Pershing's Crusaders: The American Soldier in World War I (Modern War Studies

by Richard S. Faulkner

The Great War caught a generation of American soldiers at a turning point in the nation s history. At the moment of the Republic s emergence as a key player on the world stage, these were the first Americans to endure mass machine warfare, and the first to come into close contact with foreign peoples and cultures in large numbers. What was it like, Richard S. Faulkner asks, to be one of these foot soldiers at the dawn of the American century? How did the doughboy experience the rigors of training and military life, interact with different cultures, and endure the shock and chaos of combat? The answer can be found in Pershing s Crusaders, the most comprehensive, and intimate, account ever given of the day-to-day lives and attitudes of the nearly 4.2 million American soldiers mobilized for service in World War I.
Pershing s Crusaders offers a clear, close-up picture of the doughboys in all of their vibrant diversity, shared purpose, and unmistakably American character. It encompasses an array of subjects from the food they ate, the clothes they wore, their view of the Allied and German soldiers and civilians they encountered, their sexual and spiritual lives, their reasons for serving, and how they lived and fought, to what they thought about their service along every step of the way. Faulkner s vast yet finely detailed portrait draws upon a wealth of sources thousands of soldiers letters and diaries, surveys and memoirs, and a host of period documents and reports generated by various staff agencies of the American Expeditionary Forces. Animated by the voices of soldiers and civilians in the midst of unprecedented events, these primary sources afford an immediacy rarely found in historical records. Pershing s Crusaders is, finally, a work that uniquely and vividly captures the reality of the American soldier in WWI for all time."

Genres: World War I, History

784 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2017

Reviews

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Faulkner, with the University of Kansas Press, published "Pershing's Crusaders" in 2017. The book is well documented with over 100 pages of notes and bibliographic references. Faulkner's focus is on the individual soldier --his war experiences from the time of enlistment; through training, combat, r&r; and ending with his discharge. The book presents comprehensive research about the harsh realities of trench warfare, military logistics, and disease; and their impact on soldiers' moral behavior, health, religious thought, sexual proclivities, and esprit de corps. It is an important read for students of "The Great War".

[Dave Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very complete history of what our fathers faced when drafted, trained, shipped over, time in France, and then returning home, sometimes months after the Armistice. Every moment of the doughboy's life detailed. Uniform, rations, training, combat, medical, Chaplains, the Hen-Flew-End-Ways. (read the book, or say it fast) the spiritual and personal care by the YMCA. My dad used their facilities, (as I did, the Salvation Army's Red Shield Club and the USO). and the return home. 100 yrs ago.

[Leslie Eichhorn]

Doughboys every day life beginning of WWI to returning home.

Very comprehensive book on the doughboys lives in WWI. Very good book giving great insight on what two of my Uncles and a family friend went through.