Review: THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS by M.L. Stedman

She Reads Novels recently read and reviewed The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

The First World War, the long term effects on the men who fought in it and the experiences of the many people who lost their loved ones forms a small but very important part of this novel. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything about Australia’s involvement in the war and so I really liked this aspect of the book.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld

One Great War recently read and reviewed Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

This book had no historical flavour at all – it was sort of generically set “before the present time”, but with the robots and the monsters, the WWI setting was largely superfluous. Whenever actual history didn’t suit, it was thrown out.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: HILL 60: YPRES by Nigel Cave

ww1ha recently read and reviewed Hill 60: Ypres by Nigel Cave for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Hill 60,” by Nigel Cave, is one of the Battleground Europe books. Hill 60 — named because it was 60 meters above sea-level — is in the Ypres Salient, not far from Zillebeke. It was the scene of especially ferocious fighting during Second Ypres, in April 1915, where the British set off some of their earliest mines, and the Germans used some of their earliest gas.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: A DIARY WITHOUT DATES by Enid Bagnold

Fleur Fisher in her world recently read and reviewed A Diary Without Dates by Enid Bagnold for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

‘Diary Without Dates’ is her account of the time she spent in one, unnamed, hospital. It’s not a diary in the usually expected form. There are, as the title suggests, no dates and no real clues to the passage of time; it is a simple, ongoing account of her experience; almost a stream of consciousness.

And so the background is a little fuzzy, but that is all to the good as it brings the details, the observations into sharp focus.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Erich Maria Remarque

Olduvai Reads recently read and reviewed All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

There is little need for me to tell you about this  book, for you have probably heard of it – or maybe read it in school. But if you, like me, have been hesitant to get hold of this book, let me tell you – go for it. It is a war novel, yes – and maybe for you that’s also a gulp, but it is a must-read. You cannot help but feel for these men – boys rather – as Remarque opens the book with discussions about food, a constant thought on their minds amid all the carnage and misery. And you feel all that wretchedness and agony.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: MAISIE DOBBS by Jacqueline Winspear

Beauty is a Sleeping Cat recently read and reviewed Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

Maisie’s life story, the crime and its solution are all rooted in WWI. While I didn’t think the crime was gripping I thought the way the book revealed what happened to Maisie during the war was suspenseful. I truly admired the way it managed to convey an idea of WWI. Maisie and many other characters still suffer from various ailments or traumas.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: THE GREAT WAR: PERSPECTIVES ON THE FIRST WORLD WAR edited by Robert Cowley

ww1ha recently read and reviewed The Great War: Perspectives on the First World War edited by Robert Cowley for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

I was most intrigued by Cowley’s discussion of the Massacre of the Innocents. You remember them, right? The German college students who marched into the fray near the Belgian village of Langemark, singing “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles,” and were cut down like daisies (but not before afflicting heavy losses on the heartless French)? Hitler loved the story, as an illustration of how evil the French were.

But, Cowley says, it was just a story.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: THE WINTER OF THE WORLD by Dominic Hibberd and John Onions

One Great War recently read and reviewed The Winter of the World: The Definitive Collection of World War I Poetry by Dominic Hibberd and John Onions for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

I am not much of a poetry reader, being quite finicky, but WWI occurred at the nexus of classicism and modernist poetry, and therefore melds a certain amount of structure, rhyme and meter with stripped-back language and an attempt at realism. Therefore, other than skipping some of the longer and more florid pieces, I found a lot in this book that I liked.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: A DUTY TO THE DEAD by Charles Todd

Howling Frog Books recently read and reviewed A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd for the WWI Reading Challenge in 2012.  Here’s an excerpt:

Bess Crawford is a nurse, serving on the Britannic during World War I. Well, she gets torpedoed in the first five pages, and after that she’s on leave getting better, so she doesn’t actually spend much time in the war, but this is a historical mystery anyway.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants: Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Interview With Filmmaker Maxine Pugh and Info About the ‘Flanders Fields Miracle’ Kickstarter Campaign

Maxine Pugh is a screenplay ghostwriter who recently branched out and started writing her own personal projects. “Raison D’etre” her feature screenplay won Best Romantic Comedy and Best Special Mention awards in the Monaco Film Festival-Angel Film Awards in December 2011. She also produced a short documentary on the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and recently finished her directing debut on a dramatic short film, “Was My Whole Life Wrong…” which will make its premiere at the Festival de Cannes–Short Films Corner in May 2012.

Maxine is looking to raise money to produce a film about the Christmas Truce of 1914 and launched a kickstarter campaign, but soon found a corporate sponsor for her now documentary film on WWI veterans.  She’s now working with a corporate sponsor interested in matching any funds she raises and will be working on a crowd funding projected to finance the film.

Here’s more information about “Flanders Fields Miracle:” Christmas Eve 1914 on the WW1 Western Front in Ypres, Belgium, fierce battles were being fought from inside frozen, muddy, rat-infested, barded wire trenches. German soldiers did the unimaginable, they called an unofficial temporary truce and celebrated Christmas together with their enemies… as friends.

War Through the Generations had the opportunity to interview Maxine about the film and the campaign.

War Through the Generations focuses on WWI this year, but each year the blog focuses on a different war. How did you come across WTTG?

I was doing research on all things related to WW1 when I came across your site.

And what inspired you to reach out to us about your film project?

I was awed by the editors writing, the fun activities, and the knowledgable readers who post on your site. I believe you’re my target audience and that you’d embrace my film.

War Horse is just one successful WWI movie that comes to mind. What inspired you to look into making a movie about the Christmas Truce of 1914 for Flanders Fields Miracle?

Last year I decided that I wanted to work on an inspirational project that had international appeal. I really wanted to stretch myself, so I set about doing research to find a topic that spoke to me. When I came across the Christmas Truce, it stopped me in my tracks and brought me to tears. I knew instantly that I had to tell this story.

Do you think WWI is a war that is not depicted enough in film, why or why not?

Not only is it not depicted enough in film but we learn very little about it in school. When I speak to my friends and family they all know about WW11 but you ask them about WW1 and they go vague. Maybe it’s because it was so long ago that it’s just fallen off our radar.

How much will be going to pay actors, etc. (if you don’t mind divulging).

With a $40,000.00 budget, there will certainly be no Hollywood salaries on this project. The principal crew and actors will be paid a flat salary of $500.00. We’ll also have four interns onboard. All the pre-production work was done without pay. We’ll be purchasing historical footage and fight scenes which will enable us to keep the costs down. The bulk of the money we raise will go into making a wonderful film that looks good, screenings, and getting the word out to the masses. BTW the film will be shot in B&W.

What are your goals in the making of this film?

We want to honor these men by keeping their memories alive.

Filmmaking these days requires a lot of capital, especially if you are not backed by the Hollywood establishment. How successful do you feel you can be in making a film of this nature without the backing of Hollywood and what would be the drawbacks of having Hollywood money behind the film?

We wholeheartedly believe we’re working on a successful award-winning project. Along the way we’ll pick up a PR firm – hopefully pro bono – to get us press and garner interest in our film. And once we get the word out there we truly believe we’ll be able to get Hollywood onboard with distribution. We’d love to have Hollywood money right now, but finding it could take a long time and our film could no doubt end up becoming a totally different, bigger, movie than the one we want to tell.

Tell us a little bit about how you got involved in filmmaking. Was it a lifelong dream?

I started off thinking I’d work in finance, but then I interned at a company where one of the senior partners funded a movie, and I was instantly hooked on the movie making process. I’ve worked in Hollywood as a marketing manager, publicist, agent, and screenplay ghostwriter. Recently I directed my first dramatic short film, “Was My Whole Life Wrong…” which will make its premiere May 2012 at the Festival de Cannes–Short Films Corner.

What types of subjects interest you most when deciding to work on a film?

I like subjects with international appeal. I’m really happy when I can tell the story of an everyday woman or man overcoming obstacles and prevailing. I thrive on heartwarming stories like the Christmas Truce, that show humanity at its best.

This sounds like a worthwhile project! We wish Maxine all the best, and we hope you’ll keep your eyes out for her documentary in the future.