Kut-al-Amara was the site of one of the longest sieges ever endured by British forces, which began on this day back in 1915. This siege is the subject of a new book by Nikolas Gardner. In The Siege of Kut-al-Amara, Gardner offers important insights into Britain’s imperial army and its role in the Middle East during World War I.
Read more about the history of the siege in this excerpt.
One hundred years ago today, Austria declared war on Serbia, marking the beginning of World War I. To further your understanding of World War I history, we offer the following reading selections:
Battle of Dogger Bank
The First Dreadnought Engagement, January 1915
Tobias R. Philbin
"Tobias Philbin has written an outstanding account of Dogger Bank. Well-grounded in critically used English and German primary sources, Philbin's book not only contains a strong account of the battle, but also provides unusually deep context on both sides." —Patrick J. Kelly, author of Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy
Prelude to Blitzkrieg
The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania
Michael B. Barrett
"[Barrett's] treatment of the Central Powers is extensive, and his research in this regard can only be described as exhaustive. This work will stand as the definitive study of the Central Powers part of the campaign for some time to come." —Journal of Military History
The Siege of Kut-al-Amara
At War in Mesopotamia, 1915-1916
Nikolas Gardner
Physical, emotional and mental battles—all were dealt with on both sides of the Kut-al-Amara siege in 1915, the longest ever endured by British forces. This detailed history offers important insights into Britain’s imperial army and its role in the Middle East during World War I.
"[Hall's] recreation of the morale crisis that eroded the fighting capability of the Bulgarian Army generally, and underlay its collapse at Dobro Pole and afterward, is a welcome addition to the history of a largely ignored front of the First World War." —The International History Review
"Petrone's achievement in this important book is to have set a convincing benchmark for a discussion that will run for many years."—H-Memory
"Intermingling WWI memories and Russian Revolution mythology, this study provides a brief but fascinating overview of the complexity of Great War memory." —World War I Bridges
"Kelly’s book is a great achievement. Well written and based on new sources, his biography of Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz allows the reader deep insights into the life of a man who played a very important role at the turn of the last century and who shaped German policy in a way few others did." —German History Journal
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. To commemorate this occasion, we offer the following reading selections to further your understanding of the history of the Holocaust:
Retrieved after World War II from metal boxes and milk cans buried beneath the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Oyneg Shabes–Ringelblum Archive was clandestinely compiled between 1940 and 1942 under the leadership of historian Emanuel Ringelblum. By aiding access to this unique archival treasure, the catalog and guide advance study of the daily lives, struggles, and sufferings of Polish Jews at a crucial time and place in the history of the Holocaust.
"This may well be the most important book about history that anyone will ever read." —The New Republic
Who Will Write Our History tells the gripping story of Emanuel Ringelblum and his determination to use historical scholarship and the collection of documents to resist Nazi oppression.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 - Volume I
". . . a readable encyclopedia with very up-to-date bibliographical sources. This important reference work belongs on every library bookshelf. . . . Essential." —Choice
This first volume covers three groups of camps: the
early camps that the Nazis established in the first year of Hitler's
rule, the major SS concentration camps with their constellations of
subcamps, and the special camps for Polish and German children and
adolescents.
The Unknown Black Book provides
a revelatory compilation of testimonies from Jews who survived open-air
massacres and other atrocities carried out by the Germans and their
allies in the occupied Soviet territories during World War II.
Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp
“ . . . a comprehensive portrait of the largest and most lethal of the Nazi death camps . . . serves as a vital contribution to Holocaust studies and a bulwark against forgetting.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sensitive and superb treatment of Holocaust literature; the author . . . treats Holocaust
art
with sensitivity, introspection, respect, and humanity in a clear,
readable, and elegant prose. Gubar’s book will prove to be a seminal
work in Holocaust studies.” —H-Holocaust
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