This moving narrative of the First World War is told largely through the emotive, writings of those who were present at the events they describe.
The most visually descriptive and tear-jerking accounts are drawn from the officers and men who served on the Western Front at the Somme and elsewhere, accounts of fear and tedium, horror and occasional joy and peace.
This comes most notably on th
e truce on Christmas Day of 1914 when a captain wrote from the trenches: "I was peeping over the parapet when I saw a German, waving his arms, and presently two of them got out of their trenches and came towards ours – we were just going to fire on them when we saw they had no rifles so one of our men went out to meet them and in about two minutes the ground between the two lines of trenches was swarming with men and officers of both sides, shaking hands and wishing each other a Happy Christmas.
"For the rest of the day nobody has fired a shot and the men have been wandering about at will..."
This camaraderie continued month by month as across no man's land the soldiers shared their weariness of war and their common humanity.
The Great War is a subject close to the author's heart – he lost three uncles, each killed before he was 21.
Recollections are seamlessly joined by MacArthur's factual text as the war progressed, illustrated with further writings from those on the home front, left to wait for news of their loved ones.
It's a vivid, moving picture of a major part of 20th century history, capturing so many of the brutally honest and deeply poignant moments.
Published in hardback by Little, Brown, £20.
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