In reading this book, I'm finding out just how utterly lacking my high school history's treatment of WW1 was, which can be summarized thusly: Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand, Germany went through Belgium, a lot of fighting, the Lusitania, Treaty of Versailles. Like, it never quite added up that there was fighting in North Africa and the Middle East (I knew about Lawrence, but not that it was the same time period.) And none of the background history, like why Princip shot FF and why Austria's declaration of war led in turn to Russia's, which then precipitated a giant mess. High school history is bollocks.
I think my favorite parts are the little biographical details and personality traits of all the commanders. It's easy to see how the war got so huge and convoluted so quickly. And she doesn't go easy on either side, particularly; Joffre's hubris is shown as much as Moltke's.
Though in reading history, it's kind of sad that if you based fiction on the real people, you'd be accused of cliches or unrealistic writing! Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia, for example, was 6'5" and had an unfortunate tendency to smack his head into doorways. But, nooo, you can't include that in fiction; it's too cliche. :P
I think my favorite parts are the little biographical details and personality traits of all the commanders. It's easy to see how the war got so huge and convoluted so quickly. And she doesn't go easy on either side, particularly; Joffre's hubris is shown as much as Moltke's.
Though in reading history, it's kind of sad that if you based fiction on the real people, you'd be accused of cliches or unrealistic writing! Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia, for example, was 6'5" and had an unfortunate tendency to smack his head into doorways. But, nooo, you can't include that in fiction; it's too cliche. :P
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