I found a book in a rual Missouri town last spring "History Of The Word War" by Francis A. March, who appears to be either the son or daughter of General Peyton C. March (Chief Of Staff, US Army). This book has, for me, been by far the most engrossing book on WW1, I have ever heard, but have not heard of it before or after. Does any one know just how actually authoritative it is, or if has been unduly colored by the closeness of the author and the subject.
Does any one know just how actually authoritative it is, or if has been unduly colored by the closeness of the author and the subject.
Well, it was published in 1919, immediately after the war, and as you point out, the author was close to an important figure in the conflict. I can't claim to have read the book myself, but I would say that you're better off following up with much more modern (ie from the last 20 years) publications. They'll probably be much more informative, have more information thanks to records being available that were unavailable in 1919, and probably be striving towards a tad-more objectivity than March. David Stevenson's 1914-1918 is highly commendable in this regard.