World War I: A Research Guide
Researchers of the Great War will find a good deal of information to jump start their research from the resources listed below. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the events preceding it to the signing of the Versailles Treaty in 1919. The information is presented in a variety of formats including personal narratives, chronologies, primary documents, photographs, and encyclopedias. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library’s catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.
Recommended Books
Almanac of World War I by David F. Burg and L. Edward Purcell. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. ISBN: 0813120721.
A daily account of the action on all fronts including daily entries, topical descriptions, biographical sketches, maps, and illustrations.
Chronicle of the First World War by Randal Gray and Christopher Argyle. 2 vols. New York: Facts On File, 1991. ISBN for vol. 1, 1914–1916: 0816021392; ISBN for vol. 2, 1917–1921: 0816025959.
Chronicles military, political, and international aspects of WWI.
The First World War by John Keegan. New York: Knopf, 1999. ISBN: 0375400524.
Definitive narrative account of World War I by notable historian.
The First World War: A Complete History by Martin Gilbert. New York: Henry Holt, 1994. ISBN: 080501540X.
Acclaimed British author covers the entire length of the war in this readable one volume book detailing the seeds of war and how it changed the world.
The First World War: An Eyewitness History by Joe H. Kirchberger. New York: Facts On File, 1992. ISBN: 0816025525.
Provides first-hand accounts of the war in memoirs, speeches, letters, and newspapers. Appendixes include 56 documents, more than 200 brief biographies, and five maps, bibliography, index, and 75 photographs.
Historical Atlas of World War I by Anthony Livesey and H. P. Willmott New York: Henry Holt, 1994. ISBN: 0805026517.
Primarily of battle maps in color with commentary and time lines arranged in chronological order.
History of World War I. 3 vols. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002. ISBN: 0761472312.
Articles are arranged in three volumes, providing a chronological account and regional overviews of the worldwide conflict. “War and Response, 1914–1916” (vol. 1), “Victory and Defeat, 1917–1918” (vol. 2), and “Home Fronts, Technologies of War” (vol. 3).
My Experiences in the World War by John J. Pershing. 2 vols. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1931.
First-hand account of author’s time spent as Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I.
Web Sites
Encyclopaedia of the First World War
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWW.htm
Provides comprehensive coverage of the war in an easy to navigate format.
The Great War and the Shaping of America
www.pbs.org/greatwar/index.html
Includes a great deal of information, as well as interactive features.
The World War I Document Archive
www.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/
Archive of primary documents from World War I. Includes image archive.
Keywords
Try these search terms in the library’s online databases. Use print indexes for articles published before online databases coverage began.
Balkan Wars, 1912–1913
Fourteen Points
League of Nations
Lusitania, Sinking of the, 1915
Russia—Revolution, 1917–1921
Triple Alliance or Triple Entente
Verdun, Battle of
Versailles, Treaty of, 1919
William II, Emperor of Germany
Wilson, Woodrow
World War, 1914–1918
Subject Headings
• World War, 1914–1918
• World War, 1914–1918—campaigns
• World War, 1914–1918—children’s fiction
• World War, 1914–1918—fiction
• World War, 1914–1918—participation, African-American
• World War, 1914–1918—United States
• For biographies, search under the person’s name, e.g., Hitler, Adolf or Patton, George.