Arthur Guy Empey's "Over the Top" offers a vision of World War One battle from the perspective of a foot soldier. Before the United States entered the war, Empey, an American, offered to serve in the British Army on the Western Front. Readers follow his story from the moment he decides to fight, through his training, and into the trenches. His narrative is quite reading and bears unmistakable signs of veracity. While Empey wrote about battle experiences, a significant portion of the text describes unending marches from one location to another. Keep in mind that during World War One, soldiers moved mostly by muscular force, not by motorized transportation. Along with discussing military strategies, becoming a machine gunner, and the firing squad, he also discusses the comic side of the experience, the songs the troops sang, the memories they shared, and how he formed brothers out of strangers. It is an excellent account of one man's memories of the First World War. It's captivating and full of valuable lessons.
American soldier, writer, actor, and director Arthur Guy Empey was born on December 11, 1883, in Ogden, Utah. After serving in the British Army during World War I, he returned home and penned the best-selling autobiography Over the Top, which went on to sell over a quarter million copies. He contributed the lyrics to numerous patriotic songs and produced or directed a number of silent films, such as Troopers Three (1919) and The Undercurrent (1919). (1930). He was a professional soldier in the U.S. Cavalry for six years, during which time he excelled as a horse rider and marksman. When World War I started, he was living in New York City and working as a recruitment sergeant for the New Jersey National Guard. Empey fought as a bomber and machine-gunner in the British Army during World War I. He suffered a combat injury during the Battle of the Somme, and he penned a book on his experiences that became popular. He served as a security guard at a Californian aircraft production during World War II. He married actress and former "Miss Long Beach" Marguerite Andrus in 1930, and the two later got divorced in 1934. In 1963, at the age of 79, he died in a Kansas military hospital and was buried in Leavenworth National Cemetery.
