BOOK REVIEW. AN UNAPPRECIATED FIELD OF ENDEAVOUR.

I have had this book since publication in 2017. Recently Mark at MANOFTIN blog mentioned it to me as something I may find of interest. Thanks Mark. However it made me look again at the book and I thought it worth reviewing.

The book is an exhaustive record of  British Army logistics in the First World War. It is very well researched and full of wonderful details. It does tend to focus a bit more more on the bigger picture rather than the front line practicalities however it demonstrates clearly the effort made by Britain in the war and illustrates the enormous costs involved.

My one criticism is not of content but of layout. It is not uncommon to have footnotes at the bottom of pages to enlarge on or reference a point in the narrative. In this book that concept reaches extraordinary proportions. On most of the pages the footnotes cover half or more of the actual page. It is like reading two books at once. In fact it can be hard to follow the narrative because the eye is drawn to the footnotes and the thread is lost. Now the footnotes are fascinating and highly informative but there must be a better way, perhaps the narrative just needs to be expanded to incorporate more detail rather than leave it down below. That would make the book easier to read for sure.

That point aside, this is an excellent book and well worth reading if you want an understanding of logistics in WW1.