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Article: A lovely war? Critic's choice MUD, BLOOD AND POPPYCOCK: Britain And The First World War by Gordon Corrigan (Cassell, [pounds sterling]18.99).
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- July 18, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: CORRELLI BARNETT
TODAY, the study of World War I ('The Great War') and the Western Front forms part of the National Curriculum. School parties in ever greater numbers tour the war cemeteries, often searching for the names of their own fallen forebears.
But what kind of beliefs about the war and the Western Front do these young people take with them - and bring home? What do their teachers tell them by way of historical explanation?
Gordon Corrigan in his new book Mud, Blood And Poppycock has no doubt of the answers to these questions.
'The popular British view of the Great War is of a useless slaughter of hundreds of thousands ...