Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting Elizabeth Bush Murphy, Jim. Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting. Scholastic, 2009116p illus. with photographs ISBN 978-0-545-13049-3$19.99 R Gr. 4-7 The tale of Christmas, 1914, during World War I, which saw troops on both sides simultaneously lay down arms and fraternize in No Man's Land, has made the [End Page 162] rounds as a sentimentalized conflation of a number of discrete events. Here Murphy objectively examines in detail what happened along sections of the Western Front during that holiday season. Chapters of background on the war precede the climactic description of the truce, but readers serious about understanding its import will need to follow Murphy's text as he establishes the propaganda and demonization of the enemy on both sides of the line, and the stalemate into which generals had cornered their own troops. On that foundation, the Christmas Truce—not a unified action, but a series of sporadic outbreaks of peace—is certainly no less remarkable, but easier to comprehend. Drawing from personal accounts of the soldiers, Murphy also demonstrates that the truce lingered in many locations so far past Christmas that some commanding officers had to threaten their troops back into action or rotate in fresh soldiers who had not been softened by the humanity of the encounter. Photographs and maps abound, and the oversized font is a mixed blessing, making the text speed by but inadvertently signaling to prospective older readers that this title might be a little too young for them. It would be difficult to find a more offbeat holiday offering, but kids who channel their inner Scrooge over Christmas may find this the perfect Noël. Index, bibliographic notes, resources, and a timeline are included. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois