Now It Can Be Told

By: Philip Gibbs

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Length: 19 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Sir Philip Gibbs served as one of five official British reporters during the First World War. In this book he relays the experiences of British soldiers and offers a detailed narrative of the events of World War I, while trying to draw broader conclusions about the nature of war and how it can be prevented in the future.

Public Domain (P)2018 Tantor

Powerful

First class history, told by a first-person witness of the trials and tribulations of soldiery in the First World War.

Pay Close Attention...

This is a great book, but it is easy to let your mind wander. The problem is when you do that you have no idea what you missed, and you missed some exceptional information. There is so much information the author is trying to convey and relate. The First World War was a great tragedy, one that the author, being he was a war correspondent, is continually trying to get to the point of it all. The problem is there is no way to do that. This is the human condition. And the other confusing thing is jumping around from philosophical points to actual happenings during the way. However, this book is very good, and these issues shouldn't deter one from reading it. The narrator does a fine job. No issues there.

a bit hard to follow at times but powerful

don't go into this book expecting one arcing story. it is more a collection of anecdotes, ideas, and accounts of the western front, though some parts follow this line more than others.

over all absolutely splendid.

Ignore the poor reviews, great book

I delayed in purchasing this audiobook because of the bad reviews complaining about the narrator whispering or talking too quietly. I'm glad I didn't pay attention to these, as they should have turned up their hearing aids, or put the children to bed. I listened to this book with headphones next to a loud factory machine all day and I heard every word loud and clear.

This is an excellent collection of accounts by the author who visited the men fighting in the trenches daily during the duration of the war. Easy to follow, eloquently written, and disturbingly graphic. if you have any interest in WW1 or military history, this book is right in your zone, one I will soon add to my bookshelf. Don't let the deaf reviewers prevent you from getting this masterpiece.

Tons of primary and secondary sources.

This book has so many primary and secondary sources of the ground level view of the great war. It is visceral and gritty and oddly humorous at times. Philip Gibbs gives his own opinions on the war and different themes and is pretty biased towards the British, as you would expect from a British war correspondent publishing in 1920, The accents and other languages read by the narrator were phenomenal. I did find it annoying that the book doesn't translate every foreign phrase that makes it in. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys war memoirs and ground view history.

The narration was on point.

My grandfather was an American infantry private, in an automatic rifle squad, with the Rainbow Division. This account, more than any other, allowed me to get a minuscule glimpse of what he endured.

An unusually worthwhile listen.

I have a reasonably good lay knowledge of the political & military history of WW1: the archduke, trench warfare, etc. But this firsthand account by a British war correspondent who experienced the whole thing from beginning to end provides a much more personal and up-close account. Very worthwhile, and wonderfully written and performed.

Haunting and tragic

This story gave me chills and saddened me to know how foolish people could be in the name of patriotism.

Fantastic

An exceptional first hand account of life and death on the Western Front. Matthew Lloyd Davies narrates beautifully (even in French). Bravo sir.

Loud than Quiet

The narrator starts most sentences out really loud than finishes at a whisper . It was hard to hear and if you turned up the volume the start of each sentence was deafening.