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.Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius

by: Richard Holmes

May 06, 2008
Yet another great biography of a great man that I have read in the past few weeks. There must be something in the water that encourages authors to turn these out!
This a very readable and informative biography of someone who is possibly not as well known or appreciated as perhaps he should be as he was directly and indirectly responsible for much of the Europe we see today, so his legacy truly lives on. The fact that he is probably best known as an ancestor of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana does him a great disservice as his life story is so remarkable that in the hands of such an experienced and skillful biographer as Mr Holmes it fairly leaps from the page, and makes this book, (cliche alert!) a real page turner...sorry but it's ... Read More:
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.Fatal Avenue: A Traveller's History of the Battlefields of Northern France and Flanders 1346-1945

by: Richard Holmes

June 20, 2008
Yet another great biography of a great man that I have read in the past few weeks. There must be something in the water that encourages authors to turn these out!
This a very readable and informative biography of someone who is possibly not as well known or appreciated as perhaps he should be as he was directly and indirectly responsible for much of the Europe we see today, so his legacy truly lives on. The fact that he is probably best known as an ancestor of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana does him a great disservice as his life story is so remarkable that in the hands of such an experienced and skillful biographer as Mr Holmes it fairly leaps from the page, and makes this book, (cliche alert!) a real page turner...sorry but it's ... Read More:
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Used Price: £5.00

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.Dusty Warriors: Modern Soldiers at War

by: Richard Holmes

February 05, 2007
As both an eminent historian and the Colonel of PWRR, Richard Holmes had unique access to the first hand accounts of the soldiers across the battalion featured in this story and the skills to turn them into a readable and insightful study of the modern British Army at war. This account of an Iraq deployment during 2004, as the rise of tension and specifically the activities of the mahdi army turned what should have been a transition to peace into the fiercest British Army conflict since Korea, is a very honest and at times raw description of operational life - told by the soldiers themselves. Despite the modern media perception of the army flipping between the extremes of down to earth heroes or out of control louts, the soldiers come across as ... Read More:
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Used Price: £3.49

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.Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front

by: Richard Holmes

March 07, 2005
A very long book looking at all aspects of the soldier's life, from training to hospitals, from trenches to home. One of Holmes' main aims is to put paid to some aspects of received wisdom - for example the "lions led by donkeys view of history". It remains a popular history from two points of view - firstly it is very readable. But secondly it lacks in places the rigour of a university work. For example, Holmes frequently complains loudly about the false views of "some historians"... but these historians are almost never named, which is a little disappointing.

Really Holmes book is extremely interesting, and is not afraid to deal with all sorts of controversial questions (homosexuality in the army, deserters, etc.) It is readable and ... Read More:
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.Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armour (Military)

by: Richard (ed) Holmes

May 01, 2008
The reason why I rated this book five stars, is because it encompasses every era of weaponry. Not only does it have amazing pictures and photography, but it also covers the warriors of each era that used the weapons in good detail, to complement it's sister book 'battle'. if there was a problem it would be that in the modern weapons section, some more common firearms should have been included e.g. the m-16A2 and the H&K G-36 etc. However, the weapon showcase sections are fabulous and give good insight into that paricular weapon and its history for those of you who are curious. and anyway to be able to pick this book up for around £15 on amazon, when everyone else charges the full £25 it has to be the worthy addition to the bookshelf of anyone who is even ... Read More:
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Used Price: £13.10

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.Wellington: The Iron Duke

by: Richard Holmes

February 03, 2003
Although I finished this book with more knowledge on Wellington than I had at the start, I felt the book dwelt too much on detailed descriptions of military encounters, rather than giving me an insight into the man himself. Whilst I accept that his battle field encounters did much to shape his character, there is just too little about his domestic life, the relationship he had with wife and children, the reasoning behind his marriage and its failure, and his subsequent life in retirement.

Whilst accepting and understanding that Richard Holmes is a brilliant military historian, and this is his sphere of knowledge, a bit more was needed on non military matters.
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.Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket

by: Richard Holmes

August 05, 2002
After a shaky start, this book rewards perseverence. It leaves no stone unturned in its exploration of army life in the 18th and 19th centuries (with an emphasis on the latter). I got mine in a second hand bookshop but won't be getting rid of it like the original owner did.
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.Shelley: The Pursuit

by: Richard Holmes

October 03, 2005
Many in the literary world have given this book a positive review since it first appeared in the early 1970's. It is a wonderfully deep and engrossing book, both a damn good read and on the face of it an admirable work of research.

So I noted with curiosity that the editors of the excellent "Shelley's Poetry & Prose" (Norton Critical Edition) referred to The Pursuit in unflattering terms; "Imaginative and lively life, marred by factual errors, by a journalist-scholar with limited sympathy for PBS's poetry". These scholars should be in a good position to judge but "journalist-scholar" has a whiff of academic snobbishness about it and the charge of "limited sympathy" seems to communicate more the pique of someone for whom Shelley has become the untouchable ... Read More:
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.A Short Residence in Sweden: AND Memoirs of the Author of "The Rights of Woman" (Classics)

by: Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin

April 30, 1987
This edition offers two works that complement each other with a sincerity and sagacity that is inspiring. Mary Wollstonecraft, the adventurous `single' mother, proto feminist, free thinker, seeking happiness but beset by a love for a man who is unable to return her devotion. William Godwin, intellectual, Radical, an objectively passionate writer who was to become an influential force for modern biographical development. Holmes' erudite introduction helpfully explains the context for Wollstonecraft's trip to Scandinavia, providing the biographical background necessary to understand Wollstonecraft's views on diverse issues such as commerce, the role of women, capital punishment, her lover's negligence towards her and their daughter (the ill fated Fanny). Godwin, as Holmes details, ... Read More:
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.Imperial War Museum: The D-Day Experience from the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris: From Operation Overlord to the Liberation of Paris (Imperial War Museum)

by: Richard Holmes

April 26, 2004
This is a remarkable and exceptionally good summary of the latter stages of the Second World War. It combines a concise narrative with a range of multimedia materials including a CD, facsimiles of original documents and maps to produce, as the title suggests, an ‘experience’. I would also recommend in the strongest terms other books associated with the Imperial War Museum series including “The Victory in Europe Experience”, “The Cold War Experience” and, perhaps most poignant as we lose a generation, “The Verdun and the Somme Experience”. As a professional historian and an IT expert I have rarely seen such a brilliant combination of material. Buy all the books – at under £20 each they are well worth it. And for the father/brother ... Read More:
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Used Price: £12.98