The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 - Softcover

Horne, Sir Alistair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140022155 ISBN 13: 9780140022155

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1979

Synopsis

Verdun was the battle which lasted ten months in which at least 700,000 men fell along a front of fifteen miles. The aim was less to defeat the enemy than to bleed him to death. Verdun's once fertile terrain is even now the "nearest thing to desert in Europe". The book is not only a chronicle of the facts of death, it is a study of the men who fought there, and one that shows Verdun to be the key to an understanding of World War I. It also investigates the minds of those who waged it, the traditions that bound them, and the world that gave them the opportunity.

About this title

About the Author:

One of Britain’s greatest historians, Sir Alistair Horne, CBE, is the author of several famous books on French history as well as a two-volume life of Harold Macmillan.

From AudioFile:

No other campaign, save for that of the Somme, epitomizes the "meat grinder" character of the Western Front in WWI than Verdun. Some 1,250,000 casualties were incurred by the French and Germans in about ten months for a piece of land "little larger than the combined Royal Parks of London." Although almost forty years old, this account is probably the best in English and is meticulously researched and exquisitely written. This audio production displays what is so wonderful about audiobooks, as well as what some may find frustrating about them. Bill Kelsey's reading is laudable. His deep, resonant voice is easy to understand and has a tone of authority to it. Each chapter begins with an epigraph or two, many of which are in French or German. These he ably reads and, as in the print edition, they're not translated. Unfortunately, and here's what may be frustrating, the many maps, photos, and illustrations of the print edition are not reproduced. Also, the excellent bibliography and references are not included. Their inclusion would have added to a magnificent reading. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1979
• ISBN 10: 0140022155
• ISBN 13: 9780140022155
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384