World War I

Without the rumoured presence of a cask of rum, buried in a trench-collapse at the start of this 'war to end all wars', someone else would be writing this review. For not only was the reputed rum buried - so was my dad. Two rum-hunting Tommies found him and dug him out to (even more remarkably, perhaps) survive the rest of the conflict in action. They never found the rum. Reminiscences my dad never bothered us with, but WWI memorabilia (verey pistol, Princess Mary cigarette tin, German field-boots, medals, and lots of letters and pictures) surrounded my earliest days, so many of the excellent images this scrapbook presents are familiar to me as genuine. And a fine scrapbook it is. Making no attempt to explain in depth the politics or tactics of this often absurd war, the authorial team wisely concentrates on the picturesque - uniforms, armaments, transport, trenches, wounds and ingenious devices like the pigeon-parachute are all portrayed with DK's usual pin-sharp clarity. Adams' text is at all times helpfully illustrative. Although the majority of the material shown is British, virtually every spread contains 'enemy' examples, thereby emphasising that this war - like all others - was primarily about people, not politics, Tommies not tactics. The Imperial War Museum is a major contributor to this work, and perhaps the book's aptest application would be as a souvenir of a visit there; but for anyone, any age, who wants a '14-'18 image bank, this is an excellent tenner's worth. That written, it's time for a drink - rum, of course. Good health, Dad!