Now It Can Be Told comprises of Philip Gibbs recollections regarding the
First World War, in which he served as an officially commissioned war
reporter. Titled in reference to the relieving of censorship laws
following the conclusion of World War One in 1918, this book is
noticeably different from the censored or dumbed-down accounts published
under Gibbs' byline in popular newspapers as the conflict wore on. In
this book, the full scale of the horror wrought in Europe is told
unflinchingly with the aim of showing the depravity of conflict and the
destruction that results. Early in the war, Gibbs' frank and accurate
accounts of the carnage of modern warfare unnerved the British
government, who were concerned his accounts would demoralize citizens
and turn them against the war effort. Gibbs was ordered home; on
refusing to cease reporting, he was arrested and forcibly brought back
to Britain.