Doing Their Bit: War Work at Home

Boyd Cable (pseudonym of Ernest Andrew Ewart)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 111K words
Chapters: 12

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.Doing Their Bit: War Work at Home by Boyd CableAuthor: Cable, Boyd, 1878-1943,Language: English, Class: UF: Military science: Artillery, Release Date: Jun 14, 2015

Editor's review

Doing Their Bit: War Work at Home is Boyd Cable's account of wartime work on the home front, made available as an ebook by Project Gutenberg. The title's "doing their bit" refers to the various kinds of local labor and support ordinary people took on during the war, and the book sits within the military science category as a record of a social side of wartime life. Cable had experience writing from the front, and his style tends to dwell on concrete scenes and the actions of individuals; the book's value therefore lies not in strategic analysis but in showing how war seeped into daily life and changed the rhythm of ordinary people's work. As you read, note the cases the author chooses and the perspective he adopts, and consider how the language of wartime mobilization is shaped into readable documentary prose. Recommended for readers interested in the social history of the First World War, home-front mobilization, and documentary writing, and as supplementary material for understanding the relationship between war and everyday life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the social history and home-front life of the First World War
History enthusiasts studying wartime mobilization, civilian support, and the organization of labor
Readers who enjoy documentary writing and care about ordinary people's situations in war
Students and teachers in need of supplementary reading on wartime society

Not a good fit for

Military readers seeking accounts of battles, strategy, and tactics
Researchers hoping for systematic historical argument or statistical data
Readers sensitive to war material who prefer not to engage with such accounts

Reading tips

Start with the author's background in front-line reporting, then read the main text to better grasp his documentary approach.
Read in batches by chapter theme, and after each part sort out the types and divisions of home-front work.
Compare with social histories or materials on women's wartime labor from the same period to broaden your understanding.
Note the mobilization language the author uses as you read, and observe his narrative stance and the tone of the era.

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 mainly about fighting at the front?

According to the title and the available information, the book focuses on "War Work at Home," that is, wartime work on the home front rather than accounts of front-line combat. Readers should expect content on society and labor, not battle descriptions or analysis of military command.

What is the background of the author, Boyd Cable?

Boyd Cable (1878–1943) is the author of this book; the available information gives only his dates and the attribution of the work. The title and category indicate that his writing deals with wartime subjects; beyond that, the information does not describe his specific career, and it should not be guessed at.

What if the English original is hard to read?

First read through the chapter titles and the opening sentence of each paragraph to build an overall framework, then read the cases that interest you in detail. Don't look up every unfamiliar word; focus first on events and people's actions, and use the ebook's search function to return to key passages when needed.

Is it suitable as a direct historical source for research?

It is closer to documentary writing of its time, carrying the author's perspective and the tone of the era, and can be used as material for understanding wartime social atmosphere and modes of narration. For rigorous research, it is best cross-checked against archives, statistics, and other sources rather than relied on alone.

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About the author

Boyd Cable (pseudonym of Ernest Andrew Ewart) Author · 1878–1943

Boyd Cable (1878–1943) was the pen name of the writer Ernest Andrew Ewart. Born in India to Scottish parents, he later moved to Australia and served in South Africa. After the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted and went to the European front, winning fame with novels drawn from his trench experiences, including Between the Lines, Action Front, and Grapes of Wrath, and became one of the most popular war writers of the period. His work focuses on soldiers' daily life, combat, and psychology at the front, with a realistic style and a strong sense of firsthand battlefield observation. His true identity became widely known only after his death. Public information on his early education and postwar life is limited.