My review copy of this book arrived just days after Max Arthur's "Last Post - The final word from our First World War soldiers". Essentially, both works attempt the same thing in illustrating the experience of the war by using the words of the few surviving veterans.

Van Emden lays out the quotes in a chronological sequence, interlacing them with some commentary giving context and also his own memories and observations about the men he interviewed. The selection of photographs is good, mixing images of these men as they were in 1914-1918 with the present day.

As with Arthur's book, I shall not be rushing out to buy. These fine gentlemen have been interviewed numerous times especially in the last decade, their words used frequently on TV and in books, and inevitably there is little that is new here. Beware if you intend to use the book for serious study, for memory is a funny thing and you need to be aware that these words are from the minds of men aged well over 100 years. The book has many human interest stories and these appear to be a good representation of the times, albeit through a very long lens.

For the mildly interested who have not heard these men before, the book is a good read and reasonable value.