As featured in ''Conspiracy' to lure underage boys to war.'--The Sunday Times Soldiers in the British Army risked severe discipline for taking photographs on the battlefield. This illustrated book for researchers, history buffs, and students offers a detailed impression of the fight for the River Somme in WWI, which was one of the most brutal fronts of the war, through the lenses of ordinary British soldiers with their own contraband cameras. The sepia photos (170 total) are accompanied by excerpts from soldiers' diaries, letters, and memoirs. The first-person recollections are separated by brief introductions and woven into an accessible chronological narrative. The book's introduction contains historical background on the war, plus information on the men's cameras and uses of the photos, which were often sold to journalists or sent to families of the dead and wounded. Through the photos and first-person accounts, the book chronicles events over a period of 20 months, from the year before the offensive began, through the four-month battle, and the four months after the battle. Author Richard van Emden has written 17 books on WWI history--ProtoView This is a wonderful book, filled with new or rarely-before-seen sepia-tinted photos, many from the soldiers' own private collections.--World War One Illustrated, Summer 2018