Back to the Front Book

A rich and sobering exploration of war -- and of the meaning of history -- that will engage general readers and military buffs alike. The Western Front, the sinuous, deadly line of trenches that stretched from the English Channel to Switzerland during the First World War, also formed a scar on the imaginative landscape of our century. Back to the Front chronicles author, Stephen O'Shea's, 500-kilometre walk down what was once no man's land. In the process of making this singular trek through the old battlefields, O'Shea ruminates on the many meanings of the Front and on the nature of his own generation's - the Baby Boomer's - indifference to the past.

An evocative fusion of past and present, Back to the Front will resonate as no other book on World War I ever has. Journalist Stephen O'Shea walked the 750 kilometers along the Western Front--the sinuous, deadly line of trenches that stretched from the Belgian coast to Switzerland--to create this remarkable combination of vivid history and eloquent travel writing. 216 pp.