World War I broke out during a period of unprecedented expansion and innovation in the publishing industry. New technologies to collect, capture, reproduce, and disseminate text and images—from the telegraph and the camera to steam-powered presses and the rail network—combined with rising literacy rates and growing consumer spending power to expand the realm of print culture. The expectation to obtain accurate and up-to-date knowledge of the world was higher than ever before. In this context, it is no surprise that the global warfare of 1914–18 generated both an insatiable demand for news and information and an endless supply of narratives, images, and self-reflections. Audiences distant from the military front lines yearned for updates about the progress of the war and sought to understand what their family, friends, and relations were being subjected to in far-off places. Those in trenches, hospitals, or prison camps tried to process the intense, chaotic, and...

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