Non-Fiction — Review

Desperate Glory: The Story of WW I

by John Wilson
Napoleon & Company, 2008
ISBN 978-1-894917-42-1
$20.95, 96 pp, hardcover, b/w photos, index, ages 11+
www.napoleonandcompany.com

As we prepare for Remembrance Day ceremonies in November, it is important to stress the purpose of the first Remembrance Day (originally called Armistice Day), which marked the one-year anniversary of the end of the First World War. In the silent moment that stopped activity all over the British Empire at 11 am, November 11, 1919, people paused to remember the dead—the nine million casualties of the first war in history that had involved people from all over the world. This day was not meant to celebrate a glorious victory, but to mourn the tragic deaths of so many young men. Desperate Glory is perhaps an unfortunate title for this book, which clearly shows just how unglorious the reality of World War I was for the young foot soldiers who suffered and died in trenches and battlefields in Europe from 1914 to 1918. This short history of the war explains the event in Sarajevo in June of 1914 that sparked the conflict, and how so many countries were eventually drawn into a war that many had expected would be over by the end of the year. The author does an admirable job of simplifying and explaining a complex situation, making Desperate Glory a helpful resource for educating young people about this event that changed the world forever. Each page of text is illustrated by black and white photos, and frequent sidebars provide additional information. Also included are a Timeline of World War I, and lists of print and web resources for learning more about the war.

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