Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub

Silent Night:  The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub -206 pages

I never thought I would say this, but if I were to compare Silent Night (2001) with the similarly-themed movie, Joyeux Noel (2005) I would actually say the movie was better.  Both are about the World War I Christmas Truce in 1914.  The movie covers all the same points the book does in less time and in a more Christmas spirit versus bogging the reader down with the same facts covered multiple ways.  The book also features the gory side of the truce (aka a chapter on burying the dead), which while relevant, kills the holiday mood of a Christmas-themed history book and the downplays the camaraderie taking plays between the two sides.  That said, there were some high points to the book.  My two favorite story threads were the ones about the soccer game (also featured in the movie) and a Scottish solider who bicycled behind enemy lines and was teased by the Germans for his supposed "spying."

Over all, the book was okay but I would recommend the movie over the book.  As a side note, after reading this book I can say the movie was for the most part historically accurate.