by RichardHolmes (Author)
This ambitious, wide-ranging, exhaustively researched book is a compelling attempt to grasp the very nature of war. It takes us through the soldier's experience in its entirety - from the humiliation of basic training and the intense comradeship of army life, to the terror, isolation and exhaustion of battle. What does it feel like to be in the firing line? How does killing change a man? And what do the extreme conditions of war reveal about a man's basic instincts, his courage or his fear, his urge for self-preservation or self-sacrifice? Covering several centuries of warfare, and including the personal recollections of veterans from two World Wars, from Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and the Arab-Israeli conflicts, Richard Holmes gives us a powerful picture of what motivates the soldier and enables him to maintain the struggle in conditions of extreme degradation and danger.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 448
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Orion
Published: 09 Oct 2003
ISBN 10: 029784668X
ISBN 13: 9780297846680
Book Overview: Richard Holmes is currently the biggest name in military history A universal theme - how everyday men cope with the business of war A complete soldier's-eye view of the comradeship, isolation, terror and excitement of being in battle