War and the Future: Italy, France and Britain at War

In the early months of the Great War, the fight for public opinion proved almost as fierce as the battles on the front lines. Wells sketches a landscape where governments, journalists, and ordinary citizens clash over rumors, hope, and fear, highlighting the clumsy yet earnest attempts of the Allies to explain their cause, contrasted with the more rigid, myth‑making German propaganda. The book examines how newspapers, official bulletins, and neutral press became battlegrounds for truth and morale.

Drawing on his own reluctant tour of the front and conversations with writers, soldiers, and correspondents, the author offers listeners a vivid, behind‑the‑scenes look at the effort to communicate war realities across Italy, France, and Britain. He details the surprising cooperation among Allied media, the role of cultural institutions like France’s Maison de la Presse, and the personal stories of those who ventured into trenches and sea lanes to report. The result is a thoughtful portrait of how war is fought not only with weapons, but with words.