Remembering the Great War ─ Writing and Publishing the Experiences of World War I

The horrors and tragedies of the First World War produced some of the finest literature of the century: including Memoirs of an Infantry Officer; Goodbye to All That; the poetry of Wilfred Owen and Edward Thomas; and the novels of Ford Madox Ford. Collectively detailing every campaign and action, together with the emotions and motives of the men on the ground, these 'war books' are the most important set of sources on the Great War that we have. Through looking at the war poems, memoirs and accounts published after the First World War, Ian Andrew Isherwood addresses the key issues of wartime historiography-patriotism, cowardice, publishers and their motives, readers and their motives, masculinity and propaganda. He also analyses the culture, society and politics of the world left behind. Remembering the Great War is a valuable, fascinating and stirring addition to our knowledge of the experiences of WWI.

Ian Andrew Isherwood is Assistant Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, PA. An expert in modern history with a focus on war and memory studies, his articles and book reviews have appeared in First World War Studies, War, Literature and the Arts, The Journal of Military History, and War in History. He gained his PhD at Glasgow University and is the editor of the online resource Great War Writing.