# Books about the Eastern Front of World War I **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624 "2016-09-01T01:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/1 "2016-09-01T01:47:13Z")
I just finished reading “The Guns of August” by Barbara Tuchman, which offers a good history of the beginning of war. But it focuses mainly on the Western Front, and apart from a chapter on Tannenberg, doesn’t really say much at all about the war in the east. So, what are some comparable books on the Eastern Front and how the war there progressed? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/2 "2016-09-01T02:02:00Z")
Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s **1914** is brilliant from a soldier’s-eye view, but it’s a fictionalisation rather than a strict history. You might try posing here [http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/.ee6c3c5/12438](http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/.ee6c3c5/12438) with more of a description of the type of book and coverage you’re after. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/3 "2016-09-01T13:51:02Z")
Again – not certain whether you seek strictly-factual stuff only, or whether fiction would also be admissible for you. If the latter: I can recommend the novel _The Case of Sergeant Grischa_ by the German author Arnold Zweig, published 1927 – I’ve read said novel in English translation. Gives IMO, an excellent “feel” of how things were on WW1’s Eastern Front. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/4 "2016-09-01T13:54:09Z")
I’m looking more for non-fiction, but these novels sound pretty interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/5 "2016-09-03T10:01:42Z")
I asked a [related question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17506279&highlight=eastern+front#post17506279) in a thread a couple of years ago but didn’t get any replies… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/6 "2016-09-03T12:56:11Z")
Some possibilities: _The Eastern Front 1914-1917_ by Norman Stone _Collision of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914_ by Prit Buttar _Germany Ascendant: The Eastern Front 1915_ by Prit Buttar _Russia’s Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17_ by Prit Buttar _The Eastern Front, 1914-1920: From Tannenberg to the Russo-Polish War_ by Michael Neiberg _The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917_ by David Stone ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-the-eastern-front-of-world-war-i/764624/7 "2016-09-03T13:17:32Z")
Thank you. Sounds like the Michael Neiberg book best fits my wants, despite various caveats mentioned in some Amazon reviews.