Christmas Truce Research Articles

Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World (review)

Reviewed by: Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World Elizabeth Bush Thuswaldner, Werner Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World; by Werner Thuswaldner and Patricia Crampton; illus. by Robert Ingpen. Minedition/Penguin, 200540p ISBN 0-698-40032-1$16.99 M 7-10 yrs A broken church organ, a simple composition sung to guitar accompaniment at midnight Mass, soldiers who call their own unauthorized Christmas truce under the influence of a beloved Christmas song—many children are familiar with the stories that surround the famous carol. Thuswaldner overembellishes the basics with a poorly integrated look at the beleaguered population of nineteenth century Oberndorf, Austria, and with heavy, florid prose exacerbated by what would appear to be the puzzling consequence of a missing line of text: "Millions of people know the melody, some know the verses, but very few are aware of more than a grace and blessed consolation of beyond the carol." There's a bit about seasonal flooding and an unnamed war, a tad about Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber, and abundant breathless musing on the salutary effect of the hymn on its listeners and singers. Ingpen provides illustrations of war, misery, and romanticized village life in hazy paintings, often obscured by snow, that unfortunately recall cheap greeting [End Page 203] cards as well as Old Masters. Extensive Christmas collections could justify inclusion of this title, but Margaret Hodges' Silent Night (BCCB 12/97) remains the selection of choice. Copyright © 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

1914: The Men Who Went to War (review)

Reviewed by: 1914: The Men Who Went to War W. Robert Houston 1914: The Men Who Went to War. By Malcolm Brown. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 2004. ISBN 0-283-07323-3. Maps. Illustrations. Bibliography. Indexes. Pp. xxviii, 337. £20.00. 1914: The Men Who Went to War is one of a series of books sponsored by the British Imperial War Museum. This volume is the fourth on World War I by Malcolm Brown, a retired documentary producer for BBC-TV and a freelance historian working with the Museum. The central idea behind all of Mr. Brown's volumes on the First World War is to attempt to convey to the reader an insight into what the war was like from the point of view of the participants on the battlefields and elsewhere by utilizing the Museum's superb document collection, printed primary sources (such as Gavin Roynon's The Massacre of the Innocents: The Crofton Diaries, Ypres, 1914-1915), and secondary works (such as Hew Strachan's The First World War, Volume 1, To Arms). This is the format followed in 1914. In a prologue, thirteen chapters, and an epilogue, Brown covers the comments of people from all levels of society and from all over the globe caught up in the hurricane of 1914. Of course, the focus is overwhelmingly on Britons and British imperial subjects, and the chapters vary greatly in quality. Perhaps what 1914 does best is to introduce the reader to the enormous amount of unpublished material available, and to supplement the numerous quotes with excellent maps, numerous pictures (though irritatingly not of the people quoted), and some interesting material on home front reactions to the coming of the war, such as the distribution of white feathers, anti-German and anti-Austrian hysteria, as well as advertisements for trench coats and Cornish Christmas holidays The author often seems to include a documentary source because it was available to him rather than because it helps one to understand 1914 (an example being the diary of Surgeon Captain Leonard Moncrieff, RN, cited extensively in chapter 5). On the other hand, some documentary sources are very informative and worthwhile, such as the diary of Brigadier General F. J. Heyworth. In addition, Brown also extensively examines the question of the legendary "Christmas Truce," and conclusively proves it did occur in some cases. Indeed, his judicious chapter on this strange occurrence is perhaps the best part of the book. He demonstrates that the "truce" did occur in at least some British sectors, that it was spotty and sporadic, and that it was [End Page 582] soon over. The book would have been better if he had focused as carefully on his other chapters. In sum, it is difficult to determine the audience at which this pastiche is aimed. Those who are knowledgeable about the First World War will find some morsels of interest (and have their appetite for exploring the Imperial War Museum's document department stimulated); those who are not familiar with this subject will be confused and often bored. Perhaps the best conclusion one can draw is that this work is meant to showcase the Imperial War Museum's magnificent documentary collection and fill a space in their gift shop. Sadly, it is difficult to see why anyone seriously interested in the British experience in the latter half of 1914 would wish to purchase this work. W. Robert Houston University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama Copyright © 2005 Society for Military History