Gallipoli

Masefield, John, 1878-1967Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 256K words
Chapters: 26

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.Gallipoli by John MasefieldAuthor: Masefield, John, 1878-1967,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Dec 7, 2016

Editor's review

Gallipoli is John Masefield's documentary account of the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. Masefield was close to the campaign's setting, and his narrative combines a witness's perspective with a literary hand: it presents the campaign's overall course and battlefield conditions while attending to the situation and sacrifices of ordinary soldiers. Classed under First World War history and short in length, the book serves well as an introduction to Gallipoli: readers can build a basic understanding of the background, the landings and the withdrawal before turning to more systematic military histories. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain and best read alongside maps and a timeline. Note that the author writes with clear period attitudes and emotional bias; this is not neutral military history, and readers should compare it with other sources.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in First World War history, especially the Gallipoli campaign
Military history enthusiasts who want to understand war experience from a witness's perspective
Anyone who needs English public-domain First World War sources for reading or research
Readers who like documentary literary style and short battlefield narratives

Not a good fit for

Rigorous researchers seeking systematic campaign data and neutral military analysis
Readers sensitive to battle descriptions and casualties
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or a fully annotated edition

Reading tips

Before reading, look up a timeline and map of the Gallipoli campaign to establish the geography and its stages.
As you read, distinguish the author's personal observations from his overall judgments on the war, and make brief notes.
Read alongside an account from another side or standpoint to test the narrative's bias.
After finishing, sort the landings, stalemate and withdrawal into three stages and make your own notes on the campaign's course.

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 a complete military history or a personal account?

It is closer to documentary narrative with a literary hand than to systematic military history. The author presents the campaign and battlefield experience from a witness's perspective, with clear emotion and bias. For systematic data and tactical analysis, read it alongside professional military histories.

Can I understand it without background knowledge of the First World War?

Yes, but first learn the basic background of the Gallipoli campaign—the belligerents, the purpose of the landings and the outcome—and keep a map at hand. This greatly lowers the threshold and keeps you from getting lost in dense place names and unit numbers.

How should I treat the author's bias?

Treat the author's period standpoint as part of the text: note his wording and emotional direction, and compare sources from different belligerents. This preserves the immediacy of a documentary text while avoiding taking a single account as the complete conclusion.

Comments

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About the author

Masefield, John, 1878-1967 Author

John Masefield (1878–1967) was a British poet and writer, and this library holds fourteen of his works. His range is broad: poems set against the sea and the countryside, such as Salt-Water Ballads, Dauber and Reynard the Fox; adventure stories for young readers like Jim Davis and Martin Hyde, the Duke's Messenger; documentary works drawn from his wartime experience, including Gallipoli and The Old Front Line; and narratives of voyaging and exploration such as On the Spanish Main. His verse is brisk in rhythm and vivid in imagery, often centred on ordinary sailors and country people, with a strong narrative drive; his prose and fiction prize plot momentum and scene-setting, making them highly readable. The library files his work under inspirational coming-of-age writing, reflecting Chinese readers' interest in his themes of adventure and growth. Public information is limited, so this sketch rests on the works held here.