Forgotten Voices Of The Great War

A fascinating history of World War I in the words of those who were there –  'an extraordinary and immensely moving book' Stephen Fry

An extraordinary and immensely moving book

This extraordinary book is crammed with details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence

The words of the soldiers are as fresh as if they were written yesterday ... extraordinary

These stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating

The stories of these now long-dead vets simply jump off the page

A compelling account of a world not to be forgotten

Everyone who loves oral history will enjoy the often harrowing accounts contained in this book

Crammed with such details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence

Tailor-made for classroom use as well as maximum impact on the general reader

An impressive anthology of eye-witness experiences which does not short-change us on the horror and filth ... of that dreadful conflict

Acclaimed author Max Arthur specialises in first hand recollections of historical events. Previous titles include The Manchester United Air Crash; Above All Courage; Northern Ireland Soldiers Talking; Men of the Red Beret;, There Shall Be Wings: The RAF 1918 to the Present; The True Glory: The Royal Navy 1914 to Present.

This unique landmark oral history uses first-hand accounts from ordinary men and women who were there. Gripping, poignant, surprising and even humorous, the personal experiences of these soldiers, civilians, marines and medics from both sides tell us what it was really like to live through what was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Skilfully assembled by acclaimed author and historian Max Arthur using the IWM’s remarkable sound archive, Forgotten Voices of the Great War became an instant classic on first publication with close to half a million copies sold. 
 
In 1972, the Imperial War Museum began a momentous and important task. A team of academics, archivists and volunteers set about tracing First World War veterans and interviewing them in order to record the experiences of ordinary individuals in war. Since then the Sound Archive has grown to become the largest and most important oral history collections in the world. It now contains over 34,000 recordings, including interviews with veterans of both world wars – both service personnel and non-combatants – recordings relating to Britain and the Empire in the inter-war period 1919–1939, conflicts since 1945 and the Holocaust. 
 
In 2002, Ebury Press published the first edition of Forgotten Voices of the Great War. It was both the first time many of these recordings had been transcribed and published, and the only comprehensive oral history of the First World War. Twelve further books covering aspects of the Second World War, the Falklands and the Victoria Cross followed, selling well over a million copies to date.

The Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots Who Won It

Last of the Few

The riveting and moving personal accounts of the RAF pilots who fought and survived the Battle of Britain.

Vastly outnumbered and often less experienced than their opponents, the 2,500 young men of the Royal Air Force who fought in the Battle of Britain would be lauded by Churchill as The Few. The survivors of that campaign are now in their eighties or nineties, their ranks thinning by the year. In his new book, Last of the Few, Max Arthur brings together the voices of the living and the dead to recreate the events of July-October 1940, when vapour trails against a blue sky marked the battle to save civilisation

Entertaining and moving ... This is a brilliant introduction for anyone seeking to understand the origins and outcomes of the battle. A dramatic tale, well told

No one can relive the battle except the men who fought it, and here they are in a tide of telling testimony...expertly tracked down and anthologised by out foremost oral historian of war, the self0effacing Max Arthur...Read it and remember

Max Arthur is the author of best-selling Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. Dambusters (also published by Virgin Books) was one of The Times / WH Smith's '50 Paperbacks of the Year' for 2009.

After the fall of France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler's inevitable invasion attempt. 
 
For the German army to be landed across the Channel, Hitler needed mastery of the skies - the RAF would have to be broken. So every day, throughout the summer, German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day and civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires and Me-109s. Britain's very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer's battle. 
 
Britain's air defences were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds 'The Few', as they came to be known, bought Britain's freedom - many with their lives. 
 
These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. We will not see their like again.

A Landmark Oral History

Dambusters

One of the most daring missions of WW2, told by those who were there, now in paperback for the 75th Anniversary of Operation Chastise.

May well rival his seminal Forgotten Voices of The Great War ... hard to put down ... His precis of the complex story of how the scientist Barnes Wallis overcame all the obstacles to breaching the Dams, in which British bureaucracy proved as daunting as German efficiency, is a masterpiece of concise storytelling

What a story. And I do not believe that it has ever been better told

Not only can Arthur make people talk; he also doesn't flinch from what he hears

A gripping tale capturing the exhilaration of the expedition, while contrasting the sense of loss of 56 men of Bomber Command. A thrilling read for anyone with a nose for a good true tale

Max Arthur served with the RAF and has written several bestselling oral history books including Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. He writes for the Independent and gives lectures on strategy and leadership.

On the night of 16-17 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron headed for Germany. Their mission, for which they had been trained under a cloak of absolute secrecy, was to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley and in doing so cripple the Nazi industrial war effort. It was to become one of the most famous raids of WW2. 
 
For the first time, acclaimed oral historian Max Arthur has gathered together the voices of the 'Dambusters', including Guy Gibson, commander of the mission and Barnes Wallis, who developed the iconic Bouncing Bomb. These voices tell of the hard training and sheer bravery that went into this legendary mission. We also hear from the German civilians who suffered the attack, who speak of the devastation that was wrought in their lives. This was a raid like no other, and in this extraordinary collection Max Arthur has created an enduring record of a unique event in British military history.

Men of Magic

The Busby Babes

This is a unique and fitting tribute to an unforgettable team. Those who never saw them play will, I hope, be made richer by this book. Those of us who remember them so well will not be saddened by it but will be reminded that they were men of magic

the late Sir Matt Busby, from the foreword of the first editon

A fitting eulogy to arguably the finest club side ever seen in English football . . . the testimonies of the survivors are compelling

Max Arthur is a lifetime supporter of Manchester United. He is this country's leading oral historian and the author of the classic work, Forgotten Voices of the Great War. His most recent book, Last Post: The Final Words from our First World War Soldiers was the biggest selling history book of 2006.

On 6 February 1958, a plane took off from a snowy Munich airport carrying probably the finest club side the world has ever known. Moments later, the aircraft crashed, killing some of the most legendary names in British football. This book is dedicated to those players - Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor, the mighty Duncan Edwards and the others whose lives were cut off in their prime - and their indomitable manager, Sir Matt Busby. 
 
 Max Arthur has sought out all the players who survived the crash and spoken to the relatives and friends of those who died. From these interviews, sometimes serious but often humorous, he has captured their remarkable spirit and created a unique portrait of all the Busby Babes.

A New History of the Second World War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There

Forgotten Voices Of The Second World War

A unique history of World War 2 in the words of those who were there – the paperback sequel to the bestselling Forgotten Voices of the Great War

These stories are so harrowing, their witness so precise and devastating

With the rawness and immediacy that only this kind of oral history can provide

A unique collection of personal testimonies ... a timely reminder of the sacrifices and horrors of war

The sound of real human voices: bewildered, sad, often angry, sometimes bitter, but for the most part remarkable ... a shattered relay-race of narrative gives the book a ghostly, choric poetry

...Breathe a sense of immediacy, of being there on the spot; and the spot is, only too often, a place of horror...thoroughly readable by anyone who wants to know what it felt like to be engaged in a world war....That war is horrible, no sensible reader can doubt; that this war was worth fighting, to get rid of barbaric regimes, comes across well

Acclaimed author Max Arthur specialises in first-hand recollections of historical events. Previous titles include The Manchester United Air Crash; Above All Courage; Northern Ireland: Soldiers Talking; Men of the Red Beret; There Shall Be Wings: The RAF 1918 to the Present; The True Glory: The Royal Navy 1914 to Present.

The Imperial War Museum holds a vast archive of interviews with soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians of most nationalities who saw action during WW2. As in the highly-acclaimed Forgotten Voices of the Great War, Max Arthur and his team of researchers spent hundreds of hours digging deep into this unique archive, uncovering tapes, many of which have not been listened to since they were created in the early 1970s. The result will be the first complete oral history of World War 2. 
 
We hear at first from British, German and Commonwealth soldiers and civilians. Accounts of the impact of U.S. involvement after Pearl Harbour and the major effects it had on the war in Europe and the Far East is chronicled in startling detail, including compelling interviews from U.S. and British troops who fought against the Japanese. Continuing through from D-Day, to the Rhine Crossing and the dropping of the Atom Bomb in August 1945, this book is a unique testimony to one of the world's most dreadful conflicts. One of the hallmarks of Max Arthur's work is the way he involves those left behind on the home front as well as those working in factories or essential services. Their voices will not be neglected.

Max Arthur

Forgotten Voices from 1914-1945

This skilfully compiled anthology draws on the phenomenally successful Forgotten Voices series. Lest We Forget brings together first-hand recollections from the Great War to the Second World War, to vividly illustrate the impact of war. Told in the actual words of the men, women and children who lived through a century of war it is a moving insight into the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The testaments of those who were there depict the horrors of war, yet also provide inspiration with tales of enduring courage, sacrifice and daring. Arranged thematically into chapters such as hope, fear, the kindness of strangers, the human cost and brothers in arms, it reveals the full scope of war in all its stark reality. Evocatively illustrated throughout with line drawings from the Imperial War Museum's archives, it will appeal to anyone wanting to gain an insight into not only specific conflicts, but the overarching and sometimes surprising effects of war in general. Lest We Forget vividly ensures that the wartime experiences of ordinary people will never be forgotten.

Max Arthur

Lest We Forget

Select a format:

Retailers:

Summary

More books from this author