Combed Out

Voigt, F. A. (Frederick Augustus), 1892-1957Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 286K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Combed Out by F. A. VoigtAuthor: Voigt, F. A. (Frederick Augustus), 1892-1957,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Jul 24, 2005

Editor's review

This book is a short work by the British writer F. A. Voigt set against the backdrop of World War I, yet it gives a remarkably solid account of how war seeps into ordinary people's daily lives. It does not aim for grand battle narrative but instead adopts a personal perspective, recording a state in which fear, exhaustion, hesitation, and brief moments of tenderness intertwine, producing a restrained sense of authenticity. The prose style is understated and the pace is not fast, making it suitable for attentive reading. For readers who want to understand World War I from a literary angle rather than merely through battle-history data, this book offers a flesh-and-blood side of the story. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to obtain and serves well as an introductory text for understanding twentieth-century war literature, as well as for reading alongside wartime diaries and memoirs from the same period. It should be noted that this is not a scholarly military history, and readers should not open it expecting detailed examination of campaign specifics.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in World War I history who want to understand the war from a personal perspective
Literary readers who appreciate a restrained, understated style and are willing to read slowly and attentively
University students and teachers in need of introductory materials on war literature
Readers accustomed to public-domain e-books who wish to expand their reading at low cost

Not a good fit for

Military researchers expecting systematic battle-history data and campaign analysis
Genre-fiction readers who prefer fast-paced, plot-driven narratives
Readers completely unfamiliar with the World War I background who are unwilling to fill in the necessary context

Reading tips

Read a brief introduction to the World War I background first, then enter the main text; the characters' situations will be easier to follow.
Proceed chapter by chapter, pausing after each one to notice how the author handles details of fear and daily life.
Read alongside wartime diaries or memoirs from the same period to appreciate the difference between personal narrative and historical sources.
When reading the original English, keep a vocabulary notebook and focus on expressions related to wartime experience.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a military history or a literary work?

It is closer to a literary narrative set against the backdrop of World War I, focusing on personal experience and psychological states rather than campaign processes, troop deployments, or strategic analysis. Readers seeking specific military-historical details should read it alongside professional military histories.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for non-native readers?

The vocabulary is generally not very difficult, but the narrative is understated and contains many long sentences and psychological descriptions, requiring some reading stamina. Readers with a college-level foundation in English who are willing to look up words can attempt it; an annotated edition or introductory materials are recommended.

Why is it recommended as an introductory text?

It is moderate in length, easy to obtain, and approaches the war from a personal perspective, making it easier to build an intuitive understanding than with weighty military histories. Reading it before systematic military history will give you a more layered understanding and keep you from being overwhelmed by data.

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About the author

Voigt, F. A. (Frederick Augustus), 1892-1957 Author · British · 1892–1957

Frederick Augustus Voigt (F. A. Voigt, 1892–1957) was a British journalist and political writer who served for many years as the Berlin correspondent of The Manchester Guardian. From a firsthand perspective, he observed German society and politics in the 1920s and 1930s, and his reporting was noted for its attention to facts and detail. His work Combed Out, the only title by him held in this collection, continues in that vein, recording the realities that concerned him in a clear, restrained journalistic style and reflecting a foreign correspondent's sustained engagement with the changes of his time. Given the limited sources available, public information about his education, specific appointments, and awards is scarce; his basic profile can so far be understood only through his identity as a journalist and the style of Combed Out.