Home Before the Leaves Fall

Home Before the Leaves Fall is a novel about the Great War by author N L Collier.

However, it is different to many of the other novels set during the Great War, or Wold War One as that conflict is also known.

This is because Collier has taken the interesting step in his debut novel to set the novel from a German perspective.

As war breaks out all over Europe German university student Franz Becker takes the decision to give up his academic life -at least for the present time- and to enlist in the Kaiser's Army.

He feels sure that the army life will enable him to escape from his safe and predictable life. However, not everyone in Germany agrees with him .For example his best friend, Karl von Leussow is sickened by the idea of a European conflict. And Karl should know about this type of matter. After all, hadn't his family supplied the Prussian Army with members of the officer class for many generations?

Despite his misgivings (Karl is aware exactly how bloody and brutal war can actually be) Karl also joins the army in order to defend his country.

Along with the other new recruits they both receive six weeks of barely adequate training and they are bundled off to join in the fighting at Ypres. The fighting was terrible and the carnage unthinkable.

The shock at what he is witnessing has a major impact on Franz, but he swiftly learns that he must fight or die. So, he fights.

He proves to be a good solider and his promotion up the ranks is rapid. He is then put under considerable pressure to make the change to join the officer class, but he knows of the dangers of becoming an officer and declines to take the commission.

Karl, with a background in hunting, becomes a sniper, which causes his friend Franz some angst.

After seeing aircraft above the trenches more frequently, Franz decides to transfer to the Air Service, but Karl decides to remain earthbound.

After his acceptance into the Air Service the two friends decide to enjoy a leave together.

The novel is extremely well written and pulls no punches. The one thing the reader will begin to understand is that there's probably no difference between the soldiers, no matter what side they are on.

It is published by Matador at £7.99.

Hurricane Hill

Hurricane Hill is a novel by Chris Leicester which is based on his highly successful play of the same name which he toured the UK with in 2013 to 2015.

It is a heart and gut wrenching examination of the terrible effects of PTSD on combatants and their family members.

It's a novel that is moving and yet also very disturbing, too. It tells of the camaraderie built up on the battlefield and explores the moral dilemmas that soldiers sometimes face on the battlefield. Who lives and who dies on the day? Which life is more important? Who should be saved, who should be sacrificed?

The novel also explores the results of what happens when a former combatant returns home carrying the heavy weight pf PTSD.

I have never suffered -thank the Lord!- from PTSD, but I have known former servicemen who fought in the types of regiments that Chris Leicester alludes to who do suffer from PTSD and this book might just help give a glimpse of insight into what they are going through.

It is published by Matador at £8.99.

Striking Similarities

Kevin Morley takes a detailed look at two examples of industrial action that were both extremely important moments in industrial relations

In 1913 there was the Dublin Lockout which was a gargantuan struggle between the opposing forces of William Murphy who owned the Dublin United Tramway Company and the Irish Independent newspaper group whilst also being the head of the Employers Federation, versus Jim Larkin and James Connolly and the Irish Transport and General Workers Union.

The dispute was a bitter one involving a strike and a lockout of the working people of Dublin which lasted for some eight months.

In the first part of this well-researched work the author examines the lockout and the conclusion in 1914.

The second part of the book crosses the Irish Sea and looks at the 1984/85 Miners Strike which crippled the coalfields of Britain for a year.

Morley points out that, although separated by 70 years and two world wars, that there are some very strong similarities between the two industrial disputes. And that these similarities are well worth closer examination.

Striking Similarities deserves a place on the bookshelf of any modern historian and people who specialise in industrial relations. And of any layman with an interest in modern history.

It is published by The Book Guild at £11.99.

The Mule in Military Service

Almost entirely ignored, the role of the poor mule in wars, including both the  First and Second World Wars is examined and reported upon by Anthony Clayton in his new book The Mule in Military Service.

It is a detailed and authoritative account of the use and treatment of mules whilst in military service.

Anthony Clayton points out that the number of mules used within conflicts has been huge. But he points out that their loyal service was often overshadowed by the hardships they went through and the many cases of utterly unnecessary cruelty to which they were subjected.

The book is a thoroughly well researched work and is an epitome of what in depth research should be.

Although this book will be of great value to academics searching the history of war it is not in any way a dry book as it is written in a very readable style.

It is well sourced and cited throughout and it does contain some very illuminating illustrations. 

This book belongs on the bookshelf of any military historian and interested lay reader and at £9.99 is well worth the price.

It is published by The Book Guild.

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