The Battlefields of the First World War; The Unseen Panoramas of the Western Front

Here are the great battlefields of the First World War as you have never seen them before, from the first cavalry skirmishes, through the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, to the final weeks of conflict.

A revelatory, unique collection of panoramic photographs covering the whole of the British sectors of the Western Front, end to end. No other work shows like this the actual ground on which the battles were fought and about which so many words continue to be written. The vast battlescapes are interspersed with poignant individual photographs and the recollections of the soldiers caught in the action.

The last time most of the panoramas were viewed - in the trenches - they were marked TOP-SECRET and destined for the eyes of the commanding officer only. Taken at huge personal risk by specialist photographers during the war, the panoramas reveal what no other photographs can - the view beyond the trench parapet - and a great deal more. Each panorama offers a view of up to 160 degrees, so sharply focused that the individual figures of a waiting sniper or a soldier picking lice from his shirt can be made out.

They document a lost world.

This slipcased edition features 60 recently discovered German panoramas, plus a DVD containing the full complement of 350 panoramas in interactive, zoomable form; as well as updated mapping throughout.

Peter Barton is a historian, archaeologist and film-maker. He authored The Battlefields of the First World War after researching the forgotten Imperial War Museum panorama archive for eight years. His other books include The Somme, Passchendaele, and Arras. He continues to lead an ongoing project to recover, interpret and publish all surviving battlefield panoramas.

Barton has also led several major excavations on the Western Front, and produced the critically acclaimed documentary films The Underground War, The Soldiers' Pilgrimage and Conviction. He is secretary of the All Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group.