All I know about World War 1 comes from a sad blend of Downton Abbey and Maisie Dobbs books. This year many folks at the BBC and elsewhere are reporting comprehensively on the centenary of the beginning of the war. The bits I've read and listened to have been both fascinating and informative. For instance, HistoryExtra reported last week an interview with a man, David Olusoga, who has ties to it from his northern British mother and his Nigerian father, and how the ethnic battles and inequalities of the war were rarely mentioned. Another interesting take is how many of the places impacted by the first World War that went against the British and Co. are still hot spots today, so much so that the interviewee and his team chose to not try to film there because of the danger in which it would put him and the crew.
Fascinating, sad, and relevant to today. It really wasn't that long ago at all. So much interestingness on BBC History Extra. Check out their site http://www.historyextra.com.
