What do readers think of Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford? Write your own review.

For me this was a page turner from the Christmas Truce, in 1914, to March 1926. The story was so well written I could relate to every scene. The author incorporated personal knowledge of military intelligence and the history of WWI. Although I did not always like Hal and Sam, I felt that I really knew them and was empathetic to their situation.

For me, the real "gifts of war" were the relationships of parent and child, sisters, lovers, friends and acquaintances. There was the thrill of love on all levels. Also, there was the tragedy of unrequited love.

I would love to see this book spend many weeks on the best seller list .

MacKenzie Ford is the nom de plume of a well-known British historian, and Gifts of War is his first novel.
It is a page turner about World War I, its tragedies and intrigues, of love and its secrets and deceptions. Ford's historical knowledge shines through, and with this novel, he proves that can write a "good" story as well.


Gifts of War is a winner. I look forward to reading his second novel!

Gifts of War was a surprise read for me. I thought I could tell where the story was going to go based on the book cover description. But the book is much more than the relationship between Hal and Sam. It is an examination of the meanings of love and of family. I enjoyed getting a taste of what it was like to live in England during World War I, and to see the changing roles for women in that time I didn’t find either of the main characters especially likable, but as the story unfolded I found myself drawn to their situation and the dilemma the future would bring. The ending is very powerful and will stay in my mind for a long time.

From its striking opening scene during the Christmas Truce of 1914, Gifts of War follows the fortunes of 23-year-old Henry Montgomery. Wounded and sent home, Hal contacts the fiancee of the German officer he met, but falls in love with her himself. How that relationship progresses and Hal's career in Intelligence present the main narrative lines. There is good pacing of action, and suspense is maintained by questions about a developing relationship based in part on deceit. A different perspective of the war is shown through the working of the Intelligence Department. The characters are well realized, and the ending unpredictable. Involves the reader both intellectually and emotionally.

After a rather slow start, I found myself finding this book harder to put down as the story progressed! I think this would be a great book club pick - I think I'll suggest it for my own.

P.S. I do think this would best be read in one sitting or a couple of large "chunks". Enjoy!

This novel about the Great War - specifically about a soldier and his life after service - isn't wonderful, but it isn't terrible either. Ford's description of the Christmas Eve Truce 1914 at one particular line is lovely, and it's nice to read a "non-prettified" version of what happened in several locations on that night.

Hal, the protagonist, is given a task to complete in England by his German counterpart, and the rest of the book is taken up by how he decides to handle that task. I loved the descriptions of lower-middle-class life during and after the War - most novels are concerned with the truly lower classes or with the aristos - and, although I didn't find the ending satisfactory, I've read too much Danielle Steel in my day, it was nevertheless fairly well done.

I found myself drawn into this story gently but surely. The story builds, layer upon layer and you want things to work out, but everyone keeps bumping into the truth.

It is at once a wonderful story about telling the truth and a candid view of the cost of first world war, about which I knew little.


Read it.

Starting with the Christmas Truce in 1914 and continuing through World War I until it's end in 1919, this book uses the life of Hal Montgomery to illustrate the effects of war on participants as well as those left behind. Hal meets a German soldier during the truce and, charged with giving his photograph to his fiancee in England, he instead falls in love with Sam and her son and hides his knowledge of her past. Hal and Sam and their families are examples of all the joys and sadness of war. The reader can come to his own conclusion about the ironic title, Gifts of War. This is a good addition to the recent books on World War, although the reader may become a bit bogged down in some of the information about intrigue.