Kitchener’s Army by Peter Simkins is a reprint of an earlier addition to remember the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. This is probably one of the best accounts of the raising of the army that had to take place at the beginning of the war. Many do not know that the British standing army at the beginning of the war was not very big and certainly needed men to back up the professional soldier. Kitchener’s reputation especially after he died was sullied by Lloyd George amongst others who played down the hard work he did to expand the army in such a short time. History has also not been kind to Kitchener’s reputation but with research by Simkins amongst others his once good reputation is being restored and rightly so. Churchill was a man who recognised how successful Kitchener was in raising an army in such a short time and called it ‘among the wonders of the time’ and who am I to argue? When Field Marshal Lord Kitchener was appointed Secretary of State for War in August 1914 he was able to offer the government of the time with the priceless commodity of confidence from the public in his leadership of the armed forces at a time of war. Within the war cabinet Kitchener was part of a powerful triumvirate with Churchill and Asquith, Asquith needed Kitchener’s military judgement and Kitchener needed Asquith to guide him through politics. This book remembers this and the work they did together to build an army from 1914 until 1916. The book deals clearly with the recruiting boom that happened as well as the establishment of the Pals Battalions. The book deals head on with the issue of when the recruitment went in to decline but also the establishment of conscription. We also see all the training issues especially with equipment as well as the ordinary man dealing with the transition from Civvy Street to army life. This is an excellent book produced in association with the Imperial War Museum and it is a wonderful part of the canon of historical research on the British perspective of the First World War. If you want to understand the army from that time then this is an important book that you will consistently come back to as it is an important source of information with excellent references. This is an important book for all those interested in the First World War.