The soldiers' press: trench journals in the First World War

Why did millions of men agree to fight the most horrific war in history? And go on doing it, in many cases, for years? The question of consent is one of the many issues of the Great War that still haunt us today.

The soldiers of 1914-1918 created a large body of newspapers and magazines by, for and about themselves. Often misleadingly called 'trench journals', these rich archival sources have received surprisingly little sustained scholarly attention. Through the first comprehensive investigation and analysis of the English language trench periodicals of the war - British, Canadian, Australia, New Zealand and American - The Soldiers'Press presents a cultural interpretation of the means and methods through which consent was negotiated between the trenches and the home front.

The few existing book-length studies tend to use trench newspapers as sources of information to answer historical questions. The Soldiers' Press treats soldier journalism on its own terms and provides a new answer to one lasting conundrum of World War I.

 
"Fortunately, this is the sort of book that can help to shake off First World War fatigue and foster confidence that it is possible to view the conflict in fresh ways. There is, of course, always more to say." - Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield
 
"The author is a knowledgeable guide to the community of the front-lines, and one of the key strengths of this work is the way in which the texts are connected to both the lived experience of the troops and the oral culture of the trenches." - Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield

"The Soldiers' Press does not supersede the older work on trench journalism, but it provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview thus far of a fascinating genre." - Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield