Sir Hew Strachan is Wardlaw Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His publications include To Arms (2001), the first of a three-volume history of the First World War, and The First World War (2003) which accompanied a 10-part television series.
'This is the most comprehensive reassessment of the 'Home Front' in the United Kingdom that has been published for a generation. It will provide an indispensable starting point for future scholars of the war and helpful and enlightening reading to those who have a general interest in Britain and Ireland during this period.' Adrian Gregory, author of The Last Great War: British Society and the First World War 'In the fullest study in a generation, leading historians use social, economic, cultural, and political history to shine new light on Britain's home front in the Great War. They show why civilians were central to a 'total war' and integrate Ireland as part of the United Kingdom of the period.' John Horne, editor of A Companion to World War I 'This collection makes a vital contribution to the political, economic and social history of the First World War. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars in their fields, it provides a comprehensive study of the British Home Front. It forms an essential addition to the historical literature of the war.' Jessica Meyer, author of Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain 'Hew Strachan's edited volume adds a strong scholarly voice to the chorus of commemoration still echoing from the centenary of the Great War. Here is a book which respects local identities and imperial loyalties, and shows how British initiatives in the management of manpower, production and finance underwrote victory in the 1914-18 war.' Jay Winter, author of Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History