Soldiers

by PhilipZiegler (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.25

  What leads a man to join the Army? To fight and perhaps die for his country? To enjoy a semi-monastic life among his comrades? To belong to a regiment in which he can take pride? To obey orders? Or just to escape into a secure environment? Rich in narrative and anecdote this poignant and important book has at its heart short biographies of Chelsea Pensioners whose lives span the twentieth century and who have seen action from Passchendale to Anzio, from the Malayan emergency to the Mau Mau uprising, from Aden to Indonesia. Philip Ziegler is fascinated by the values which these veterans share, and which the Army inculcated in them: self-discipline, acceptance of risk or pain, patriotism, loyalty to their fellows. And of course, sometimes bigotry, narrow-mindedness, even blinkered stupidity. Are the old values relevant today or is the Royal Hospital a museum of fossilised ideals and attitudes? To read this book is to understand what soldiers are all about, what they fight for, and how they fit into the world of the twenty-first century.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $4.47

  An in-depth study of the character and spirit of soldiers. This book takes as its starting point interviews with Chelsea Pensioners whose lives in the army span the 20th century, and who have seen action from World War I to Korea. Author Philip Ziegler is fascinated by the value that war veterans share, which the army must have inculcated in them: self-discipline, acceptance of risk and pain, patriotism, and solidarity with their fellow soldiers. Of course there is sometimes bigotry, narrow-mindedness and even blinkered stupidity. Ziegler also addresses the question of whether army values are still admired in modern British society. Above all though, this book celebrates the lives and attitudes of soldiers and comes to an understanding of the ethos that means so much to them.