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Warriors: Portraits from the Battle Field
Description
An exhilarating and uplifting account of the lives of sixteen 'warriors' from the last three centuries, hand-picked for their bravery or extraordinary military experience by the eminent military historian, author and ex-editor of the Daily Telegraph, Sir Max Hastings. Over the course of forty years of writing about war, Max Hastings has grown fascinated by outstanding deeds of derring-do on the battlefield (land, sea or air) -- and by their practitioners. He takes as his examples sixteen people from different nationalities in modern history -- including Napoleon's 'blessed fool' Baron Marcellin de Marbot (the model for Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard); Sir Harry Smith, whose Spanish wife Juana became his military companion on many a campaign in the early 19th-century; Lieutenant John Chard, an unassuming engineer who became the hero of Rorke's Drift in the Zulu wars; and Squadron Leader Guy Gibson, the 'dam buster' whose heroism in the skies of World War II earned him the nation's admiration, but few friends. Every army, in order to prevail on the battlefield, needs a certain number of people capable of courage beyond the norm. In this book Max Hastings investigates what this norm might be -- and how it has changed over the centuries. While celebrating feats of outstanding valour, he also throws a beady eye over the awarding of medals for gallantry -- and why it is that so often the most successful warriors rarely make the grade as leaders of men. Read more
Reviews
P**S
A good insight into what it was like w/o the technology ...
I have read the first two chapters which I found very interesting. The personage described in each of the chapters are from the Napoleon Bonaparte time frame describing the life of the character's both on a personal level, but also their experience in combat. A good insight into what it was like w/o the technology we have today in weapons and communication.
D**N
A Great Primer about some Heavy Hitters
Sir Max hastings has done it again in this book of his about the selected lives of some of the Current Worlds best Warriors. Note I said warriors and not soldiers as there is a vast difference between the two breeds. If one wants to learn about these folks then one could do a lot worst than this tome. In the limited experience I had while in Mr. Reagans Army, what he has said rings true to me. I just do not want to give too much away from the pleasure and education the book reveals. Its just a pity that he did not include Lawrence of Arabia, Chesty Puller or a couple of other studs that come to mind. Oh well! By the way the Author has seen the elephant when covering the Falkland Wars.
B**N
Warriors: Portraits from the Battlefield
This book provides brief biographies of a few selected warriors. For me, it was a Reader's Digest sort of experience. Not a lot of depth and not a selection of warriors I found all that interesting. Max Hastings has written many fine books. This is not one of them.
D**R
easy reading
Readers interested in military history will find this book to be light, interesting entertainment. The author portrays a series of soldiers from different ages and battlefield environments. These men constitute a cast of unusual characters whom Hastinings follows into their post war lives. Hastings makes clear in his preface that this book was a break from his more serious publications. "Warriors" is a quintessential "rainy day book".
J**G
Five Stars
Love all books by Max Hastings.
A**R
Great writer
I have now read two of Max Hastings books and can’t wait to get the next. I have read so many books on war but I am learning new things and new perspectives from max Hastings.
P**T
Well worth reading even for seasoned readers
Excellent job. I learned thuings about Audie Murphy and Joshua Chamberlain I didn't know and was introduced to some great warriors.
B**M
ONE OF HIS BEST WORKS
WRITTEN BY ONE OF THE BEST HISTORICAL WRITERS OF OUR TIME. WELL RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN SO YOU SEE THE PERSON AS HE REALLY WAS. A VERY HONEST APPROACH WITH NO COVERING UP OF THE FLAWS SEEN IN ANY PERSON, FAMOUS OR NOT.
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