There is a new Layman's Guide coming... It has taken a long, long time to pull together and I am still only about 60% complete, but it is starting to take shape and will be the best Layman's Guide yet. Probably.
The topic of this Layman's Guide is the 1916 Battle of the Somme. I know, there have already been dozens and dozens of books written on this battle, with great swathes of forest willingly sacrificed for the sole purpose of telling one of the bleakest stories from the First World War (from a British point of view, at least). So why am I doing another one? The answer is pretty simple.
Because I was asked to.
Towards the back end of 2020 I gave my readers three choices regarding the topic of the next Layman's Guide. Did they want one on the Holocaust, or Vietnam or the Battle of the Somme?
The Somme won. By a landslide as it turned out.
Fast forward 18 months or so and I am still not finished, (it's been a tough year or so) but there is now a very faint glimmer of light at the end of a very long tunnel and I feel a bit more confident about telling the world about it.
Below you will see the cover - designed as ever by the magnificent chaps at Battlefield Design - but what else can you expect from this latest Layman's Guide? Well, I have put in a lot of first hand accounts and quotes from the men that were there - on both sides. Indeed I am really trying to ensure my account of the battle tells the German story as well as the British and French stories as I have found in my own research that many of the traditional histories of the battle have concentrated solely on what the Brits did.
There are maps and timelines in there, as well as mini-biographies of some of the men who made a real impact during the fighting. Despite these new additions, the original essence of what a Layman's Guide is has not been lost - the chapters are short and sharp and the tone of writing is light and conversational. However, I think these new features will combine to make this Layman's Guide a rich and rounded resource to anyone wanting to get a good grounding on all things Somme.
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