Warrior Race: A History of the British at War

by Lawrence James (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $4.24

  Modern Britain is a nation shaped by wars. The boundaries of its separate parts are the outcome of conquest and resistance. Warrior heroes - real, imaginary and a mixture of both - are deeply embedded in the collective memories and culture of the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish. Boadicea, King Arthur, Wallace, Rob Roy and Henry V still enjoy a powerful hold over the imagination. Britishness has had a sense of collective identity which grew under careful official cultivation during the global struggles of the 18th century and found its most powerful expression during the world wars of the 20th. Modern war was seen as the ultimate test of a nation's moral and physical stamina, and Britain emerged with an enviable record which underpinned national pride and a sense of superiority that survived well into the second half of the 20th century. This book investigates and examines the part played by war in the making of Britain, embracing the most recent historical and archaeological research.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.29

  Modern Britain is a nation shaped by wars. The boundaries of its separate parts are the outcome of conquest and resistance. The essence of its identity are the warrior heroes, both real and imagined, who still capture the national imagination; from Boudicca to King Arthur, William Wallace to Henry V, the Duke of Wellington to Winston Churchill. In WARRIOR RACE, Lawrence James investigates the role played by war in the making of Britain. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological research, as well as numerous unfamiliar and untapped resources, he charts the full reach of British military history: the physical and psychological impact of Roman military occupation; the monarchy's struggle for mastery of the British Isles; the civil wars of the seventeenth century; the 'total war' experience of twentieth century conflict. WARRIOR RACE is popular history at its very best: immaculately researched and hugely readable. Balancing the broad sweep of history with an acute attention to detail, Lawrence James never loses sight of this most fascinating and enduring of subjects: the question of British national identity and character.