Private Ryan and the Lost Peace - A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle Against the Great War

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Douglas Newton

Private Ryan and the Lost Peace - A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle Against the Great War

Douglas Newton

$44.95

Hardback

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English

Longueville Books
01 April 2021

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; First World War

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Imagine the Great War ending early, in 1915, or 1916, or even 1917. Imagine round-table negotiations and a compromise peace, ending what seemed to be an unbreakable military stalemate. Had peace come in this way, perhaps there would have been no Communism, no Fascism, no Nazism, no Great Depression, and no Second World War. During the Great War, many urged such a peace. Private Ryan and the Lost Peace is the story of one soldier who rebelled against the war and urged a mediated settlement. He happened to be Australian, but his could be the story of many an 'everyman' at the front. Private Ted Ryan, originally from Broken Hill, sent an angry letter to Britain's famous anti-war politician, Ramsay MacDonald, urging him to keep pushing for peace. Ryan denounced the war as the herding of men to a hideous 'abattoir' of industrialised killing! He blasted talk of fighting on to 'the knock-out blow'. Eventually, Ryan's revolt landed him in four courts martial. He even received a death sentence. Were secret diplomatic deals prolonging the war? Were promising opportunities for peace callously rebuffed? From what we know now about the squashing of peace initiatives, Ted Ryan's instincts were dead right. The Great War was a protracted catastrophe, unnecessarily prolonged. Those who rebelled against it - even in the trenches - deserve to have their story heard.

By: Douglas Newton
Imprint: Longueville Books
Country of Publication: Australia
ISBN: 9780648973638
ISBN 10: 0648973638
Publication Date: 01 April 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified