Short Rations: An American Woman in Germany (1917), by Madeleine Z. Doty

The German home front is a major topic in this book by Madeleine Z. Doty, who in 1917 was best known as a lawyer who was involved in prison reform. The title of the book refers to deprivations on the home front while men were fighting the war.

The book details trips to Germany by Doty in 1915 and 1916 that were part journalism assignments and part journeys of curiosity.

Kings, Queens and Pawns (1915), by Mary Roberts Rinehart

One of the most compelling parts of books written during World War I is the contrast between the initial observations of eyewitnesses and the war-weary insights of participants who have had to learn to accept the daily realities of war.

That contrast is a running theme of Kings, Queens and Pawns, by the American author Mary Roberts Rinehart, who by 1915 had become a well-known author of novels, plays, and short stories.

Now It Can Be Told (1920), by Philip Gibbs

By 1920, the postwar period after World War I was well under way.  The Armistice and the Treaty of Versailles had been signed.  Throughout a much-changed world, people looked to the future with a mixture of hope and dread.

It was also a time of serious reflection about the physical and emotional destruction of the European war that had lasted for more than four years.

For noted British war correspondent Philip Gibbs (1877-1962), that reflection took the form of a 558-page book titled Now It Can Be Told.

The White Flame of France (1918), by Maude Radford Warren

Writers from North America who travelled to Europe to gather material for newspaper articles, magazine articles, and books about the European War were always on a journey of understanding.

When The Saturday Evening Post sent Canadian and United States novelist Maude Radford Warren (1875–1934) to Europe in 1916, the articles that she wrote for the Post in 1917 later formed the content of the 1918 book The White Flame of France.  The book takes the reader from Warren's trans-Atlantic voyage to the trenches of northeastern France.

My Home in the Field of Mercy (1917), by Frances Wilson Huard

After Frances Wilson Huard returned from the long journey to escape the Battle of the Marne that she described in My Home in the Field of Honour, she devoted herself to using her large home in Villiers, France as a hospital for wounded soldiers.

My Home in the Field of Mercy describes the challenges of providing medical care during wartime.  It is also a good account of how people selflessly adapted to wartime conditions and generously offered whatever they had to give, both large and small.

On the Edge of the War Zone (1917), by Mildred Aldrich

As the years of World War I dragged on, civilians near the fighting were challenged to live their private lives as well as possible. That effort for one person is described in On the Edge of the War Zone: From the Battle of the Marne to the Entrance of the Stars and Stripes, by Mildred Aldrich (1853-1928).

England's Effort (1916), by Mrs. Humphry Ward

About 18 months into World War I, the English novelist Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward) felt compelled to explain to an American friend how English society was meeting the challenges of the war.

Towards the Goal (1917), by Mrs. Humphry Ward

A spirit of hopefulness permeates Towards the Goal by the British novelist Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward).

The battle of the Somme in 1916 was seen in early 1917 as a morale-raising victory for England and its ally France. England's contributions to this battle were made possible by a military force that had grown significantly since World War I began in August 1914.

The Living Present (1917), by Gertrude Atherton

World War I pushed many people out of their usual roles in society and gave them new ideas about their capabilities.

In The Living Present, the American historical novelist Gertrude Atherton (1857-1948) showed how Frenchwomen from every level of society were forced into new roles to support soldiers, as well as civilians whose lives were uprooted by the war. Atherton had been contributing political commentary to newspapers that often differed in tone from her popular novels.

Over the Top (1917), by Arthur Guy Empey

When American soldiers began their training after the United States entered World War I in 1917, many of them probably had a copy of the book Over the Top: By an American Soldier Who Went.

The Battle of the Somme (1917), by John Buchan

One of the most significant battles of World War I was thoroughly documented in book form by a famous novelist just months after the battle ended. The Battle of the Somme was written by John Buchan (1875-1940), a Scottish novelist who was well-known for the books The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle.

Our Part in the Great War (1917), by Arthur Gleason

When the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, a recently published book helped Americans understand why they were fighting. It also described the significant contributions already made to the war effort by other Americans.

Flying for France (1917), by James R. McConnell

Before the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, many American citizens felt individually compelled to participate in the war. A prominent group of such Americans was the Lafayette Escadrille, who enlisted in the French military as fighter pilots.

Italy, France and Britain at War (1917), by H.G. Wells

By the time World War I started, British writer H.G. Wells (1866-1946) had made an international name for himself with speculative fiction like The Time Machine (1895) and social fiction like Kipps (1905).

During the war, Wells wrote much fiction and nonfiction about the conflict, including a 1917 book that was published in the United States under the title Italy, France, and Britain at War. As the title indicates, the book is a history of the war, focusing on Wells's observations of the Western and Italian Fronts after he had toured them in 1916.

Fighting France (1915), by Edith Wharton

The noted American novelist Edith Wharton was living in Paris when World War I broke out in August 1914. She then travelled throughout the war zone on the Western Front, and recorded her observations in Scribner's Magazine and the book Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belport.

The Backwash of War (1916), by Ellen N. La Motte

When an injury removed a soldier from the field of battle in World War I, his fate often rested with medical workers far from the fighting. The responsibilities of these medical workers are graphically and soberly described in The Backwash of War: The Human Wreckage of the Battlefield as Witnessed by an American Hospital Nurse, by Ellen N. La Motte (1873–1961).

The First Seven Divisions (1916), by Ernest W. Hamilton

The entry of England into the European war of August 1914 is often seen as the official start of World War I. The First Seven Divisions by Ernest W. Hamilton (1858-1939) is a detailed account of how those first British troops influenced the early months of the war.

They Shall Not Pass (1916), by Frank H. Simonds

Historical accounts of the long and costly Battle of Verdun in 1916 usually discuss the influence of French politics on the battle.

These politics are a main topic in They Shall Not Pass, by the prominent war correspondent and historian Frank H. Simonds (1878-1936), who earlier wrote the 1914 book The Great War: The First Phase.

My Home in the Field of Honour (1916), by Frances Wilson Huard

My Home in the Field of Honour by Frances Wilson Huard continued the civilian eyewitness reports that earlier included A Hilltop on the Marne (1915) by Mildred Aldrich. An advertisement in the December 10, 1916 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described the book as the "simple, intimate, classic narrative which begins where 'The Hilltop on the Marne' leaves off."

The First Hundred Thousand (1915), by Ian Hay

The lives of soldiers became a popular subject for writers about World War I. The First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay (1876-1952) describes in realistic detail the journey of Hay from a new recruit in training in 1914 to a hardened battlefield veteran in 1915. Hay was a popular novelist whose real name was Ian Hay Beith.