Super Short Summary

The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War by Peter Englund narrates the experiences of twenty men and women involved in World War I, presenting their day-to-day lives through 227 diary entries. It features individuals like Florence Farmborough, a Red Cross nurse in Russia; Richard Stumpf, a German naval seaman; Sarah MacNaughtan, a Scottish aid worker; Kresten Andresen, a Danish soldier; and Rafael de Nogales, a Venezuelan in the Ottoman army. The book includes intense personal accounts of warfare, genocide, and profound loss.