your analysis of these books. I haven't read the Clarke. I started reading the Tuchman a while back, but dropped it when my husband let me know that she's just a great writer who is commonly wrong. I think that people tend to ignore WWI in favor of two partly because of the more obvious horror of WWII, but also because its just confusing to understand how it started or what its aims were (at least as most of us were taught in school). I also think there is a sense in which for Americans "Europe" is really western Europe and we just don't know much about eastern Europe or Russia (notice how even in WWII stuff, it's mostly Germany/holocaust and less about Russia or Japan).
Such a great video, Jennifer! Thank you so much for making it. i'm very unschooled, but am fascinated by this period in history and this part of the world and am hoping to embark on my own self-study course, so I could not have been more delighted finding your video this morning! Your commentary and analysis were excellent and exactly what i would love to see more of on BookTube. I've not read either of those books, but own both and have been eager to get to them soon. I don't have any of the other books you mentioned, but i have access to an excellent public library system with a generous Mail-a-Book program for those of us housebound and with limited resources. All that to say: Please, may I have some more?! Please do continue sharing your thoughts on any and alll books you read on this project, and thank you for you list of anticiipated reads as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the best video I've seen in a very long time!
I've been obsessed with The Great War for ages. So glad to discover you! You reviewed two of my favorites. I also read Siegfried Sassoon, John Keegan, T.E. Lawrence, and W.H.R. Rivers.
I'm so glad to have come across this video! WWI is my personal Roman Empire. Possibly the most defining event of the 20th century despite ALL that was to come. Sidenote: As someone who got interested in WWI after reading Anne of Green Gables (Rilla of Ingleside), I was very surprised to read LM Montgomery's biography and see how her views on the war evolved as time went on. Rilla, written in 1921, just a few years after the war and largely drawn from Montgomery's own journals very strictly follows the party line - dislike for Germans and pacifists and conviction in the noble cause of the war. Whereas, Montgomery's journals and biography showed how these ideas softened and evolved over time and the sheer loss and pointlessness of the war started being felt. To me, the most touching aspect of her writing on WWI is just the idea of the loss of innocence for a whole generation, a definitive and traumatic break from the Old World and into a treacherous New one.
This video popped up in my feed and I am glad I watched! Had never read much about WW1 (probably because WW2 takes up all those bookshelves), but just picked up The Sleepwalkers from the library because of your review! Really great video, great explanations. Subscribing!
This was such a lovely and approachful way to go about this. I briefly studied history at university, and even now can feel overwhelmed by the academic-ness of it all. What you said about how the two writers go about discussing the past one being particularly struck a cord with me; I'm reading The Beautiful Mrs Seidenman by Andrezej Szczypiorski and it perfectly articulated how he goes about writing and viewing these characters in a way I hadn't quite been able to articulate x
I loved the Guns of August. It definitely got me hooked into the history of the Great War. I'm in the middle of reading Max Hastings' "Catastrophe" which covers the first year of the war and its myriad causes and the parts played by certain people and the countries they represent as being crucial to the narrative. Some difference of opinion here and there with Tuchman, but relatively the same framing as to the hows and whys of the war's genesis. I have "Sleepwalkers" in my TBR, but will have to take a break from WW1 after Hastings. Great review!
Thank you! It's nice to have another vote for Hastings. And I agree, Tuchman is such a fantastic writer to hook you into the larger narratives about the Great War. I know speaking about "storytelling" doesn't make her work sound as serious, and in some ways it's not, but it really is an important quality for nonfiction writers to have and she has it in spades
@@InsertLiteraryPunHereIn the intro, she points out that one journalist describes her as being “Thucydidean”. I heartily agree. And if she is Thucydides, I feel Hastings could be Tacitus.
Having previously been interested in other time periods, I had a blank spot in my WW1 knowledge. Around 2010 I asked some of my fellow history nerds for a recommendation on a single volume coverage of the war. Ended up getting 'A World Undone' by GJ Meyer (2006) on those recommendations. It is a beast of a tome but was certainly enlightening. It churned my gray matter on how little, and poorly, I had been taught WW1. Which could be said for many historical subjects, really.
Really enjoyed this video and interesting to see your comparison of these two books side by side. I feel like the WWI vs WWII interest may also reflect US culture, possibly because the US was less involved in WWI and also less affected by it (in terms of casualties). My feeling (and it’s just a feeling, I don’t have hard evidence to back it up) is that in the UK there is more balance (though with the emphasis still on WWII). It’s more common to see WWI monuments for example, and Remembrance Day is on November 11th. In Australia there is still a big cultural memory of Gallipoli, because of the ANZAC. In the Netherlands on the other hand you might be forgiven for thinking there was only 1 world war (viz. the 2nd one), largely because we managed to sit out the first round. Also very happy to see that there appear to be slightly more than 85 of us here :D
I'm English..WW1 was the beginning and the end of the British Empire. Every hamlet every town every city in the Britain has a monument to the memory of those lost in that conflict Affected the very soul of the country from which it never recovered. l am named John after my mothers half brother who served in the British Army on the western front.
Haha thank you! I'm feeling very exposed by it all (it's intimidating when a bunch of new people comment, most of whom don't know you very well), but it's also extremely lovely to find other WWI readers
WWI books are mixed throughout the WWII shelves at my B&N, but at a secondhand books store, the books are all together on three shelves (woohoo). It was a jackpot moment for me when I went in with my list. I got the Guns of August as my intro to WWI (a YT recommendation) and now have added so many new titles to my WWI TBR list (Thanks)
I just discovered your channel. Your double review is excellent. My world War I reading only consists of: Solzhenitsyn, Ernst Junger, Sgt York, and C.S. Lewis/Tolkien. As a former U.S. Marine, Junger was on the required reading list and he is an enigma that keeps giving for 102 years.
@InsertLiteraryPunHere , the TH-cam Chanel, Art of Darkness, does an excellent piece on him. He did everything from dropping acid with Albert Hoffman to getting clemency for his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler. He truly was in the running for, The Most Interesting Man In the World, lol.
So this was really interesting thought-provoking. I’ve read the Tuchman twice, mostly because I marveled at how she could hold my interest about Col Blimp discussing the right salient with Gen Clouseau-or something like that. However now I can see her biases much more clearly. I have The Sleepwalkers-on kindle-and will move it up to my February tbr. Thanks, Jennifer, for making a tangled topic clear and intriguing.
I read the sleepwalkers ~2 months ago and am super excited to see one of my favourite booktubers discuss it in such depth. For myself I have to admit that the book was tough going at times but in the end I’m glad to have read it as it provided valuable insights. I actually would have liked to have seen Clarke explore the role of the German Kaiser more and was also surprised at how little of a role that the naval arms race between Great Britain and Germany was given in the book. It could be a bias on my side as I recently read Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie.
Amazing analysis, Jennifer! I did a similar exercise (far less formally) a couple years ago with Tuckman and McMillan's War That Ended Peace. I am definitely going to get around to Sleepwalkers soon (it's been on my radar for a bit). Based on your breakdown, McMillan's book seems to be in the middle of the two: she actively works against the post-WWII perceptions, but, like Tuckman, focuses heavily on narrative, which leads to some skewing. I think what worked well in Paris 1919 doesn't work as well in War That ENded Peace, but it is still a good read. Also, THANK YOU for the note at the end re: font size. As a visually impaired person, I appreciate the warning. I use Amazon to buy books frequently (hides head from tomoatoes and rocks), and sometimes I am unpleasantly surprised by how small text can be.
What's not to like about World War I histories: monarchs and their growing irrelevancy in the modern world. Assassinations. Conspiracies. Scheming diplomats and generals. Human folly. War! War! War! Bring it on Jennifer! First time on your channel🙃
I really liked Tuchman's book on the 14th century, A Distant Mirror, and I own Guns but haven't read it yet. It's definitely calling to me now thanks to your video. One for quarter four of Historathon. Adam Hochschild's book To End All Wars is a really interesting look into dissenters in World War 1, I would recommend that.
I just found your channel and I am really enjoying the video so far so I'm subscribing. I've been on a non-fiction history binge myself and lately it's been a hyperfixation on Medieval England, specifically during the conquest, crusades, 100 years war, and skipping to the Wars of the Roses. I genuinely believe that reading history is a really good way to properly absorb it and learn things about our world today. We have so many "history buffs" who only learn history through manosphere channels that whitewash and water things down or give it to people through a conspiracy lens.
Highly recommend Dead Wake by Erik Larson which is about the sinking of the Lusitania. It's a thriller disguised as history, where you know the outcome already but not for any of the characters. Also recommend the first third of The Power Broker by Robert Cairo, which while about Robert Moses looks a lot at Al Smith and the war broadly as it affected a civilian. Then finally Robert Massie's Dreadnought and Castles of Steel. Dreadnought talks more about the arms race between Germany and Britain and how that fed into the coming of the war while Castle of Steel I think is more about the maneuvers both parties did to fight during the naval war.
Super video! And what an expected gem to see Rilla of Ingleside at the end! I'm currently (re/)reading all of L.M. Montgomery's writing (that I can get my hands on) and she wrote some of my favourite books but also some of the worst books I've ever read. Thankfully Rilla is not in the latter bucket. And Goodbye to All That was the stand-out book in my war literature course so I hope you make another of your insightful videos about it!
Excellent review/analysis. I can also recommend "Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I" by Michael Neiberg. I discovered him while watching the lecture series presented by the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Fabulous video and analysis. First-time viewer. Subscribing. My dad is particularly interested in WWII, but I think he'd be interested in these. And tysm for suggesting other formats for reading. I've reached the point where I can't focus on walls of small text at all.
Thank you; it's so nice to find other nonfiction readers, and also to hear about people like your dad! And I'm glad that the font comment about the Clark was helpful--the whole time I was reading I kept thinking that I would be remiss if I didn't warn people
So funny, I've been obsessing over WWI too. I'm still scratching the surface, but I thoroughly enjoyed Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini. It's a Persephone Classic, and I'm eager to read more of their WWI selections.
Thank you^^! I have read both but there are over a decade and several years of academic studies in history between them. I loved The Guns of August, in spite of being a German (but exceedingly Anglophile😅 - studied Anglistics for 6 years...), when I was starting my long fascination with the Apocalypse of the old World, driven in no small part by Tuchman's book. Years later, following several others like Citino on the German Way of War, Showalter on Tannenberg and already Dr. Clark (funnily enough a PLM [civilian version] recipient) on Prussia and Dreadnought by Massie on the same (if very specifically focussed) topic I encountered Clark's Sleepwalkers and was blown away - maybe because I was so used to academic writing at the time it felt exciting and rather fast and flowing (unlike Showalter...) and I devoured it - yes there are those who claim Clark may have a pro-German bias but ironically I think he would not have such a success (I was in a reading by him in Frankfurt several years back, got my "Iron Kingdom" signed^^) here if he had... remember the ungodly "historian's debate" with it's dreadful negative, guilt based, ontology by Fischer? - That's why... and for some slightly insane reason there are still people around that like his theses... And maybe it should be read more currently in no small part for it's assessment of the Russian role in the whole tragedy - especially since the primary sourced are currently once more behind an Iron Curtain... Anyhow, thank you for bringing these two fabulous (each in their own way) books to a hopefully larger audience.🧐 Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
@@InsertLiteraryPunHereI just watched your video on Czech literature. It was great to see Karel Capek mentioned. I read his "War with the Newts" and his collections of short stories a few times and wouldn't mind re-reading them again. With Svejk, it's one of the books that I return to regularly to read , and it's been so for the past 35 years. It started with Svejk, but it got me interested in its author, Jaroslav Hasek, who had a very unusual biography., he had been everyone and everywhere. So, whenever I see something about Hasek, I read it. Hasek spent some time in the city that I live in, there was even a street named after him, and there is still a plaque on one of the buildings. Both Hasek and Capek were translated a lot into Russian. I've seen Cecil Parrott's translation of Svejk, and the first few paragraphs read as if it was a translation of the Russian translation done by Bogatyrev in 1929. I am not sure what that means.
@ Oh that's interesting. Parrott's translation is directly from the Czech, but the biggest criticism of his translation that I've heard is that it's not colorful enough in English with all the different Czech insults!
Haha thank you very much! It's a little overwhelming because this honestly was the last video I ever expected to be popular--what a weird and wonderful turn of events :)
Hi Jennifer, I stumbled on this segment this afternoon and listened to the end. I understood every word you said because sometimes WW I comes up in conversation and I’m thrilled because I know it’s the most interesting and most consequential event of the last two centuries, and then I see my companions’ eyes glaze over. I first got interested in the subject several years ago from a Berkeley University course on German history that I found on ITunes University; it was a series of recorded lectures by Professor Margaret L Anderson, given around 2007, and she really brought it to life in all its complexity. Especially, the crazily poignant part about the two different worlds of Germany before and after the war. Recently, I read George, Nicholas and Wilhelm by Miranda Carter which I highly recommend (I actually listened to the audiobook.) Both Carter and Prof Anderson seem to apportion blame equally among Germany, Russia and Austria Hungary. For what it’s worth, I slightly weight a little more responsibility to Russia due to the staggering ineptness of Nicholas and his advisers . Anyway, I really enjoyed your piece. (I guess I should have started with that.)
Thank you, Jennifer. This is an extremely interesting video. Your analysis and comparison of these two books was exceptional. 👏🏻👏🏻 I have not read either of these books, but I have read others on roughly the same premise. My late husband read extensively on both wars, so I will now scour his bookshelves for these titles. Well done.
Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front is amazing book about British soldiers. He also slightly touches on something you brought up here which is the view and writings of the war changed from 1918 to 1946. From "The War to end All War" to a useless prelude that had to be finished "with a sequel".
Thank you for the video. Your way of analysing books and speaking about them is very interesting and thought provoking. On WWI, the book that comes to mind is Catrine Clay's King, Kaiser and Tsar, which explored the beginnings of WWI from the perspective of personal relationship between the cousins and childhood friends who became king of England, German keiser and tsar of Russian empire. It's been a while since I read it, but I recall it being quite compelling.
"Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy" by David Stevenson is very good. (As is the Keegan.) I think "And Quiet Flows the Don" by Mikhail Sholokhov is a great novel. This, the first volume in "The Quiet Don," takes you from 1914-1918 as seen by a Cossack soldier. (Volume II is exclusively the Russian Civil War.)
I had to read Regneration for my Teaching History through fiction master's class and loved it. I plan on finishing the trilogy soon. This is an absolutely awesome video.
Very interesting review. I became interested in WWI when i started reading some mystery books from the Maisie Dobbs series (title of 1st book). About that same time, Downton Abbey on PBS started right off with history right before the war... so i was eager to learn more. I think perhaps there are more books about WWII because from the late 40s thru now people who have been involved in that war have been alive. One more comment: i am showing my age (71), but i find it hard to follow you because you speak so fast. I know... more and more young people do than, in all media. Thanks again for an interesting presentation!
If you find WW1 naval chases interesting, I definitely recommend learning about the German East Asia Squadron's escapades from the beginning of the war. Especially those individual ships which split off to raid. It could almost pass for adventure fiction in some areas. The light cruiser Emden's story, especially that of the 50 crewmen who escaped in a leaky stolen schooner in the Indian Ocean, and had to pass through the whole Ottoman Empire to get home, could be a movie itself. There were also German crew from another of the squadron's ships who ended up stranded in Argentina (or was it Chile?) after eventually losing a long effort to evade the Royal Navy. Many chose to stay after the end of the war because they had already built a life there and married because they couldn't get home for years. Dig into the details of them all, you'll find interesting things.
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere 'The Last Cruise Of The Emden' by Edwin P Hoyt (2001) is one which covers the story of that ship and it's crew's stories - the most unusual of the lot. There are numerous others covering the rest of the squadron or the early naval war years as a whole. Since Emden split off on it's own, in the beginning, you don't get all the interesting details outside of a focused treatment.
Instantly subscribed and can't wait for more. I'd love to hear your opinion on Dan Carlin's 'podcast' (audiobook really), his take on WW1. Also - I'm delighted to see you plan to read the series culminating in Rilla of Ingleside - that book is what actually kickstarted my obsession with WW1, way back as an early adolescent. As a result I number with the 'nostalgia' category, which is very softcore I know, but I can't help it. I just bought a kindle edition of The Sleepwalkers. Thank you!
85 member here! I'm another one of those oddball WWI buffs. Good comparison of these two books. I agree with Sleepwalkers for the historical study, but Tuchmann writes history in a way the old travel writers used to: rich in incidental detail along with cinematic sweep and the punishing tragedies of historical irony. I appreciate the bit you bring up about Austria-Hungary. I am a mild revisionist in my perspective on that empire, which was also a cultural and intellectual powerhouse in its day. There is a lot to be thought about there, and a good place to start is The Fiume Crisis by Reille. For more on the start of the war, look no further than Dance of the Furies by America's greatest historian on the conflict, Michael Neiberg. And a WWI reading list would not be complete without the greatest poem on the conflict: In Parenthesis by David Jones. He served at the Somme and became an artist afterwards as a pupil of Eric Gill. His poem has been turned into an opera, and combines Welsh folklore and Celtic mythology, Catholic mysticism, Roman and medieval history, King Arthur, and the horrors of war. It will be one of the greatest things you have ever read. If you want more after that, The Anathemata awaits you. Enjoy your journey.
I suggest Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth. it made me view not only Tolkien but also other authors who experienced war and how it informed their fiction. "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" Great video, 2 excellent books
This was amazing! It’s so rare to see history discussed and analyzed in this was. If you haven’t read the following here are some WWI recommendations: The First World War: a Complete History by Martin Gilbert (This is my favorite single volume straight forward history of the war) The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War by Peter Englund The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussel (A look at the impact of the war o. western culture) Through the Wheat by Thomas Boyd (The best WWI novel written by an American veteran of the war)
Despite my advocacy for Fischer, please continue with this format. After all, you have just "reinvented" the ancient learning technigue for the utube generation of Compare and Contrast!
Also Into the Silence by Wade Davis (about Mallory and Irvine's Everest climb) has some ofthe most horrific descriptions about the fighting in WWI. I like Lyn McDonald's books too
If you read "All Quiet on the Western Front", be sure to add "Storm of Steel" by Ernst Jünger to your reading list for a complementary perspective on the war from a German point of view.
This is so good. Thank you! I look forward to your thoughts on Paris 1919...a related book that has been on my TBR FOREVER is The Great Silence which, if I remember correctly, is about the flu pandemic. I was a WWII/Battle of Britain girlie in my undergrad, but you're inspiring me to jump back a few decades.
Just finished watching and what a fascinating , informative video you've made. Thank you for the analysis. I read years ago Tuchman’s, but I think I am going to read both back-to-back along your recommendation. If you can add to your list Vera Brittain's memoirs Testament of Youth, along with All Quiet on the Western Front. Alice Winn’s In Memoriam is also a good fiction read, capturing the innocence of those times.
I've seen a few people mention In Memoriam, and your recommendation has sent it to the top of my list! And thank you very much for such a lovely comment.
I think I listened to The Sleepwalkers while gardening at one point. It wasn't the best way to absorb the information. I liked your description. I'll have to go back to it when I can focus on it. I've never been all that interested in WW1 because it didn't feel like there was a moral cause attached to it, but it seems like there were plenty of other interesting aspects to it.
I just stumbled on this video and your channel, and I'm glad I did! I recently read Tuchman's book and *The Proud Tower*, both of which I liked a lot. Clark's book has been in a stack next to my bed for a while now. Given your review, though, I'll definitely pick it up next. I have one recommendation for you: Paul Fussell's *The Great War and Modern Memory*. It's fantastic -- not political history at all, but cultural history of the first order.
According to Wiki, in 1914 Tuchman, as a child, witnessed part of the flight of the German commerce raider Goben near Constantinople, from a passenger liner.
Great video and I love the discussion related to nonfiction analysis. It’s super important to be thinking about our sources (and our sources sources) and other aspects of the moment/their background and perspectives and how that influences their writing of history. It might be a little niche to be up your alley, but I really loved The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris as a book that focuses on a specific surgeon and the development of plastic surgery during and because of World War I and I would pair it with the fiction book The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.
I f you're interested in medieval European history, I would recommend Donald R. Howard's "Chaucer: His Life, His Times, His Work". Howard keeps it very lively and entertaining.
If Austria-Hungary is an interest for you, you might enjoy the number of books written by Christopher Duffy about Austria and Prussia, and their struggles against each other, during the mid-1700’s.
Such a great video! I was fascinated all the way through. This is the kind of booktube video I have been waiting for! Deep dives into nonfiction with thoughtful, entertaining analysis. It just doesn't get any better 😃
Thank you for this video. It's a favorite topic of mine. A few more recommendations:
*July 1914 by Sean McMeekin - Sort of a prequel to Guns of August, but I felt it got to the point more quickly than Sleepwalkers. (Bonus is his Ottoman Endgame.)
*The Road Less Traveled by Philip Zelikow - A one-of-a-kind look at how Woodrow Wilson failed to mediate an end to the fighting as early as 1916.
*Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon - Fiction in rural Scotland that not only tells a strong character story but also shows how the war accelerated the end of tenant farming/crofting.
Agreed, July 1914 by Sean McMeekin is a must-read for anyone interested in the leadup to WWI, a particular interest of mine. Really enjoyed this video and both books covered.
These are great recommendations; thank you very much.
One of my favourite videos you've ever made! Whoever isn't in the 85 is missing out haha
Over the last two years I’ve become obsessed with learning about the two world wars. I literally can’t stop and I want to find ways to talk about it all the time. So your intro totally sucked me in. You aren’t alone!
The Guns of August is one of my favorite historical works - it’s just so much fun!
I am one of the 85. When BookTubers talk about reading slowly and reflecting on about the books, being more of a math/science person, I always wonder how and what to think about my reading? Your video gave me a great framework for this and I took a bunch of notes. Coincidentally I am reading the novel In Memoriam by Alice Winn at the moment, while knowing abysmally little about the first world war. I will most definitely pick up both of these books after and see for myself how I think about them, and the history, and return to this video for more reflection. Really appreciate your effort and sharing your thoughts.
Have you visited the World War One museum in Kansas City, KS? Before I had, I was all about World War Two, mainly due to timing proximity. My grandfather fought in the Second World War so I had first hand experiences and dove into that fast and hard. But after visiting the *amazing* museum in KS, I realized the First World War was like a very chilling prequel. Which, of course, it was.
I didn't know there was a WWI museum in the United States! That's great information, thank you
SO excited for you to be talking about non fic more, I am desperately missing that in Booktube. Loving this video already at 2 min in 😀
Jennifer, this was such a thoughtful and engaging video! Your comparison of Tuchman and Clark was sharp and accessible, and I loved how you balanced analysis with humor and personal insight. This wasn’t just a book review-it was a reminder of why history matters and how we can think critically about it.
This is a great video-really stoked about the approach you've used here. It's very thoughtful and well done. Stoked for what you do next!
Thank you. I watched your How To Read History video and really appreciated your approach too!
I am just so happy you are back! Please stay!
Fantastic video! I want to read The Sleepwalkers since it came out. I really should finally get to it.
And of course I made it through the whole video! I was on the edge of my seat!
Fellow WWI enthusiasts here! Thanks for a great video. I enjoyed your review and analysis comparing both books and how they addressed the subject matter. Looking forward to more of your videos!!
I adore this video and your analysis of these books and the first World War. I have had The Sleepwalkers on my library wishlist for months and while you were talking about it, I finally downloaded it to my e-reader. I'm German and Clark's approach sounds pretty similar to how I was taught this part of history in school, focusing on the twenty or so years before more than the war itself. But world war two is so dominant in our thoughts that I haven't really engaged with world war one since high school. I'm looking forward to getting back to it from an adult perspective. Thank you for this wonderful and thoughtful video!
I'm very glad you commented, because I've been wondering specifically about how WWI is taught in Germany. And thank you so much; I'm thrilled to find other nonfiction readers!
Wow, great video. I’ve had added both of these to my must read list. I’ve read other Barbara Tuchman books and enjoyed them and have known about the Guns of August for quite some time. Thank you again for a great video. If I could give it more than one thumbs up I would.
This is a fantastic video! I loved the format and your clear analysis.
Thank you for your brilliant treatment and thoughts on these two works.
Fascinating and an education, as ever. I may have to pick up Sleepwalkers one day. I hope this isn't too personal and feel free to brush me back but your skin is *so glowy.* While I keep up with my skincare routine myself I don't always feel like doing it. So I'm always impressed when someone else has the dedication to be consistent. If you get to the Anne books, enjoy re-reading them. They're delightful and smart stuff in their way. Anne was my companion through my teens. Also, a character named Philippa Gordon in I think the third book was my first and most obscure book-crush. I never did finish the last one so I didn't even know it was a WWI book, I'll have to read it eventually. Well, it's always a pleasure.
Thank you for the video and analysis. After having it on my shelf for years, I finally managed to make it through THE SLEEPWALKERS last year. It's been decades since I read the Tuchman, though. One book I enjoyed for this period focuses on the royal relationships was Miranda Carter's GEORGE, NICHOLAS AND WILHELM: THREE ROYAL COUSINS AND THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR I. But I'm still digging into even more niche WWI topics, such as the naval war (Yes, I also enjoy the story of SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, but also the writing on the battles of Coronel and the Falklands) and the war on the Austro-Hungarian fronts. And there are even first person, period accounts worth digging into I've enjoyed (Mildred Aldrich's A HILLTOP ON THE MARNE and Bela Zombory-Moldovan's memoir, THE BURNING OF THE WORLD: A MEMOIR OF 1914.)
I agree with you on your comments about the Russian Tsar but I think “Nicholas and Alexandra ” by Robert K. Massie is really worth a read. It really discusses how this giant country slid into this war and eventually revolution because of the ineptness you discuss. Great video I will let a day pass to absorb it then watch it again. Thanks.
Nicholas and Alexandra is a masterpiece. It is so well written that you feel transported to that time period. Everyone should read it.
@@carlosyamara And Massie's book Dreadnaught is a must read.
@@SMWBraden I was about to come in and say that of Dreadnought as well. 😅
Multiple times, i've gone to re-read a section of it, then just ended up reading the whole thing from the beginning. Minus some of the long biographical sections.
Pretty amazing that a 1200 or page book can make you do that!
You all collectively have convinced me! I think I'll start with Nicholas and Alexandra, and then wade into the Dreadnought waters 🫡
My husband is a lover of historical war books. He really loves understanding the different perspectives. Youre review was so good i immediately went out and bought both books for my man. And ill def have him watch your video. Well done!
Your comment made my day! I hope your man enjoys these books!
Thanks for the insight and in-depth analysis. Definitely picking it up.
YES the algorithm is algorithming. I'm thrilled to have stumbled upon this video as I too am obsessed with WWI history. Currently reading Nick Lloyd's Western Front (preordered Eastern front) and a collection of poetry from the era. I picked it up during my visit to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, which has a surprisingly good collection of literature and special editions. Subscribed, eager for more :D
Excellent! (a bit tired atm and not very wordy, but I loved this thorough and articulate review a lot!)
Thanks! Ruthenian (Ukrainian Galician) descendant here in Canada, I appreciate your passion. Thank you.
Amazing! I'm very passionate about the fact that etymologically the term "Rus" usually refers to Ruthenia instead of Russia :)
wow this is my first video from you and you made me want to be passionate about WWI ! Thank you for this great talk about those books.
Thank you! I truly thought no one would watch this, so it's completely delightful to think I may have actually converted someone!
This was so wonderful! I'm glad I found your channel!
I loved listening to your analysis of these books. I haven't read the Clarke. I started reading the Tuchman a while back, but dropped it when my husband let me know that she's just a great writer who is commonly wrong. I think that people tend to ignore WWI in favor of two partly because of the more obvious horror of WWII, but also because its just confusing to understand how it started or what its aims were (at least as most of us were taught in school). I also think there is a sense in which for Americans "Europe" is really western Europe and we just don't know much about eastern Europe or Russia (notice how even in WWII stuff, it's mostly Germany/holocaust and less about Russia or Japan).
Such a great video, Jennifer! Thank you so much for making it. i'm very unschooled, but am fascinated by this period in history and this part of the world and am hoping to embark on my own self-study course, so I could not have been more delighted finding your video this morning!
Your commentary and analysis were excellent and exactly what i would love to see more of on BookTube. I've not read either of those books, but own both and have been eager to get to them soon. I don't have any of the other books you mentioned, but i have access to an excellent public library system with a generous Mail-a-Book program for those of us housebound and with limited resources. All that to say: Please, may I have some more?! Please do continue sharing your thoughts on any and alll books you read on this project, and thank you for you list of anticiipated reads as well.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the best video I've seen in a very long time!
Love your interesting channel. Glad I found you!! 😊 I’m downloading Paris by MacMillan now.
I've been obsessed with The Great War for ages. So glad to discover you! You reviewed two of my favorites. I also read Siegfried Sassoon, John Keegan, T.E. Lawrence, and W.H.R. Rivers.
I'm so glad to have come across this video! WWI is my personal Roman Empire. Possibly the most defining event of the 20th century despite ALL that was to come.
Sidenote: As someone who got interested in WWI after reading Anne of Green Gables (Rilla of Ingleside), I was very surprised to read LM Montgomery's biography and see how her views on the war evolved as time went on. Rilla, written in 1921, just a few years after the war and largely drawn from Montgomery's own journals very strictly follows the party line - dislike for Germans and pacifists and conviction in the noble cause of the war. Whereas, Montgomery's journals and biography showed how these ideas softened and evolved over time and the sheer loss and pointlessness of the war started being felt. To me, the most touching aspect of her writing on WWI is just the idea of the loss of innocence for a whole generation, a definitive and traumatic break from the Old World and into a treacherous New one.
This video popped up in my feed and I am glad I watched! Had never read much about WW1 (probably because WW2 takes up all those bookshelves), but just picked up The Sleepwalkers from the library because of your review! Really great video, great explanations. Subscribing!
This was such a lovely and approachful way to go about this. I briefly studied history at university, and even now can feel overwhelmed by the academic-ness of it all. What you said about how the two writers go about discussing the past one being particularly struck a cord with me; I'm reading The Beautiful Mrs Seidenman by Andrezej Szczypiorski and it perfectly articulated how he goes about writing and viewing these characters in a way I hadn't quite been able to articulate x
I really appreciate this, thank you!
I may be a historian of the early modern period but I ATE THIS UP!! subscribed
I loved the Guns of August. It definitely got me hooked into the history of the Great War. I'm in the middle of reading Max Hastings' "Catastrophe" which covers the first year of the war and its myriad causes and the parts played by certain people and the countries they represent as being crucial to the narrative. Some difference of opinion here and there with Tuchman, but relatively the same framing as to the hows and whys of the war's genesis. I have "Sleepwalkers" in my TBR, but will have to take a break from WW1 after Hastings. Great review!
Thank you! It's nice to have another vote for Hastings. And I agree, Tuchman is such a fantastic writer to hook you into the larger narratives about the Great War. I know speaking about "storytelling" doesn't make her work sound as serious, and in some ways it's not, but it really is an important quality for nonfiction writers to have and she has it in spades
@@InsertLiteraryPunHereIn the intro, she points out that one journalist describes her as being “Thucydidean”. I heartily agree. And if she is Thucydides, I feel Hastings could be Tacitus.
Having previously been interested in other time periods, I had a blank spot in my WW1 knowledge. Around 2010 I asked some of my fellow history nerds for a recommendation on a single volume coverage of the war. Ended up getting 'A World Undone' by GJ Meyer (2006) on those recommendations. It is a beast of a tome but was certainly enlightening. It churned my gray matter on how little, and poorly, I had been taught WW1. Which could be said for many historical subjects, really.
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
Really enjoyed this video and interesting to see your comparison of these two books side by side. I feel like the WWI vs WWII interest may also reflect US culture, possibly because the US was less involved in WWI and also less affected by it (in terms of casualties). My feeling (and it’s just a feeling, I don’t have hard evidence to back it up) is that in the UK there is more balance (though with the emphasis still on WWII). It’s more common to see WWI monuments for example, and Remembrance Day is on November 11th. In Australia there is still a big cultural memory of Gallipoli, because of the ANZAC. In the Netherlands on the other hand you might be forgiven for thinking there was only 1 world war (viz. the 2nd one), largely because we managed to sit out the first round.
Also very happy to see that there appear to be slightly more than 85 of us here :D
I'm English..WW1 was the beginning and the end of the British Empire. Every hamlet every town every city in the Britain has a monument to the memory of those lost in that conflict
Affected the very soul of the country from which it never recovered. l am named John after my mothers half brother who served in the British Army on the western front.
8.4K views and still going strong! You're little WWI video that nobody was going to watch is doing quite well. Congratu-freaking-lations!
Haha thank you! I'm feeling very exposed by it all (it's intimidating when a bunch of new people comment, most of whom don't know you very well), but it's also extremely lovely to find other WWI readers
Great reviews!
An excellent addition to The Guns of August is Tuchman's The Proud Tower but she is more of a novelist than an historian.
WWI books are mixed throughout the WWII shelves at my B&N, but at a secondhand books store, the books are all together on three shelves (woohoo). It was a jackpot moment for me when I went in with my list. I got the Guns of August as my intro to WWI (a YT recommendation) and now have added so many new titles to my WWI TBR list (Thanks)
I just discovered your channel. Your double review is excellent. My world War I reading only consists of: Solzhenitsyn, Ernst Junger, Sgt York, and C.S. Lewis/Tolkien. As a former U.S. Marine, Junger was on the required reading list and he is an enigma that keeps giving for 102 years.
Thank you for the Junger recommendation; this is exactly the type of thing I've been looking to read.
@InsertLiteraryPunHere , the TH-cam Chanel, Art of Darkness, does an excellent piece on him. He did everything from dropping acid with Albert Hoffman to getting clemency for his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler. He truly was in the running for, The Most Interesting Man In the World, lol.
So this was really interesting thought-provoking. I’ve read the Tuchman twice, mostly because I marveled at how she could hold my interest about Col Blimp discussing the right salient with Gen Clouseau-or something like that.
However now I can see her biases much more clearly. I have The Sleepwalkers-on kindle-and will move it up to my February tbr.
Thanks, Jennifer, for making a tangled topic clear and intriguing.
I read the sleepwalkers ~2 months ago and am super excited to see one of my favourite booktubers discuss it in such depth.
For myself I have to admit that the book was tough going at times but in the end I’m glad to have read it as it provided valuable insights.
I actually would have liked to have seen Clarke explore the role of the German Kaiser more and was also surprised at how little of a role that the naval arms race between Great Britain and Germany was given in the book.
It could be a bias on my side as I recently read Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie.
Amazing analysis, Jennifer! I did a similar exercise (far less formally) a couple years ago with Tuckman and McMillan's War That Ended Peace. I am definitely going to get around to Sleepwalkers soon (it's been on my radar for a bit). Based on your breakdown, McMillan's book seems to be in the middle of the two: she actively works against the post-WWII perceptions, but, like Tuckman, focuses heavily on narrative, which leads to some skewing. I think what worked well in Paris 1919 doesn't work as well in War That ENded Peace, but it is still a good read.
Also, THANK YOU for the note at the end re: font size. As a visually impaired person, I appreciate the warning. I use Amazon to buy books frequently (hides head from tomoatoes and rocks), and sometimes I am unpleasantly surprised by how small text can be.
What's not to like about World War I histories: monarchs and their growing irrelevancy in the modern world. Assassinations. Conspiracies. Scheming diplomats and generals. Human folly. War! War! War! Bring it on Jennifer! First time on your channel🙃
Except it set up the conditions for the rise of Fascism and Communism and WWII and everything that happened in the post war world, good and bad.
I really liked Tuchman's book on the 14th century, A Distant Mirror, and I own Guns but haven't read it yet. It's definitely calling to me now thanks to your video. One for quarter four of Historathon. Adam Hochschild's book To End All Wars is a really interesting look into dissenters in World War 1, I would recommend that.
I just found your channel and I am really enjoying the video so far so I'm subscribing. I've been on a non-fiction history binge myself and lately it's been a hyperfixation on Medieval England, specifically during the conquest, crusades, 100 years war, and skipping to the Wars of the Roses. I genuinely believe that reading history is a really good way to properly absorb it and learn things about our world today. We have so many "history buffs" who only learn history through manosphere channels that whitewash and water things down or give it to people through a conspiracy lens.
Loved this and showing the books you’d like to read further on this topic is a lovely touch 💚✨
Highly recommend Dead Wake by Erik Larson which is about the sinking of the Lusitania. It's a thriller disguised as history, where you know the outcome already but not for any of the characters. Also recommend the first third of The Power Broker by Robert Cairo, which while about Robert Moses looks a lot at Al Smith and the war broadly as it affected a civilian. Then finally Robert Massie's Dreadnought and Castles of Steel. Dreadnought talks more about the arms race between Germany and Britain and how that fed into the coming of the war while Castle of Steel I think is more about the maneuvers both parties did to fight during the naval war.
Super video! And what an expected gem to see Rilla of Ingleside at the end! I'm currently (re/)reading all of L.M. Montgomery's writing (that I can get my hands on) and she wrote some of my favourite books but also some of the worst books I've ever read. Thankfully Rilla is not in the latter bucket.
And Goodbye to All That was the stand-out book in my war literature course so I hope you make another of your insightful videos about it!
Great analysis of the two books. Keep 'em coming.
Excellent review/analysis. I can also recommend "Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I" by Michael Neiberg. I discovered him while watching the lecture series presented by the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Fabulous video and analysis. First-time viewer. Subscribing. My dad is particularly interested in WWII, but I think he'd be interested in these. And tysm for suggesting other formats for reading. I've reached the point where I can't focus on walls of small text at all.
Thank you; it's so nice to find other nonfiction readers, and also to hear about people like your dad! And I'm glad that the font comment about the Clark was helpful--the whole time I was reading I kept thinking that I would be remiss if I didn't warn people
After having it on my radar for years, I finally bought The Sleepwalkers after you mentioned it in a previous video. Can't wait to start reading it.
Really enjoyed this video! Off to find a copy of Sleepwalkers...
This was fascinating! So glad you are back!
So funny, I've been obsessing over WWI too. I'm still scratching the surface, but I thoroughly enjoyed Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini. It's a Persephone Classic, and I'm eager to read more of their WWI selections.
Awesome video!!!!!!
Thank you^^!
I have read both but there are over a decade and several years of academic studies in history between them.
I loved The Guns of August, in spite of being a German (but exceedingly Anglophile😅 - studied Anglistics for 6 years...), when I was starting my long fascination with the Apocalypse of the old World, driven in no small part by Tuchman's book.
Years later, following several others like Citino on the German Way of War, Showalter on Tannenberg and already Dr. Clark (funnily enough a PLM [civilian version] recipient) on Prussia and Dreadnought by Massie on the same (if very specifically focussed) topic I encountered Clark's Sleepwalkers and was blown away - maybe because I was so used to academic writing at the time it felt exciting and rather fast and flowing (unlike Showalter...) and I devoured it - yes there are those who claim Clark may have a pro-German bias but ironically I think he would not have such a success (I was in a reading by him in Frankfurt several years back, got my "Iron Kingdom" signed^^) here if he had... remember the ungodly "historian's debate" with it's dreadful negative, guilt based, ontology by Fischer? - That's why... and for some slightly insane reason there are still people around that like his theses... And maybe it should be read more currently in no small part for it's assessment of the Russian role in the whole tragedy - especially since the primary sourced are currently once more behind an Iron Curtain...
Anyhow, thank you for bringing these two fabulous (each in their own way) books to a hopefully larger audience.🧐
Best regards
Raoul G. Kunz
I found your whole comment so interesting; thank you for sharing your perspective!
Having read both books, they are great
The first line in Jaroslav Hasek's "The Good Soldier Svejk" pretty much summarizes the story.
Yes! I love finding another Švejk reader. If you're interested in more Czech books, I also have a Czech Literature Starter Kit on my channel.
@@InsertLiteraryPunHereI just watched your video on Czech literature. It was great to see Karel Capek mentioned. I read his "War with the Newts" and his collections of short stories a few times and wouldn't mind re-reading them again.
With Svejk, it's one of the books that I return to regularly to read , and it's been so for the past 35 years.
It started with Svejk, but it got me interested in its author, Jaroslav Hasek, who had a very unusual biography., he had been everyone and everywhere. So, whenever I see something about Hasek, I read it. Hasek spent some time in the city that I live in, there was even a street named after him, and there is still a plaque on one of the buildings.
Both Hasek and Capek were translated a lot into Russian.
I've seen Cecil Parrott's translation of Svejk, and the first few paragraphs read as if it was a translation of the Russian translation done by Bogatyrev in 1929. I am not sure what that means.
@ Oh that's interesting. Parrott's translation is directly from the Czech, but the biggest criticism of his translation that I've heard is that it's not colorful enough in English with all the different Czech insults!
Not 85 of us Jennifer
Six Thousand made it to the end!
Give yourself a pat on the back
Haha thank you very much! It's a little overwhelming because this honestly was the last video I ever expected to be popular--what a weird and wonderful turn of events :)
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere ww2 was taking up too much shelf space anyway
Hi Jennifer, I stumbled on this segment this afternoon and listened to the end. I understood every word you said because sometimes WW I comes up in conversation and I’m thrilled because I know it’s the most interesting and most consequential event of the last two centuries, and then I see my companions’ eyes glaze over. I first got interested in the subject several years ago from a Berkeley University course on German history that I found on ITunes University; it was a series of recorded lectures by Professor Margaret L Anderson, given around 2007, and she really brought it to life in all its complexity. Especially, the crazily poignant part about the two different worlds of Germany before and after the war. Recently, I read George, Nicholas and Wilhelm by Miranda Carter which I highly recommend (I actually listened to the audiobook.) Both Carter and Prof Anderson seem to apportion blame equally among Germany, Russia and Austria Hungary. For what it’s worth, I slightly weight a little more responsibility to Russia due to the staggering ineptness of Nicholas and his advisers . Anyway, I really enjoyed your piece. (I guess I should have started with that.)
Thank you, Jennifer. This is an extremely interesting video. Your analysis and comparison of these two books was exceptional. 👏🏻👏🏻 I have not read either of these books, but I have read others on roughly the same premise. My late husband read extensively on both wars, so I will now scour his bookshelves for these titles. Well done.
Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front is amazing book about British soldiers. He also slightly touches on something you brought up here which is the view and writings of the war changed from 1918 to 1946. From "The War to end All War" to a useless prelude that had to be finished "with a sequel".
Thank you for the video. Your way of analysing books and speaking about them is very interesting and thought provoking.
On WWI, the book that comes to mind is Catrine Clay's King, Kaiser and Tsar, which explored the beginnings of WWI from the perspective of personal relationship between the cousins and childhood friends who became king of England, German keiser and tsar of Russian empire. It's been a while since I read it, but I recall it being quite compelling.
I recommend a book called Nothing of Importance.
great video. Thank you
"Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy" by David Stevenson is very good. (As is the Keegan.)
I think "And Quiet Flows the Don" by Mikhail Sholokhov is a great novel. This, the first volume in "The Quiet Don," takes you from 1914-1918 as seen by a Cossack soldier. (Volume II is exclusively the Russian Civil War.)
I had to read Regneration for my Teaching History through fiction master's class and loved it. I plan on finishing the trilogy soon. This is an absolutely awesome video.
Very interesting review. I became interested in WWI when i started reading some mystery books from the Maisie Dobbs series (title of 1st book). About that same time, Downton Abbey on PBS started right off with history right before the war... so i was eager to learn more. I think perhaps there are more books about WWII because from the late 40s thru now people who have been involved in that war have been alive. One more comment: i am showing my age (71), but i find it hard to follow you because you speak so fast. I know... more and more young people do than, in all media. Thanks again for an interesting presentation!
Wow. This videonwas fantastic! I look forward to more like it!
Great video and calling WWII the sequel was priceless 😂 Just hope it’s not going to be a trilogy 😢
pls make more of these
If you find WW1 naval chases interesting, I definitely recommend learning about the German East Asia Squadron's escapades from the beginning of the war. Especially those individual ships which split off to raid. It could almost pass for adventure fiction in some areas. The light cruiser Emden's story, especially that of the 50 crewmen who escaped in a leaky stolen schooner in the Indian Ocean, and had to pass through the whole Ottoman Empire to get home, could be a movie itself. There were also German crew from another of the squadron's ships who ended up stranded in Argentina (or was it Chile?) after eventually losing a long effort to evade the Royal Navy. Many chose to stay after the end of the war because they had already built a life there and married because they couldn't get home for years.
Dig into the details of them all, you'll find interesting things.
These recommendations sound great; thank you!
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere 'The Last Cruise Of The Emden' by Edwin P Hoyt (2001) is one which covers the story of that ship and it's crew's stories - the most unusual of the lot.
There are numerous others covering the rest of the squadron or the early naval war years as a whole. Since Emden split off on it's own, in the beginning, you don't get all the interesting details outside of a focused treatment.
Instantly subscribed and can't wait for more. I'd love to hear your opinion on Dan Carlin's 'podcast' (audiobook really), his take on WW1.
Also - I'm delighted to see you plan to read the series culminating in Rilla of Ingleside - that book is what actually kickstarted my obsession with WW1, way back as an early adolescent. As a result I number with the 'nostalgia' category, which is very softcore I know, but I can't help it. I just bought a kindle edition of The Sleepwalkers. Thank you!
I can't believe I actually found someone else whose WWI obsession came from Rilla of Ingleside! TRULY one of my people :)
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere That's so amazing!Maybe there are more of us out there!
85 member here! I'm another one of those oddball WWI buffs. Good comparison of these two books. I agree with Sleepwalkers for the historical study, but Tuchmann writes history in a way the old travel writers used to: rich in incidental detail along with cinematic sweep and the punishing tragedies of historical irony.
I appreciate the bit you bring up about Austria-Hungary. I am a mild revisionist in my perspective on that empire, which was also a cultural and intellectual powerhouse in its day. There is a lot to be thought about there, and a good place to start is The Fiume Crisis by Reille.
For more on the start of the war, look no further than Dance of the Furies by America's greatest historian on the conflict, Michael Neiberg.
And a WWI reading list would not be complete without the greatest poem on the conflict: In Parenthesis by David Jones. He served at the Somme and became an artist afterwards as a pupil of Eric Gill. His poem has been turned into an opera, and combines Welsh folklore and Celtic mythology, Catholic mysticism, Roman and medieval history, King Arthur, and the horrors of war. It will be one of the greatest things you have ever read. If you want more after that, The Anathemata awaits you.
Enjoy your journey.
I absolutely love your sentence about Tuchman's writing; you expressed that so well. And thank you for your recommendations.
@InsertLiteraryPunHere Thank you, and enjoy!
A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 To 1918 by G. J. Meyer is AMAZING.
Meyer is getting a lot of love in these comments, so he's definitely going on the list!
I suggest Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth. it made me view not only Tolkien but also other authors who experienced war and how it informed their fiction. "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" Great video, 2 excellent books
This was a very interesting review and comparison.
This was amazing! It’s so rare to see history discussed and analyzed in this was.
If you haven’t read the following here are some WWI recommendations:
The First World War: a Complete History by Martin Gilbert
(This is my favorite single volume straight forward history of the war)
The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War by Peter Englund
The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussel
(A look at the impact of the war o. western culture)
Through the Wheat by Thomas Boyd
(The best WWI novel written by an American veteran of the war)
Loved it!
Despite my advocacy for Fischer, please continue with this format. After all, you have just "reinvented" the ancient learning technigue for the utube generation of Compare and Contrast!
King, Kaiser, Czar is a good book too as all these major players are first cousins
Also Into the Silence by Wade Davis (about Mallory and Irvine's Everest climb) has some ofthe most horrific descriptions about the fighting in WWI. I like Lyn McDonald's books too
I also suggest that you read two books by George Kenan entitled "The Decline of Bismarck's European Order" and "The Fateful Alliance".
If you read "All Quiet on the Western Front", be sure to add "Storm of Steel" by Ernst Jünger to your reading list for a complementary perspective on the war from a German point of view.
Storm of Steel is a great recommendation; thank you.
This is so good. Thank you! I look forward to your thoughts on Paris 1919...a related book that has been on my TBR FOREVER is The Great Silence which, if I remember correctly, is about the flu pandemic. I was a WWII/Battle of Britain girlie in my undergrad, but you're inspiring me to jump back a few decades.
Just finished watching and what a fascinating , informative video you've made. Thank you for the analysis. I read years ago Tuchman’s, but I think I am going to read both back-to-back along your recommendation. If you can add to your list Vera Brittain's memoirs Testament of Youth, along with All Quiet on the Western Front. Alice Winn’s In Memoriam is also a good fiction read, capturing the innocence of those times.
I've seen a few people mention In Memoriam, and your recommendation has sent it to the top of my list! And thank you very much for such a lovely comment.
1939 - THE WAR THAT HAD MANY FATHERS by Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof
I Really recommend this book. Everyone should read it!
I think I listened to The Sleepwalkers while gardening at one point. It wasn't the best way to absorb the information. I liked your description. I'll have to go back to it when I can focus on it. I've never been all that interested in WW1 because it didn't feel like there was a moral cause attached to it, but it seems like there were plenty of other interesting aspects to it.
I just stumbled on this video and your channel, and I'm glad I did! I recently read Tuchman's book and *The Proud Tower*, both of which I liked a lot. Clark's book has been in a stack next to my bed for a while now. Given your review, though, I'll definitely pick it up next. I have one recommendation for you: Paul Fussell's *The Great War and Modern Memory*. It's fantastic -- not political history at all, but cultural history of the first order.
According to Wiki, in 1914 Tuchman, as a child, witnessed part of the flight of the German commerce raider Goben near Constantinople, from a passenger liner.
Great video and I love the discussion related to nonfiction analysis. It’s super important to be thinking about our sources (and our sources sources) and other aspects of the moment/their background and perspectives and how that influences their writing of history. It might be a little niche to be up your alley, but I really loved The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris as a book that focuses on a specific surgeon and the development of plastic surgery during and because of World War I and I would pair it with the fiction book The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.
I f you're interested in medieval European history, I would recommend Donald R. Howard's "Chaucer: His Life, His Times, His Work". Howard keeps it very lively and entertaining.
I love when a historian keeps things lively and entertaining, so thank you!
If Austria-Hungary is an interest for you, you might enjoy the number of books written by Christopher Duffy about Austria and Prussia, and their struggles against each other, during the mid-1700’s.
I've encountered Christopher Duffy in classes but have never read a full book of his, so thank you for this recommendation.