Historian Alistair Horne's book, "The Price of Glory" is one of the
             most well known and admired books on the Battle of Verdun. Early on, he
             gives his own perspective on the battle when he writes, "A small affair;
             [the battle] yet out of it grew what those who took part in it considered
             to be the grimmest battle in all that grim war, perhaps in History itself"
             (Horne 1). Verdun was one of the deadliest battles of the war, and Horne
             zeros in on it because of its importance to the entire war, and the
             magnitude of the losses there. He maintains that before the battle,
             Germany still had a chance to win the war, but as the battle continued,
             their chance trickled away (Horne 1). Thus, the battle was a great turning
             point in the war, and this is why he concentrates on it, and why he wrote
             his book. He also maintains that Verdun still influences France today, and
             certainly had influence over the way the French fought the Germans during
             the Second World War, which is why Germany so easily overthrew France with
             their Panzer divisions (Horne 2). Clearly, Horne's thesis embodies the
             importance of the battle, not only on World War 1, but also far beyond.
             Horne presents some compelling evidence throughout the book to support
             his thesis, and simply to illustrate just how devastating this ten-month
             long battle was to both sides. Not only does he give graphic details of
             the bloody and gruesome battles, he gives insight into the motivation on
             both sides that held them in the trenches. For example, he writes of the
             taking of a French village, "Up came the Pioneers with their flamethrowers,
             and the last brave defenders were consumed in their remorseless fire"
             (Horne 86). The book is full of chilling accounts such as these, which
             make the extreme horrors of battle even more understandable to the reader.
             Discussing the tactics of both side, Horne shows how no one really
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