Fritz and Tommy: Across the Barbed Wire Kindle Edition

This book compares & contrasts the experience of both British & German soldiers during World War 1. I found it very informative & at times, deeply moving. The authors draw from letters & disries of the soldiers which greatly enhances the subject matter. Highly recommended.

A transformational book on the combatants from BEF and the German Army...an eye-opening look at the similarities between two groups of men at war, on opposite sides of the Barbed Wire!

Sometimes a book comes along that seems to be such a simple idea you can't believe that it hasn't been written before, Fritz and Tommy certainly falls into this category. This book tells the story of the First World War through the letters and diaries of the men who fought it. What's new about that you may ask? What sets this book apart is that the stories come from both sides of the trenches.This isn't a book of grand strategies or international politics, instead it breaks the conflict down into what affected the men everyday in the trenches and behind the lines. Subjects covered include In the Field, Morale and wounds and deaths to name but three and because we hear how these things affected both sides at the same time it gives such a rounded understanding of the events these men endured and suffered.It is such a moving book because as the same names crop up you start to like them and they endear themselves to you with their simple wants while suffering terrible events and then you see the sentence..."Lt.....was killed the day after writing this" and it brings home the slaughter and death these men faced daily.It has a stunning selection of photographs throughout the book that bring the stories to life and also make for a beautiful looking book. 100 years after the war this book brings former antagonists together and shows that deep down under all the rhetoric and nationalism the men who fought the war were basically the same scared young men who wanted to make it back home in one piece.In my opinion an important book!