World War I by Simon Adams (2001)

I have never really understood World War I and am now listening to a Fall of Giants by Ken Follett a long novel on the war. But I needed to visualize some of the things I was hearing, so I went to the children's book section and found this - Eyewitness Books are great. This one helped me understand this war by actually seeing the trenches, the equipment, the different players - both individuals and nations and groups within nations, the war on the various fronts. With a combination of short texts, photographs, artifacts, illustrations, it gave an overview where I could fill in details from Follett's novel. It still boggles my mind on what minor reasons the war was started and how it pulled in so many countries around the world. Follett's extensive book only covers in detail Britain, Germany, Russia and the U.S., and much of it happens in France, but the war involved so many more. I find the losses in lives just beyond comprehension - over 16 million dead, and over 20 million injured! I think I saw a recent number for US losses at about 400,000, and they got in the war at the very end. I will discuss it more when I describe Follett's book, but for now I am thankful for this insight.