ISBN: 10 0 297 84644 2
HB 272 pages £16.99
Published by Weindenfeld & Nicholson.
In his latest book titled ‘Last Post’, Max Arthur has interviewed the twenty-one last known veterans of the Great War.
The words of this group of centenarians who were involved in the tumult of the Great War have been heard many times before, but what is so different about this book is that Max Arthur has looked at the whole life spans of this generation of men. One has to remember that the Great War was just a very small part of this group of men’s lives. This fact does not decry from the tasks they were called upon to do in the ‘Service of King and Country’.
The book is not a series of question and answer type interviews. It is a collection of reminiscences where this group of centenarians look back over their long and eventful lives. This is what makes this book so different. It makes a pleasant change to here the what happened to these men before and after the Great War. The one abiding theme of this book is that almost to a man they have lived their lives to the full. They are a generation to whom the words ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ are an anathema. All accept that what they went through was truly appalling, and that war should be avoided at all costs. All clearly remember their comrades who were wounded or killed on a daily basis. More importantly they have not let the tragedy of war destroy their long lives.
For the serious devote of the Great War this book maybe a disappointment, but for those who have an interest in people it is a good read. I can recommend it without reservation.
Reviewer: Martin Hornby
