Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell by Sally Grant (The Larks Press, 1995). Out of print; may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
A short biography of the British nurse who was shot for helping Allied soldiers to escape from occupied Belgium.
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Georges Clemenceau
Clemenceau: A life at war by David S Newhall (Edwin Mellen Press, 1991). Out of print; may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
Drawing extensively from primary and secondary resources, including Clemenceau's own journalistic output, this biography offers a revisionist view of the French leader and his rise to power.
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Winston Churchill
Churchill: A life by John Keegan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002) £14.99
Was Churchill as great a wartime leader as has been made out? Keegan discusses the view of soldiers such as Alanbrooke, his wartime chief of staff, who thought Churchill better as a pragmatist than as a strategist, witness Gallipoli in World War I and myriad near-misses in World War II.
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Winston Churchill
Churchill by Roy Jenkins (Pan, 2002) £9.99
Roy Jenkins, himself an eminent politician, creates a favourable portrait of the wartime leader in this long and detailed biography. He salts the well-known facts about Churchill's life with his own observations of the man and his experience of British politics.
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Winston Churchill
Churchill: A study in greatness by Geoffrey Best (Penguin, 2002) £8.99
Goes some way towards restoring Churchill's reputation, which has suffered at the hands of academic critics in recent years.
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Ferdinand Foch
Foch, the Man of Orleans by B H Liddell Hart (Greenwood Press, 1980). Out of print; may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
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Sir Douglas Haig
Haig: A re-appraisal 70 years on, edited by Brian Bond and Nigel Cave (Pen & Sword/Leo Cooper, 1999) £19.95
This collection of essays goes some way towards re-evaluating Haig's reputation as a military strategist.
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Emperor Franz Josef I
Emperor Francis Joseph, King of the Hungarians by Andras Gero (Columbia University Press, 2001) £26
This book follows Franz Josef's life from the Hungarian Revolution of 1849 to the chaos and disruption of World War I. It explores in some depth the relationship between the emperor and his Hungarian subjects.
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Emperor Franz Josef I
Twilight of the Habsburgs: The life and times of Francis Joseph by Alan Palmer (Avalon Travel Publications, 2000) £9.99
Examines the life of the emperor and the unstable social and political climate of his 68-year reign.
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T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
T E Lawrence: Biography of a broken hero by Harold Orlans (McFarland & Co., 2002) £32.50
This is a balanced study of 'Lawrence of Arabia', a man whose character and achievements have always generated controversy. This well-researched biography consists of two sections: part one offers a chronological account of his life, while part two is divided into themes such as 'family and friends', 'genius and madness' and so on.
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T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
A Prince of Our Disorder: The life of T E Lawrence by John Mack (Harvard University Press, 1998). US edition only; may be available from online bookshops.
Based on extensive research, this offers a psychiatric account of Lawrence's life, relating his personality to his involvement in the 1916-18 Arab revolt. Mack also explores the social and political pressures that affected Lawrence throughout his life.
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T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
The Waking Dream of T E Lawrence: Essays on his life, literature and legacy, edited by Charles M Stang (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) £35
A series of essays that depict the life of the man behind the legend. The contributors variously study Lawrence's relationships with other writers, his sexuality, his iconic status and his enthusiasm for Arab culture.
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David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George: A political life by Bentley B Gilbert (Batsford). Out of print; may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
Vol 1: The Architect of Change, 1863-1912 (1987)
Vol 2: Organizer of Victory, 1912-1916 (1992)
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Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff
The German High Command at War: Hindenburg and Ludendorff and the First World War by Robert B Asprey (Time Warner, 1994). Out of print: may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
This double biography, which examines the First World War from a German point of view, reveals Hindenburg and Ludendorff's remorseless attitudes towards war and their reluctance to admit defeat.
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Tsar Nicholas I
Nicholas & Alexandra: The tragic, compelling story of the last tsar and his family by Robert K Massie (Orion, 1996) £8.99
Massie paints a fascinating portrait of the last tsar and his family, offering a fascinating insight into this dramatic period.
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Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II: Germany's last emperor by John Van der Kiste (Sutton, 1999) £10.99
Kaiser Wilhelm was a complicated character, torn between the dual roles of Prussian Junker and English gentleman. This biography, drawn from a wide range of contemporary sources, offers a concise and critical account of his life, and examines his various shortcomings.
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Kaiser Wilhelm II
The Last Kaiser: William the Impetuous by Giles MacDonogh (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001) £14.99
This book contains a plethora of information about Wilhelm II's public and personal life, offering a complex portrait of Germany's last monarch.
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Woodrow Wilson
In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and behavior by Robert M Saunders (Greenwood Press, 1998) £45.25
Saunders' biography explores the diverse forces that influenced Wilson's life, evaluates his relationships with family and friends, and investigates his public life as an academic and politician.
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Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson: A life for world peace by Jan Willem Schulte Nordholt, translated by Herbert H Rowen (University of California Press, 1991) £37.95
This biography explores the conflict between Wilson's idealism and the realities of international politics within the context of World War I.
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