THE BEAUTY AND THE SORROW by Peter Englund (non-fic)

"The Beauty and the Sorrow" is the most memorable book I have read this year.  Peter Englund is a Swedish writer who has gathered together memoirs, letters and diaries of a diverse group of people who lived and died during the horror that we call World War I.  Their stories are woven together by Englund 's commentary which keeps the reader aware of world events. It is interesting to see what on one day a soldier in France is doing, while a German family may be picnicking and enjoying a summer's afternoon.  Or you might see a young New Zealand soldier arriving at Gallipoli, while his counterpart on the coast of Belgium or in the mountains of Italy is writing to his girlfriend.
 Once you have immersed yourself in this book, you will not forget its characters as they do their best to retain their humanity in the most difficult of circumstances.  The people are from each side of the war: British, Russian, Australian, Italian, Brazilian, American, French, Hungarian, German and Belgian.  There are 20 of them.  Some made it through the war, some died, some disappeared, some broke down, some were wounded and lost limbs, all were brave and honest.  You see warfare in the trenches, in the air with fledgling pilots with little training; you see the dedication of the nurses, and everyday life in Germany through the eyes of a young teen.  You begin to understand the mess created in Mesopotamia which we are still enmeshed in today.  You will learn why young British adventurers would want to go to East Africa to fight the Germans over presumed riches and the challenges both faced in the tough terrain and prevalent diseases. 
Most of all you will begin to understand the complexities of World War I, and you will wonder how 20 years later we could become trapped in another War of the same magnitude. 
At the very end of the book is an envoi which will send a chill of horror through the reader who has the hindsight to know what is to follow.
I highly recommend this book, not only to those who love history, but also to those who seek an understanding of humanity.  You will not forget the people whose stories are told through their own writings.