Mark Holborn and Hilary Robert's The Great War marks next year's centennial of the beginning of World War I with a chronological account ranging from the initial nationalistic fervor as countries mobilized to the increasingly brutal atrocities and savagery soldiers faced in the trenches (including the effects of chemical warfare). Colorful images of the war's trophies and memorabilia are juxtaposed against the haunting ruins of historic buildings and skeletal remains poking out of makeshift graves against a stone gray sky.
These photos, amassed from the personal collections of individual soldiers, journalists and historical archives, tell a compelling story, one that would come to define future generations. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant