'Revealing and moving first hand accounts of the effects of the Great War - better than fiction.'
Ian Hislop, Sunday Telegraph

'The subtitle of (this) beautifully produced volume - 'The impact of the Great War on a group of Somerset villages' - certainly tells you what's inside but it does not begin to do justice (how could it?) to the harrowing nature of the individual stories it contains... a small masterpiece.'
Robert McCrum, Literary Editor, The Observer

'The whole scheme and conception is first rate and the way the reminiscences, the letters and newspaper cuttings have been assembled is absolutely brilliant. I don't think any book, WWI or WWII, has approached it in its total ring of truth and its realism.'
Peter Cochrane, MC, DSO, former Cameron Highlander and Director of Chatto and Windus (Publishers)

Peter Duffell is a BAFTA winning film director whose credits include Caught on a Train, Inspector Morse, The Far Pavilions and The Avengers. 'Chris Howell's book is marvelous in the way it brings people to life. The book is written with great compassion and care... I don't think many people who start to read it can then put it down... I would rather have written a book like his than have made all my movies.'
Somerset Life

'This magnificent book has been researched, written, published and distributed by Chris Howell (which make his) achievements all the more remarkable. It is an immensely moving testament to the lives and courage of its subjects and though there have been many books published on the war there can have been few more moving or so lovingly rendered.'
Editorial, Books in the Media

'Chris Howell has written an elegiac account of the impact of the First World War on a group of Somerset villages. Although focusing on this small community, his book acts as a mirror, reflecting the wider experiences of many other bereft towns and villages across the length and breadth of Britain. Describing the war through their own words, these men and women of Somerset make an impressive and powerful new contribution to the catalogue of grief that still lingers from the years of 1914 - 1918.'
Nigel Steel, The Imperial War Museum

'Chris Howell has produced what must be one of the finest and most poignant books ever published about the Great War. This stirring, deeply sad testimony is a remarkable tribute to the indomitable human spirit and cannot be recommended highly enough.'
Bristol Evening Post

'Personal accounts intelligently juxtaposed with reports from other, more official sources, often with telling effect. It is exceptionally well produced with quality paper, precise photographs and a clear text - priced at a very reasonable sum.'
The Centre for WWI Studies, Birmingham University

'A wealth of information - a wonderful publication of fantastic interest.'
Tom Holman, The Bookseller

'A superb book... a wonderful insight into the war years... I can't fault it. Chris Howell could have moulded the vivid first hand accounts, official records and other material, into a narrative in his own words, but it could not have been more informative nor provide a richer flavour of the period.'
Lt. Col. Bob Wyatt, Stand To! - Journal of the Western Front Association

'Compelling. Heart-breaking reading - a superb read. An excellent contribution to the social history of the Great War. A handsome volume - a quality feel and good value. An excellent book.'
The Victoria Cross Society

'I have read No Thankful Village with the greatest interest. It offers a wonderful record of the First World War and is full of fascinating detail and human stories.'
John R. Murray, Chairman, John Murray (Publishers) Ltd.

'Incredibly moving and beautifully produced.'
Bloomsbury Publishing

'No Thankful Village is one of the best and most emotive books on World War I that I have ever read - an outstanding and moving tribute to a splendid generation. We can all be grateful to Chris Howell for bringing to vivid life not only some of the men who served but equally importantly, their friends and relatives... Sometimes you can almost hear them speaking.'
JR Tanner, Former Chairman of Butler and Tanner, Ltd. Printers

'There have been many great novels, poems and stories inspired by the Great War. No Thankful Village, a small masterpiece, reminds us that the facts on which they are based are probably stranger and more affecting than anything we can imagine.'
Guardian Unlimited (click here for full review)

'A wonderfully moving story giving a tremendous insight into the lives of these men... incredible stories lovingly put together with remarkable pictures. A cracking piece of work.'
Chris Searle on BBC Radio Bristol

'Wonderfully researched and beautifully put together. I found it completely addictive - spellbinding - and couldn¹t put it down.'
Coldstream Guards' Gazette

'Exceptional...'
Colonel Oliver Lindsay (Formerly of The Grenadier Guards) in The Guards Magazine

'It is a remarkable and valuable piece of research which I recommend to all teachers teaching the Great War in British Literature.'
Adrian Barlow, Chief of Examiners, OCR Examinations

'Chris Howell's efforts have produced a fascinating glimpse into the lives of normal, hardworking people in Somerset during the Great War. This is a wonderfully moving collection of memories, painting a picture of commitment, courage and sacrifice.'
Dr. George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury

'I have read hundreds, probably thousands, of books on a huge range of topics. Few have been as absorbing as No Thankful Village. It is a wonderful book, to which, in my experience, only a few compare. Rarely did I complete a page without being moved to tears, or conversely, to fits of laughter. No Thankful Village should, and will, be treasured... for generations to come. It will certainly occupy a prominent position on my own bookshelf.'
(click here for full review)
Jonathan Layzell (writing for Amazon UK)

'I am not a great lover of history books nor of war books. However, I enjoyed No Thankful Village and found myself occasionally laughing, fascinated and moved. It has changed my ideas about the War by showing the way the people actually involved viewed it and I found myself thinking about it as I went to sleep. On a number of occasions I found that I had to stop and read a section aloud to my wife - even though she hates war books - because it moved me so much.'
Ian Telfer, retired Head of Science

'A momentous book! I have not read many pages yet but already I recognise something unique, something of great significance in what you have drawn together. You have paid your forebears a great tribute and in simply repeating their words and arranging them in this complimentary way you have set up a great memorial to their lives and deaths. Thank you for writing it.'
Peter Jones, Bath

'A magnificent effort, I found it absolutely fascinating... a masterful work which has clearly taken an enormous amount of time, effort and work and which I found totally consuming. I was overwhelmed by the detail. It has been a fascinating privilege to read a draft and I can offer no substantial comment other than praise.'
Major Roddy Mellotte

'It ought to be part of the school curriculum, not just for the historical content but also because the presentation is far more accessible than pages of dense prose. Even though the testimony was gathered over 50 years after the events it was from 'could-have-happened-yesterday' memories. All of this, interspersed with Home Front bureaucracy and brave lads cliches, make it spine-chillingly compelling. A family friend said it's the saddest book he has ever read.'
Jane Irvine

'May I congratulate you on every aspect of the book? The presentation is excellent, be it the cover, the layout, the printing, the preparation of the photographs... I enjoyed every bit of it.'
Lt. Col. David McMurtrie

'Why do I need to know what happened decades before I was born? No Thankful Village has changed that. You¹ve put names to the fallen. It means something to me. You¹ve made it personal.'
Darren Stevens, Swindon

'A truly excellent, memorable and moving work. Most superlatives have been applied by others ­ justifiably. There can be no finer memorial carved in stone.'
JA Sloan, Maidenhead

'I read the book at one (long!) sitting, and immediately bought further copies. The book is not only fascinating in its own right it is also a tremendous stimulus and has been received with great interest and prompted further research at all levels.'
David Hughes, Head of English, St Peter's School, York

'The book is a compelling read and as a tool for the local history of the period, invaluable. In addition to the wealth of first hand accounts, the material concerning the conducting of the war and life for the combatants make it a valuable resource for teaching social conditions and divisions at the time. In my experience, it is quite unique and renders similar resources unnecessary. No Thankful Village encapsulates a whole community in its pages, their hopes deferred, their losses and their lives.'
Helen Stamp, History Teacher, Priestmead, Harrow

'A wonderful piece of research. Our Head of History says it brings to life the human dimension of the war. Our Heads of English and Support Learning are also using the book in connection with Great War Poetry and personal writing. . . Presenting diverse and factually interesting source material in such a meaningful and poignant way gives students a real insight into the personal tragedies of the War.'
June Dunford, Loretto School, Edinburgh

'No Thankful Village allows us to place a magnifying glass over one small area and watch a war roll across it. And it answers those questions that have always fascinated me about this period: What went through the minds of ordinary men and women in 1914? What was it like to live and experience that summer, not knowing how momentous the events to come would be? How much did their lives change over the next few years?

The book provides an unravelling story that could be followed alongside the longitudinal study of the Great War. It provides pictures, case studies of the human experience and the impact of big events on a small place. It can be reshaped for a variety of purposes in the classroom. It provides an approach that does not need to tax pupils - the story of the men of the villages tells itself. It can be pulled apart to gain a feel for the everyday experiences. It is an unfinished history, not fixed by specific interpretation, and allows, like poetry, the reader to put his or her own gloss on it, to search for explanation, or evidence for grand interpretation.'
Simon Lockwood, History Adviser, Buckinghamshire LEA