num_pages: 138
description: In 1915 "Patrick MacGill", the 'navvy poet', whose autobiographical novel (Children of the Dead End) about his life as a potato harvester and roadworker in Scotland, had been a publishing sensation the year before, enlisted as a private in the London Irish Rifles. He was sent to the front line in France, where, between raids in the ghastly conditions of the muddy trenches, he wrote The Great Push, a description of his experiences during the Battle of Loos in September 1915. It is a passionate and compelling book which describes the fear, resilience, humor, and fatalism of those who fought at the raw edge of one of the most terrifying wars ever to have been waged. Long out of print, the book is now available in paperback.
language: English
title: The Great Push: An Episode of the Great War
titlecomplete: The Great Push: An Episode of the Great War
genres: Nonfiction
ratings_count: 29
publisher: Birlinn Ltd