The First World War employs a chronology as a backdrop to set off photographs of events and memorabilia, poetry, letters and quotations. These provide the reader an impression of what the war was like for soldiers and civilians on all sides - from "It will all be over by Christmas" to the spectre of mustard gas attacks and eighteen-year-olds drowning in mud at Passchendaele. The impact of propaganda and issue of cowardice is also considered. A section at the end of the book deals with the long-term effects of the war.