The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

Yesterday, I was standing in my backyard and heard what I thought was artillery fire from the nearby army base. After a few moments, I realized that no, it wasn’t from the base. Instead, it was probably a 21 gun salute at Arlington National Cemetery, probably a memorial for Veteran’s Day.

I thought I’d introduce a new feature, in which I recommend books, movies and other things on a particular topic. What better topic to start off with than WWI? November 11th is remembered all over the Western world as Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veteran’s Day. All over large portions of the world, we wear red poppies to remember Flander’s Field. But, in the US, WWI is so often overlooked.

For an in-depth look at how the war started, nothing beats Barbara Tuchman’s classic, The Guns of August. For fiction classics that many of us read in high school, Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front tells of trench warfare from the perspective of a young German soldier. Ernest Hemginway’s Farewell to Arms (is it horrible to admit I haven’t actually read this?) is a classic love story on the battlefield between an American soldier and a British nurse. Boris Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago looks at WWI and Russia’s experience and how that led to the revolution. (One of the most moving images from the original film version is how the Russian soldiers met the German forces with pitchforks.)

Geert Spillebeen’s most wonderful Kipling’s Choice imagines the final moments of John Kipling (Rudyard’s son) and tells the story of the sons of Britain’s elite as they were sent off to die. Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful looks at how lower class boys and men were used as cannon fodder. (See full reviews of bothhere.)

Kirby Lawson’s Newberry honor book, Hattie Big Sky (review here) deals with the American home front during the war. Penelope Farmer’s Charlotte Sometimes (review here) is more about time travel, but also deals with the British home front. Another book I haven’t read (but really should) is L. M. Montgomery’s Rilla of Ingleside which deals with the Canadian home front.

And who can talk about the literature of WWI without mentioning the poetry? Most notably, the works of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.

If you’d rather watch something, both the 1965 version, and the 2002 mini-series of Dr. Zhivago are fantastic. The high schooler in me still cries at the WWI mustard gas scene of Legends of the Fall. The film version of Farewell to Arms starring Chris O’Donnell and Sandra Bullock is kinda crappy. Blackadder Goes Forth uses WWI as the setting for the fourth season of the popular British Comedy. The final episode, when they go over the top and the last scene fades to a field of poppies is beautiful and heartbreaking. Speaking of British television, there’s always the classic series Upstairs, Downstairs which covers British life from multiple class stand points in the years for 1903-1930.

Last night, the British television channel showed the drama My Boy Jack, about Jack Kipling’s death and his parents unsuccessful search for his body (the same story covered in Kipling’s Choice). Starring Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) you can watch it online for free here.

Be sure to leave any of your WWI recommendations in the comments, also, let me know what you think of anything I’ve mentioned here!