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Articles 1 à 20 sur 280
Biography of a German Jewish scientist whose discoveries embodied both the beneficial and the destructive capacities of science. Discusses the…
intellect of Fritz Haber (1868-1934), who moved confidently between laboratory, factory, and battlefield, who invented famine-preventing agricultural processes, and who developed poisonous gas later used in Nazi concentration camps. 2005Par Luciano Canfora. 2014
" Et si l'on concevait la tâche de l'historien comme l'enquête d'un Sherlock Holmes ? Si la guerre pouvait être…
assimilée à un crime, les coupables se dissimulant, des alibis étant invoqués, des innocents désignés du doigt ? Dans cet ouvrage - ni livre édifiant ni commémoration -, Luciano Canfora aborde la guerre non comme un monument, mais comme un événement vivant qu'il s'agirait de retourner dans tous les sens pour comprendre ce qui s'est vraiment passé . L'enquête menée au fil de ces pages - puisqu'il s'agit bien d'une enquête - se déroule en une vingtaine de courts chapitres, tirés de conférences à la radio publique italienne, à lire d'une traite comme autant de petites histoires. Les idées reçues - surtout celles qui ont cours dans les pays vainqueurs - ne survivent pas à l'examen. La fin ne nous livre pas un unique coupable, mais nous laisse vaccinés contre les reconstructions apologétiques. C'est le livre que doit lire qui veut se faire en quelques pages une idée de la multiplicité des causes et des conjonctures qui ont conduit à la Première Guerre mondiale. " -- 4e de couv" Après l'armistice du 11 novembre 1918, cinq terribles années de guerres se clôturent enfin, cinq années qui ont vu…
l'apparition des armes chimiques, la généralisation des bombardements, l'enlisement des armées. Et qui ont fait dix millions de morts... Depuis août 1914, que le chemin fut long pour entrevoir cette paix ! Alors que la guerre semblait sans issue, que politiques et généraux se disputaient pouvoir et décisions, un homme avait foi en la vaillance des soldats, au nom d'une certaine France, au nom de la République. Cet homme, c'était Clemenceau. Mais si le traité de Versailles de 1919 a ouvert sur un monde nouveau, les frustrations et les vengeances trouveront un terreau qui nourrira le XXe siècle. Les espoirs déçus des anciens combattants, les vies brisées feront le lit des fascismes, les sociétés déstabilisées, les frontières contestées, les empires désagrégés seront la proie d'une crise sans précédent. La Deuxième Guerre Mondiale succédera à la "der des der". " -- 4e de couvPar H. Paul Jeffers. 2003
A biography of captain Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973), the much decorated "Ace of Aces" who destroyed twenty-six enemy planes in World…
War I. Fascinated with engines and speed, he began his career as a race-car driver, becoming third-ranked in the country. He later founded Eastern Airlines. 2003Par David Fromkin. 2004
L'affaire des origines de la Première Guerre mondiale semble depuis longtemps entendue : conflit entre puissances impérialistes occidentales, qui rivalisent…
pour le partage du monde, précipité par une suite d'événements où le hasard et les passions nationalistes ont leur part. Le livre de David Fromkin, appuyé sur une exploitation minutieuse d'archives inédites, ruine cette thèse : il montre que tout, dans cette catastrophe, fut prémédité. La désinformation, la manipulation furent cyniquement mises au service d'objectifs de guerre délibérés. Seulement, ce n'était pas un, mais deux conflits qui se préparaient : les Autrichiens souhaitaient ramener la Serbie dans le giron de l'empire, tandis que l'Allemagne voulait la guerre avec la Russie et la France. Rivaux mais alliés, les deux empires ont cru pouvoir faire converger leurs efforts et mener chacun leur propre guerre. Aussi déclenchèrent-ils l'apocalypse qui devait inaugurer un nouveau siècle. Écrit d'une plume alerte, cet ouvrage d'un historien reconnu se lit comme un véritable roman qui tient le lecteur en haleine du début à la fin. -- 4e de couvPar Pierre Miquel. 1995
"Pierre Miquel, auteur de La Grande Guerre et d'une Histoire de France, a recherché dans les archives de l'armée et…
dans les témoignages des combattants la vérité sur l'holocauste de Verdun. Les cinq cent mille victimes franco-allemandes de la bataille ont transformé ce coin de France de vingt kilomètres carrés en charnier monstrueux, en haut lieu de la guerre civile européenne, la première de l'ère industrielle."Par Olivia Horrox. 2024
'Oh my gosh! What a beautifully written story!... I totally loved it... I literally could not stop reading... This is…
a must if you like historical fiction!!' Reader review 5 stars 'A beautifully written and evocative story of love and loss, of family and redemption, that swept me away.' Rachel Burton, author of The Last Party at Silverton Hall When their father loses the family fortune, and their mother locks herself away, sisters Grace and Clementine are left to raise themselves in a grand London house that is slowly falling apart around them. Each of them is determined to one day restore their fortunes and their family name and make a promise to do just that. Clementine dreams of being a star on stage, a celebrated ballerina who will tour the world, earning fame and fortune. She is adamant she won't put her fate into a man's hands but take charge of it herself. Grace, in contrast, sees security in a good marriage. Their eligible new American neighbour, with wealth, charm and looks, seems like the perfect match. But when Clementine falls unexpectedly in love, it throws both sisters' lives into turmoil and forces each of them to ask if they are prepared to break their promise for a chance at true love... A beautifully imagined historical novel about the bond between sisters and a changing world. Perfect for fans of Tracy Rees, Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton. Readers love The Dancer's Promise : ' Brilliant ... I loved the characters Grace and Clementine a true story of sisterly love and support in such difficult times... Truly memorable read ... touching and inspiring' Reader review 5 stars ' What a treat! With its mystery element thrown in to enhance the plot, I found the time sped by and I was lost in another time and place ' Reader review 5 starsPar John Cornwell. 2020
This is the story of two British men from very different social backgrounds, who both joined a new Pals battalion…
during World War I.To encourage men to volunteer, the British Army established Pals battalions that allowed men who enlisted together to serve together during the First World War. One of these men was Vivian Simpson, a 31-year-old solicitor who was well known in the city; partly because he was an outstanding footballer, playing for Sheffield Wednesday and an England trialist. Simpson was the very first man to enroll for the new battalion and was commissioned in January 1915.The other man was Reg Glenn, a clerk in the Education Offices who served as a signaler in each battle the 12th Battalion fought in until the summer of 1917, when he was selected to become an officer.To his annoyance, Vivian Simpson was kept back in England as a training officer until after the battalion’s disaster on the Somme on 1 July 1916. However, after that he became a most energetic and courageous officer. He was awarded an MC in 1917, but was killed in the German offensive on the Lys in April 1918.Reg Glenn went back to France in 1918 as a subaltern in the North Staffordshires and was wounded on the Aisne in his first day of combat as an officer. He was never fit enough to go back to the trenches and became a training officer in Northumberland with his new regiment and later with the Cameronians at Invergordon. He survived the war and lived to be 101 years old, making him the last survivor of the 12th Battalion.Par Evan McGilvray. 2020
This military biography explores the life and service of a British Indian Army officer who served with distinction across both…
world wars.During the First World War, Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his efforts in Egypt and the Mesopotamian Campaign. Afterward, he aided the pacification of the Northwest Frontier, now Pakistan. In the Second World War he briefly led a division in the ill-fated Norway campaign before being appointed Commander-in-Chief, India. Auchinleck is best remembered for his time as Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Theatre, where he halted Rommel at the First Battle of El Alamein. He then resumed command in India, where his leadership was vital to success in Burma. In the post-war years, he planned and oversaw the Partition of India and the British withdrawal.In this extensively researched biography, historian Evan McGilvray examines Auchinleck’s long career as well as the transformations of the British military and the Empire itself.Par Richard Pursehouse. 2020
The “fascinating” story of a First World War prisoner of war camp which held captured German personnel in the very…
heart of the English countryside (Books Monthly).Richard Pursehouse first became aware of the existence of a camp while walking over Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, finding sewer covers in what appeared to be uninhabited heathland. Intrigued, the author set out to investigate the mystery and discovered that the sewers were for two Army camps—Brocton and Rugeley—that had been constructed for soldiers training during the First World War. What he also found, however, was that the Brocton Camp site also included a segregated autonomous prisoner of war camp. With the aid of an old postcard, Richard was able to identify the exact location and layout of the long-lost camp. His research continued until he had accumulated an enormous amount of detail about the camp and life for its prisoners. He found a file by the Camp Commandant, Swiss Legation correspondence, stories in newspapers, letters and diaries, and received photographs from interested individuals. Amongst his finds was a box holding scores of fascinating letters sent home by an administration clerk while he was working at the camp. During his investigations, Richard also learned of attempted murders and escapes (including the only escapee to make it back to Germany), deaths, thefts—and a fatal scandal. The letters, documents and diaries reveal how the prisoners coped with incarceration, as well as their treatment, both in terms of camp conditions and their medical needs. The result is a unique insight into what life was like inside a British Prisoner of War camp during the First World War.Par Celia Lee. 2020
“A pleasure to read. It’s predominantly about the life of Jean Hamilton’s husband Ian as an officer during the Great…
War and life for both before and after.” —UK HistorianJean, Lady Hamilton’s diaries remained forgotten and hidden in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College, London, for fifty years. The story begins with the young couples’ wedding, a dazzling bride, Jean Muir, marrying a star-struck Major Ian Hamilton. The daughter of the millionaire businessman Sir John Muir, Jean had all the money whilst Hamilton was penniless.Having spent their early married years in India, the Hamiltons returned and set up house in the prestigious Hyde Park area of London, also eventually buying Lullenden Manor, East Grinstead, that they purchased as a country home from Winston Churchill when he could no longer afford it. Churchill in particular was like family in the Hamiltons’ home; he used to go there and practice his speeches, and painted alongside Jean to whom he sold his first painting.Jean chronicled Ian’s long army career that culminated in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. The failure there ended her husband’s distinguished career and almost ended Churchill’s as he had to leave his job as First Lord of the Admiralty. This account is Lady Hamilton’s “attempt to chronicle her husband’s life as a top-flight but penniless soldier, this at a time when young Winston Churchill . . . was emerging from his own distinguished and very colourful military career to enter a life of politics . . . Jean Hamilton is one of those larger than life people of whom we know very little until a book such as Celia’s comes along” (Books Monthly).Par Michael Harrison. 2020
The story of a revolution in moving troops and supplies: “A rare gem that will fill a gap in your…
World War I library. Highly recommended.” —Indy Squadron Dispatch The Great War produced many innovations, in particular the spectacular development by the British and French armies of motor transport.The age-old problem of moving soldiers and their supplies was no different in 1914 than it had been some 2,400 years ago, when the great Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu informed his readers that the further an army marched into enemy territory, the more the cost of transport increased, even to the point that more supplies were consumed by the transportation of men and their horses than was delivered to the troops.Using many previously unpublished illustrations, including artists’ impressions, this book tells the story of the men and women who made motor transport work for the victorious British Army on the Western Front, so that in 1918, the humble lorry did indeed help propel the British Army forward on the road to victory.Par Craig Armstrong. 2020
A history of the English seaside town during World War I, from its significance to its sacrifices.Tynemouth Borough, which included…
the towns of Tynemouth and North Shields, was an area of strategic value to the national war effort as it contained the mouth of the river Tyne and was the entry point to the most important munitions center in Britain. Industry upriver included the manufacture of munitions, armaments, and military and civilian ships, while the port of Tyne was one of the busiest in the country with its internationally important coal export industry.Away from its industrial importance, the area was also a hotbed of military recruitment. In common with the rest of the northeast, Tynemouth had large numbers of young men who were serving in the forces before the outbreak of the war. Its record for wartime recruitment was second to none and it lay in a key recruitment area for the local regiment, the Northumberland Fusiliers, who raised over fifty battalions during the war—a record. Given its location on the coast, Tynemouth also had a proud tradition of service in the Merchant Navy and many Tynemouth men had the sea in their blood, whilst North Shields was the home base of a large and active fishing fleet. Many of the men who manned the trawlers saw active service, whilst others were exposed to even greater dangers due to the war.This engaging book is the first to look at the fascinating social history of Tynemouth during the shattering years of the Great War and charts the huge sacrifices made by the townspeople.Par Ian Castle. 2020
A visual history of this forgotten WWI bombing campaign: &“A fantastic book. Remnants of stained glass windows, grocery shop scales…
. . . and so much more.&” —War History Online The First World War ushered in many new and increasingly deadly weapons and strategies—none more so than Germany&’s sustained aerial bombing campaign against Britain, which opened an entirely new theatre of war—the Home Front. It was a shocking awakening to twentieth-century warfare for the military and civilians alike. There are still fascinating glimpses of this first air campaign, long overshadowed by the Blitz of World War II—to be found in the streets of British towns and cities. Often unnoticed, each tells its own dramatic tale of death and destruction, or maybe of heroism and narrow escapes. Museums hold tantalizing reminders of the air raids, from complete aircraft that defended the country to relics of great Zeppelins that initially brought terror to the British population but ultimately were doomed to become nothing more than great heaps of burnt and twisted wreckage. This first-time assault from the air both terrified and fascinated citizens—and unexpectedly, a significant trade in air raid souvenirs developed, from postcards of wrecked houses and bomb craters to china models of Zeppelins and their bombs and pieces of Zeppelin wreckage. And among the 100 Objects brought together in this book, there can also be found tales of resilience, humor, and determination—which all have their place in the story of this First BlitzPar Holger H. Herwig. 2014
Originally published in 1980 ‘Luxury’ Fleet (the phrase was Winston Churchill’s) was the first history of the Imperial German navy…
from 1888 to 1918. After tracing the historical background to German naval ambitions, the first two sections of the book analyse Admiral Tirpitz’s programme of building a battle fleet strong enough to engage the Royal Navy in the North Sea. The author shows the fleet in its European setting and describes the warships and the attitudes of the officer corps and seamen. The final section of the book discusses the tactical deployment of the German fleet during the First World War, both in home waters and overseas; and it weighs the balance between those who supported fleet actions in preference to those who favoured cruiser and submarine warfare.Par Mark Connelly. 2003
`We Can Take It!' shows that the British remember the war in a peculiar way, thanks to a mix of…
particular images and evidence. Our memory has been shaped by material which is completely removed from historical reality. These images (including complete inventions) have combined to make a new history. The vision is mostly cosy and suits the way in which the Britons conceive of themselves: dogged, good humoured, occasionally bumbling, unified and enjoying diversity. In fact Britons load their memory towards the early part of the war (Dunkirk, Blitz, Battle of Britain) rather than when we were successful in the air or against Italy and Germany with invasions. This suits our love of being the underdog, fighting against the odds, and being in a crisis. Conversely, the periods of the war during which Britain was in the ascendant are, perversely, far more hazy in the public memory.The First World War marks a crucial period in the history of the socialist wing of the British labour movement.…
This book is an account of the development of the political ideas and activities of some of the most influential British socialist thinkers of that time: Beatrice and Sidney Webb, R. H. Tawney and G. D. H. Cole. The first part of the book examines the state of the Labour movement and of socialist ideas on the eve of the conflict, then turns to the central question of the impact of the War on the dissemination of British socialist ideas.Par Paul M. Kennedy. 2014
The origins of the First World War remain one of the greatest twentieth century historical controversies. In this debate the…
role of military planning in particular and of militarism in general, are a key focus of attention. Did the military wrest control from the civilians? Were the leaders of Europe eager for a conflict? What military commitments were made between the various alliance blocks? These questions are examined in detail here in eleven essays by distinguished historians and the editor’s introduction provides a focus and draws out the comparative approach to the history of military policies and war plans of the great powers.Par Craig Armstrong. 2015
Berwick-upon-Tweed was an important garrison town and regional centre, which, as befit its history, had a strong sense of duty,…
reflected in its proud martial traditions.During the catastrophic years of 1914-18 many Berwick families found themselves greatly affected by the war. Large numbers of Berwick men volunteered to serve in the forces and many were killed. During the first months of war the local barracks were overwhelmed by the number of men volunteering for the King's Own Scottish Borderers, while a great many Berwick lads served with the Northumberland Fusiliers. Others were less keen to serve and this book considers some of these cases, ranging from hairdressers to farmworkers, who were brought before the military tribunal at Berwick.For many of those left behind the war was a time of worry and hardship. Others saw the business opportunities, and this book includes the telling accounts of the Berwick women who were imprisoned for running brothels, which were used by the many soldiers in the town, along with accounts of petty theft and profiteering. Berwick also suffered from wartime policies and severe shortages and these issues are meticulously analysed throughout with a view to how they affected the people of Berwick. As a port, Berwick witnessed the aftermath of the sinking of merchant vessels and the people of the town were keenly aware of the sacrifices being made. They went to great efforts to provide support for those fighting the war, despite the shortages they themselves were suffering from. These efforts are explained in the book, which is a testimony to the bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Berwick during the Great War.Par Stephen Wade. 2016
Harrogate and Ripon, just a few miles apart in one of the most beautiful localities in Yorkshire, have rarely had…
their contributions to the Great War told all together, in one volume. Stephen Wade has written an account of their importance, from the Ripon camps, where thousands of infantrymen for Kitcheners new Pals Battalions were trained, to the many Harrogate hospitals where casualties were cared for. Added to this are stories of local individuals, at home and in the European theatre of war, who played their part in this massive conflict. Harrogate and Ripon,made the usual contributions to the war effort, raising money and making food, but the local people experienced many of the significant Yorkshire events of the war, such as the explosion at Barnbow munitions factory and the housing of Belgian refugees. The book tells the stories of not only the heroes, such as Betty Stevenson and Donald Bell VC, but of the ordinary Yorkshire folk who endured the hardships and made great sacrifices. The book provides ample evidence that Harrogate and Ripon, along with their surrounding areas, have a fine record for courage and determination during the First World War.