BOOK REVIEW: MEETING THE ENEMY.

 THE HUMAN FACE OF THE GREAT WAR.

Yet another book from my library, this one is written by the great WW1 historian Richard Van Emden.

This is an unusual book in that it discusses the human face of the war. It is well known that prior to the war the cultural and social ties between Britain and Germany were very strong. Thousands of Germans lived and worked in Britain and had done for many years. Inter marriage between the two nations was high and there were many "mixed" couples living in both countries in 1914.

The book addresses what happened to those people of both nations who found themselves either in the wrong country on the outbreak of war or , as a result of military operations, found themselves prisoners of war.

There are several astonishing issues discussed in the book including the level of contact on "human" matters that continued throughout the war between the two governments and the harsh treatment of British women who were married to Germans but living in Britain and who were considered as German by the British government.

This is an excellent book covering an poorly known subject but one that is both complex and fascinating and demonstrates beyond doubt that war is far more complex in its impacts that just soldiers fighting one another especially among nations with a close pre war relationship.

A great book and highly recommended.