Peace and War: Britain in 1914 - Book Report/Review Example

A HISTORY BOOK REVIEW Introduction In writing history book review, one needs to do a little more than just laying out the contents of the book. What is to be is, to summarize the contents or historical narrative only and focus the review on the historical argument being made. In addition, one should show how the author of the book has supported the argument with historical evidence. The title of the book that is going to be was Peace and War: Britain in 1914. The author of the book is Nigel Jones; Publisher is Head of Zeus (Jones, 2013). Analysis of the book The book talks about the pivotal year of 1914 through numerous political, cultural, and social prisms. The crystals range from the home front strife (strikes, suffragettes and the crisis of the Ulster) to the most general topics of poetry, dance, and sports. It demonstrates a clear picture of a country standing on a precipice, a nation that manages to put into acknowledgement important themes and figures. At the same time, it draws the fewer known events and undercurrents. According to the author, the book provides a historical argument of the diplomatic and political challenges that the nation Britain faced in its advances towards war. Also from the book, an individual can learn certain episodes that occurred like a fight in a public toilet between a painter by the name Wyndham Lewis and Filippo Marinetti. The other thing that somebody can discover from the book is the story of the Empress of Ireland. The story that sank in the year 1914 and contributed to the loss of more than one thousand people (Jones, 2013). The story in the book is fragmentary in that, the range of the narrative and the elements of society that it covers in a sheer diversity. Also in the book, there are certain traits of characters that can leave and individual with the urge to want to read more. In fact, that is the main point; no single study would want to be definitive. Instead, it should aim to pique interests and spark enthusiasm. Jones, the author of the book, has done that (Jones, 2013). The book design is central to its appeal, not to list the images that fill the pages that are wonderful. There are also familiar photographs such as the struggling Mrs. Pankhurst being carted away bodily from the gates of the Palace of Buckingham. Many of them are not familiar, and it is the frozen flames of a frozen world that are so arresting. Who, for example, would have the expectation to see Lord Balfour coming down with AF Tony, a tennis player? In addition, he was anticipated to be seen coming down with a plate of cakes in 1914 at Wimbledon (Jones, 2013). The author, Jones, is effective in demonstrating the fissures that prefigured the dividing, defining event of the war itself. There are no oppositions of reductive binary, but there are tensions of the British prewar society which are drawn out through a consideration of the clashes between the new world and the old world. In the book, there is also the contrast between the privileged inhabitants of the decadent world of the nightclubs of Edwardian, the young, and their parents. The parents were shocked by the cynicism and hedonism of their offspring’s. More so the book does not let anyone forget what was to come, with an enormous reminder of the lives of many young, bright people would demise in the hands of the battlefield. The skilful interweaving of Jones of familiar original strands and themes through the book makes it an imaginative, insightful study of Britain in 1994 (Jones, 2013). The book also takes into account some of the important items and events of the year, the Ulster troubles, suffragettes, artist, and poets that have been mentioned earlier. The author puts them in a manner that readers can get an idea of how that affected on the everyday life of English and British people in the year 1914. The book also demonstrates information that is interesting on the building of big ships, the Dreadnoughts. In addition, the race to offer cruise liners that is big such as the Titanic and the Britannic. In addition, the last third of the book shows the manner in which the country was moving into a war mode. In addition, how people showed patriotism to their country and the people’s fear of the outcome of the war and mobilization. The other fascinating thing is that the book ends on Christmas 1914 (Jones, 2013). The book is a skillful read, and it differs in the sense that it is more of a coffee-sized book. The terms used by Jones are used to show how Britain looked like in 1914. The terms are very informative, relevant, and entertaining to the readers especially when they try to recall hundred years ago. It is a worthwhile and interesting book (Jones, 2013). Criticisms of the book The book is shorter than one can expect it to be. The content of the books stops at around the 68% mark, leaving the other sections to be ignored or browsed. The reason is that they are lengthy ideas when you read further and has an elongated index. In addition, some readers may prefer the paper version; however, to some extent the actual quality of the book does not justify the price of the book. Although the book by Nigel Jones is readable enough, it is quite uneven on how he tries to tackle various strands and puts them together in a more compelled narrative. As a primer on how Britain looked liked a hundred years ago that has been done perfectly well. In addition, the political background and context to the unfolding of the war in Europe has also been done well. However, not anyone who wants to cement his or her level of knowledge of the time could benefit a lot from reading the book (Atkin, 2002). The chapters on the unrest in Ireland, the social scene, the suffragette movement, various arts and literature that were influential and popular at the time, to be honest, they are not necessary. Some of them are very much interesting, but others are not, but they do add some value to the picture that Jones tries to create. Also in the chapters building up to the war and commencing of his conflict in 1914, the narrative is more sarcastic. It is clear that Jones had little time for the various politicians and the members of the royal family who were ill prepared and incompetent of what was to come after the war (Atkin, 2002). Conclusion In writing history book review, one needs to do a little more than just laying out the contents of the book. What is to be is, to summarize the contents or historical narrative only and focus the review on the historical argument being made. The title of the book to be was Peace and War: Britain in 1914. The author of the book is Nigel Jones, Publisher is Head of Zeus. The book demonstrates a clear picture of a country standing on a precipice, a nation that manages to put into acknowledgement important themes and figures. At the same time, it draws the fewer known events and undercurrents (Bostridge, 2014). Although the book by Nigel Jones is readable enough, it is quite uneven on how he tries to tackle various strands and puts them together in a more compelled narrative. Also in the chapters building up to the war and commencing of the conflict in 1914, the story is more sarcastic. It is clear that Jones had little time for the various politicians and the members of the royal family who were ill prepared and incompetent of what was to come after the war (Bostridge, 2014). References Atkin, J. (2002). A war of individuals: Bloomsbury attitudes to the Great War. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Bostridge, M. (2014). The fateful year: England 1914. Jones, N. (2013). Peace and War. New York: Head of Zeus. Read More