Myths and Legends of the First World War by James Hayward (Sutton, £18.99)

ARMED with the knowledge that the author is a solicitor by profession, the reader obviously proceeds with great care.

Myths. Easy to debunk, aren't they? After all, that's what writers do with those chappies. Pick them up and drop them so that they break into a thousand pieces.

However, I warmed to this work as the pages unfurled. For just as it seemed there was a kind of formulaic demolition going on, the writer provides a few surprises.

While the section devoted to the Angels of Mons comes up with very little that is new, the trial transcripts in the Hidden Hand chapter illustrate to great effect the universal paranoia that was sweeping Britain as the war ground on.

Then there are the ghostly sightings. Tales of apparitions of Christ on the battlefield supply some intriguing anecdotal material, not so much regarding the alleged presence, but rather as testimony to the extreme mental convulsions of men under unimaginable stress.

Overall, the author has done some thorough research, especially with his examination of the German corpse-rendering factory rumours that were given much credence at the time. However, it is towards the end of the book that he throws his ace on to the table.

For with all the skill of his calling, Mr Hayward debunks, in fine style, the notion that all British generals were butchers, bunglers or both.

This hardy perennial receives short shrift and the jury can only come to one conclusion. Not guilty.

Myths and Legends of the First World War casts new light on a time, almost out of living memory, when the minds of many people were turned by events over which they had no control.

It is a valuable addition to the ever-increasing volume of literature on the 1914-18 period.

John Phillpott