But It Still Goes On: Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory at 50.

This article reviews Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory (1975) on the 50th anniversary of its publishing. The authors aver that Fussell's work remains a landmark in First World War studies, blending literary scholarship, cultural analysis, and historical writing. Drawing heavily on archival research conducted at the Imperial War Museum, Fussell traced the profound impact of the war on British cultural memory, focusing on how its grotesque realities fostered an ironic mode of understanding in literature and beyond. His analysis, anchored in works by authors like Edmund Blunden, Siegfried Sassoon, and Robert Graves, explored the intersection of personal testimony and cultural myth-making. Despite criticisms of its narrow focus on elite British male perspectives, Fussell's innovative, emotionally resonant study continues to influence discussions on war, memory, and cultural history.