The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War

This is a remarkable history of WWI and a must-read for anyone interested in that period. Instead of history from a macro perspective, the book focuses on 20 individuals, both men and women, across the class spectrum, and relates their experiences of what it was like to have lived through the first world conflict. The book is well written and reads almost like a novel. I, for one, could not put it down.What I liked most is that the book gave me a deeper understanding of the forces (emotional rather than political) that pushed the citizens of the warring countries into war and how their belief (or lack thereof) in armed conflict changed over time. Naturally, propaganda (for fake news) played a critical part but so did government censorship of the news and the prohibition of any discussion that could be considered "defeatism". It also teaches a frightening lesson about institutional momentum, the urge to continue on a destructive path even when one knows prudence would demand cessation of conflict. The lives of the 20 individuals described in the book cover all of the major theaters of conflict (the Western Front, the Eastern Front, the Balkans, Middle East, and Africa).

Ah, I really wanted to like this book. I like reading non-fiction pieces about wars, and I hadn't read much about World War I. I would have preferred more soldier stories, and fewer civilian/politician stories.At times, the book got bogged down in details. I liked reading about the nurses and ambulance drivers. I did like reading about the soldiers and the one sailor profiled. I did not like reading about the French politician or the young girl. And, the Polish countess' story ended much too soon. The book seemed a bit imbalanced as a result.I would appreciate some recommendations about World War I books, if any of you would like to share some titles with me, in the comments.Thank you very much.

I wanted to read about the BACKGROUND of WW1 as there is so much written about the war itself. Having read "The Fall of Giants" by Ken Follet, I realized that this war was really generated by the ELITES of the time. This book was about 20 individuals --the Common people--who actaully fought the war in various fashions whether as a nurse,a trainer, doctor, low gov't official, soldier, man who just wanted to battle. It was about all sides from the Ottoman Empire, to the Aficans, to the Serbians AND Germans & French. The ELITES much like OBAMA, brought on so much termoil to their peoples, that the war finally ends with both sides [the common people] throwing away their guns. eg the German Sailors mutiney against their officers and the Frenchman throw away their uniforms and walk home. I NEVER REALLIZED THE WAR REALLY ENDED BECAUSE THE PEOPLE REFUSED TO FIGHT ANYMORE. This is an example of the untrustworthy Media misdirecting people.

I did not know much about WWI. I enjoyed the perspective of the story being told through the real-life diaries of people from several countries on both side of the war. It gave me much insight into the reasons why people go into war. The historical sources and illustrations brought to the forefront that this was a true, real event throughout the world. The suffering was so great, the war was so horrific. The Envoi at the end is a gut-wrenching reminder of the history to follow that event. With the story weaving in and out of all the characters, it was sometime hard to remember what country and place in society each one came from. I was very glad to be reading it on my Kindle so I could easily search out each name when I needed to.

I bought The Beauty and the Sorrow after reading a glowing review in the Washington Post; unfortunately I couldn't see the qualities the reviewer had. The book was originally written in Swedish, which I think accounts for some of the choppy, awkward sentences in the English translation. I liked the idea of choosing ordinary people to recount the war years instead of focusing on the generals yet again. However it must be said that some of the experiences they chronicled are frightfully dull. There are way too many vignettes subtitled "Alfred Pollard sketches a donkey near the Somme" or something similar. Two points in the book's favor: it takes the reader to places like Africa and the Middle East (this was a world war after all) and the author makes clear how even the generals and kings ostensibly in charge were often making decisions based on wildly inaccurate information. About halfway through the book the characters began to blend into one amorphous mess for me, I'm afraid.

This is a fascinating look at World War I, drawn from the histories of more than 20 people who were intimately involved in the war, some in the military and some civilians.It reads more like a novel than a history, but it is not fiction. The writing is so powerful that you can almost smell the gun powder and feel the snow piling over the tops of your boots.The book could have done with some maps. It's hard to keep track of where we are when the only locator is the name of some obscure little town.Also be warned that the Kindle edition does not include the many pages of photographs that are included in the hardcover edition. The photographs really bring the characters and locations to life.

This is a compelling book. One feels part of what happens to each person. You feel their sorrows - much too much sorrow. You share their occasional taste of beauty and happiness. As you get to know each person better through the author's words and use of the present tense, you develop a "relationship" with them. When they die (and some do) and when they are wounded, injured, or ill (and many are), and when they are helpless, trapped, prisoners - physically or in the horror the Great War - the War to End All Wars - you share their emotions and pain. It is painful to read in places, exciting in others. The author has created, in my opinion, a masterpiece. And when you see who has the "last word" in the book, you truly understand the ironic futility of the First World War.

Das Buch zeigt aus der Sicht von 20 ganz normalen Menschen, wie sie den 1. Weltkrieg miterlebt haben. Einige davon haben den Krieg nicht überlebt, andere haben ihn mit psychischen Schäden "überlebt".Es sind nicht die Geschichten, der hochdekorierten Generäle oder die Taten von "Superhelden". Das Buch beschreibt eindrücklich und in gut verständlicher Sprache (Englisch) die Erfahrungen dieser Menschen.