Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

by Diane Ackerman

A true story—as powerful as Schindler's List —in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark... (more)

My Boy Jack

by Tonie Holt

When noted English author Rudyard Kipling pulled strings at the beginning of World War I to get his son a commission in the Irish Guards, he little realized that he was sending the young man to his death. John Kipling's death was made even more tragic by the fact that his burial place could not be identified. Rudyard Kipling's life-long quest to find his son's resting place had not been achieved by the time... (more)

Liaison 1914

by Edward Spears

Most World War I experts agree the "Great War" was decided in the first 20 days of fighting. Yet uncontrollable events sucked in gigantic forces that swiftly brought long, horrible mass slaughter because the stakes were so high. The early fateful days are described in fascinating, horrific detail by a British officer who, as a liaison between the British and French armies, possessed a unique vantage point for... (more)

Almanac of World War I

by David F. Burg

World War I was the first modern war fought on a gigantic scale—a catastrophic series of events that killed millions, shattered nations, destroyed the old world order, and set much of the world’s agenda for the twentieth century. This almanac provides an account of the action on all fronts and of the events surrounding the conflict, from the guns of August 1914 to the November 1918 Armistice and its troubled... (more)

100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century

100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century

by Kevin Markey

This photo-filled celebration of extraordinary 20th-century women highlights women's contributions in politics, child care, science, education, athletics, literature, entertainment, art, and more. 200+ photos. **Barbara Walters is hosting a 90-minute TV special based on " Ladies' Home Journal's" list of the 20th-century's most important women on Friday, April 30, 1999, at 9:30 PM, Eastern Daylight Time on ABC-TV.... (more)

And in the Morning

by John Wilson

Jim Hay is fifteen years old, thinks war is a glorious adventure and cannot wait for his turn to fight. But what Jim discovers in the trenches of France in 1915 is enough to dispel any romantic view of the war. And while his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive, the final tragic outcome is one he never dreamed of.

DOUGLAS HAIG: The Educated Soldier (Cassell)

DOUGLAS HAIG: The Educated Soldier (Cassell)

by John Terraine

The definitive account of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in the First World War. The history of the Western Front and the First World War is one of battles of attrition against an entrenched enemy, with terrible casualties suffered by both sides in some of the worst fighting ever. Over the years a picture has emerged of British generals, remote and detached from the reality of the trenches, who... (more)

A Century of November: A Novel (Michigan Literary Fiction Awards)

A Century of November: A Novel (Michigan Literary Fiction Awards)

by W. D. Wetherell

Winner of the 2004 Michigan Literary Fiction Award for novel A haunting story of the power of death, the pain of loss, and the possibility of hope. "Gripping, damning, and transfixing." --- Entertainment Weekly " . . . possesses a time-bending gravity. . . . <A> small classic of graceful language and earned emotion." ---San Francisco Chronicle ". . . a beautifully written novel of war and the... (more)

The Shell House

by Linda Newbery

Greg’s casual interest in the history of a ruined mansion becomes more personal as he slowly discovers the tragic events that overwhelmed its last inhabitants. Set against a background of the modern day and the First World War, Greg’s contemporary beliefs become intertwined with those of Edmund, a foot soldier whose confusion about his sexuality and identity mirrors Greg’s own feelings of insecurity. This is a... (more)

Borderlands of Western Civilization: A History of East Central Europe

Borderlands of Western Civilization: A History of East Central Europe

by Oskar Halecki

Written by the famous Polish historian, this is arguably the best, most comprehensive work on the subject ever published in the English language.

Eyewitness: 150 Years of PhotojournalismRichard Lacayo, George Russell

Eyewitness: 150 Years of Photojournalism

by Richard Lacayo

The authors trace the history of photojournalism from 1839 to the present day. The book covers subjects including the plight of the common worker in the early 1900s, World Wars I and II, and the future of photojournalism in the age of television and computers.

Eugene Bullard: Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris

Eugene Bullard: Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris

by Craig Lloyd

This is the complete biography of the first African American fighter pilot, Georgia native Eugene J. Bullard (1895-1961). An accomplished professional boxer, musician, club manager, and impresario of Parisian nightlife between the world wars, Bullard found in Europe a degree of respect and freedom unknown to blacks in America. There, for twenty-five years, he helped define the expatriate experience for countless... (more)

No Mans LandJohn Toland

No Mans Land

by John Toland

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm

by Juliet Nicolson

The Perfect Summer chronicles a glorious English summer a century ago when the world was on the cusp of irrevocable change. Through the tight lens of four months, Juliet Nicolson’s rich storytelling gifts rivet us with the sights, colors, and feelings of a bygone era. That summer of 1911 a new king was crowned and the aristocracy was at play, bounding from one house party to the next. But perfection was not for... (more)

A gentleman from France: An Airedale hero,Clarence Hawkes

A gentleman from France: An Airedale hero,

by Clarence Hawkes

No Man's Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War (World War I)

No Man's Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War (World War I)

by John Toland

From freezing infantrymen huddled in bloodied trenches on the front lines to intricate political maneuvering and tense strategy sessions in European capitals, noted historian John Toland tells of the unforgettable final year of the First World War. As 1918 opened, the Allies and Central Powers remained locked in a desperate, bloody stalemate, despite the deaths of millions of soldiers over the previous three and a... (more)

Absolute Destruction: Military Culture And the Practices of War in Imperial Germany

Absolute Destruction: Military Culture And the Practices of War in Imperial Germany

by Isabel V. Hull

In a book that is at once a major contribution to modern European history and a cautionary tale for today, Isabel V. Hull argues that the routines and practices of the Imperial German Army, unchecked by effective civilian institutions, increasingly sought the absolute destruction of its enemies as the only guarantee of the nation’s security. So deeply embedded were the assumptions and procedures of this... (more)

Lusitania

by Diana Preston

A brilliantly sunny day, and then the explosion; on what had been an ordinary weekday, there is suddenly fire, smoke, confusion, bodies, panic... On May 7, 1915, the ocean liner Lusitania was struck by a terrifying new weapon-and became a casualty of a terrible new kind of war. This is a vivid account of the event that shocked the world; of the heyday of the luxury liner and the first days of the modern... (more)

Heart for EuropeJames and Joanna Bogle

Heart for Europe

by James and Joanna Bogle

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme: A Play

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme: A Play

by Frank McGuinness

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme was revived by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1994 as part of an acknowledgement of the peace process. The production was subsequently taken to the Edinburgh Festival in 1995 and opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Barbican Theatre, London, in March 1996.

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Browse Subjects: world war i

Top Books

by Diane Ackerman

by Tonie Holt

by Edward Spears

by David F. Burg

by Kevin Markey

by John Wilson

by John Terraine

by W. D. Wetherell

by Linda Newbery

by Oskar Halecki

by Richard Lacayo

by Craig Lloyd

by John Toland

by Juliet Nicolson

by Clarence Hawkes

by John Toland

by Isabel V. Hull

by Diana Preston

by James and Joanna Bogle

by Frank McGuinness