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Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant Life of the British Officer in the First World War
John Lewis-Stempel
€ 17.99
€ 13.12
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Description for Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant Life of the British Officer in the First World War
Paperback. The extraordinary story of British junior officers in the First World War, who led their men out of the trenches and faced a life expectancy of six weeks. Num Pages: 368 pages, 30. BIC Classification: 3JJF; HBJD1; HBWN. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 152 x 197 x 29. Weight in Grams: 384.
The extraordinary story of British junior officers in the First World War, who led their men out of the trenches and faced a life expectancy of six weeks. During the Great War, many boys went straight from the classroom to the most dangerous job in the world - that of junior officer on the Western Front. Although desperately aware of how many of their predecessors had fallen before them, nearly all stepped forward, unflinchingly, to do their duty. The average life expectancy of a subaltern in the trenches was a mere six weeks. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the forgotten men who truly won Britain's victory in the First World War - the subalterns, lieutenants and captains of the Army, the leaders in the trenches, the first 'over the top', the last to retreat. Basing his narrative on a huge range of first-person accounts, including the poignant letters and diaries sent home or to their old schools, the author reveals what motivated these boy-men to act in such an extraordinary, heroic way. He describes their brief, brilliant lives in and out of the trenches, the tireless ways they cared for their men, and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their values and codes were quite literally being shot to pieces.
Product Details
Publisher
Orion Publishing Co
Number of pages
368
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2011
Condition
New
Weight
384g
Number of Pages
368
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9781409102144
SKU
V9781409102144
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
Ref
99-50
About John Lewis-Stempel
John Lewis-Stempel is the author of numerous anthologies and books on military history. He lives on a farm in Herefordshire with his wife and two children. Join John Lewis-Stempel on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/John-Lewis-Stempel and follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/JLewisStempel.
Reviews for Six Weeks: The Short and Gallant Life of the British Officer in the First World War
Every school pupil should read Six Weeks by @JLewisStempel before going on a First World War battlefield tour
Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander British Forces in Afghanistan and author of 'Attack State Red'
One of the most important new studies of the Great War
CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
A poignant and detailed study on what life was like at the front.
GOOD BOOK GUIDE
A hugely moving account
OXFORD TIMES
Diaries and letters convey the inspiring spirit of these young men.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
A superb study... Lewis-Stempel's marvelously evocative book is full of throat-catching moments... The result is the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read - and I have read many... his book pays the subalterns the respect they deserve by entering into their distant mindsets.
Nigel Jones
LITERARY REVIEW
woven with great narrative skill...presents an incomparable portrait of a generation
MILITARY TIMES
It is only rarely that a book deserves to be recommended unreservedly but John Lewis-Stempel's Six Weeks falls firmly into that category...This is a book that should be read by every young man who aspires to serve as an officer in the Army; it will educate him about how to behave in command of soldiers and about how to face the perils of war.
GUARDS MAGAZINE
This well researched book tells the harrowing story of the men - or adolescents, many of them -who unhesitatingly answered the call by War Minister Lord Kitchener for volunteers, and continued to answer it even after it became clear that the life expectancy of a subaltern in the trenches averaged only six weeks... Lewis-Stempel is excellent on life in the trenches... for all the horror and pity of their struggle, their legacy is our freedom.
Andrew Roberts
MAIL ON SUNDAY
Compelling
Julian Fellowes Best research resource ever. Beautiful book
Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) Superb ... the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read
Nigel Jones
Literary Review
Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander British Forces in Afghanistan and author of 'Attack State Red'
One of the most important new studies of the Great War
CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
A poignant and detailed study on what life was like at the front.
GOOD BOOK GUIDE
A hugely moving account
OXFORD TIMES
Diaries and letters convey the inspiring spirit of these young men.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
A superb study... Lewis-Stempel's marvelously evocative book is full of throat-catching moments... The result is the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read - and I have read many... his book pays the subalterns the respect they deserve by entering into their distant mindsets.
Nigel Jones
LITERARY REVIEW
woven with great narrative skill...presents an incomparable portrait of a generation
MILITARY TIMES
It is only rarely that a book deserves to be recommended unreservedly but John Lewis-Stempel's Six Weeks falls firmly into that category...This is a book that should be read by every young man who aspires to serve as an officer in the Army; it will educate him about how to behave in command of soldiers and about how to face the perils of war.
GUARDS MAGAZINE
This well researched book tells the harrowing story of the men - or adolescents, many of them -who unhesitatingly answered the call by War Minister Lord Kitchener for volunteers, and continued to answer it even after it became clear that the life expectancy of a subaltern in the trenches averaged only six weeks... Lewis-Stempel is excellent on life in the trenches... for all the horror and pity of their struggle, their legacy is our freedom.
Andrew Roberts
MAIL ON SUNDAY
Compelling
Julian Fellowes Best research resource ever. Beautiful book
Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) Superb ... the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read
Nigel Jones
Literary Review