Where Poppies Blow

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By John Lewis-Stempel
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2 reviews
Winner of the 2017 Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize for nature writing
The natural history of the Western Front during the First World War
‘If it weren’t for the birds, what a hell it would be.’
During the Great War, soldiers lived inside the ground, closer to nature than many humans had lived for centuries. Animals provided comfort and interest to fill the blank hours in the trenches – bird-watching, for instance, was probably the single most popular hobby among officers. Soldiers went fishing in flooded shell holes, shot hares in no-man’s land for the pot, and planted gardens in their trenches and billets. Nature was also sometimes a curse – rats, spiders and lice abounded, and disease could be biblical.But above all, nature healed, and, despite the bullets and blood, it inspired men to endure. Where Poppies Blow is the unique story of how nature gave the British soldiers of the Great War a reason to fight, and the will to go on.
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This delightful book shows the horror of WW1 trenches in a new light. In an era that followed closely on from the Victorian, where to be an amateur naturalist was common, we find many men finding comfort in the flora and fauna of the trenches. This closeness to nature gave rise to much great poetry and the great regret must be that most of these young men would not survive the conflict.
An unusual book that deservedly receives plaudit and prizes.
With so much information in each chapter this was not a light read but one that was very readable and educational. The group discovered that with nature at its centre regarding the Great War, information was seen in a new light, giving a more concentrated focus to the daily experience of the war. The chapter involving the horses was particularly interesting and heart-breaking in equal measure - what a chapter! A superb book & worthy winner of the Wainwright Prize 2017. The Preschool Parents Book Club