World War I Series

World War I Series 

by Joseph A. Altsheler 


This Series contains 3 existing novels: 


1)  The Guns of Europe


2)  The Forest of Swords


3)  The Hosts of the Air


It was the singular fortune of the author to be present at the beginning of this, the most gigantic struggle in the history of our globe. He was in Vienna the day Austria-Hungary declared war upon Servia, thus setting the torch that lighted the general conflagration. Returning westward, he reached Munich the day Germany declared war upon Russia. He remained in Germany nearly a month, having witnessed in turn the Austrian and German mobilizations, and then arrived in England in time to see the gathering of the British Empire's armed hosts. 


About the Author: 


Joseph Alexander Altsheler (April 29, 1862 - June 5, 1919), was an American author of popular juvenile historical fiction. 


Altsheler was born in Three Springs, Kentucky to Joseph and Louise Altsheler. In 1885, he took a job at the Louisville Courier-Journal as a reporter and later, an editor. He started working for the New York World in 1892, first as the paper's Hawaiian correspondent and then as the editor of the World's tri-weekly magazine. Due to a lack of suitable stories, he began writing children's stories for the magazine. 


Altsheler married Sarah Boles on May 30, 1888, and had one son. He and his family were in Germany when World War I began. The difficult journey home took a huge toll on Altsheler's health and he was never the same. He died in New York City in 1919.