City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns

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.1914-1918: The History of the First World War
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: David Stevenson

September 01, 2005
This was the first serious book on WWI that I read. It should be made clear, as I think another reviewer bemoans, that this is not a chronological military history, but rather a 'meta'-historical account that examines the war from various perspectives running orthogonal to the timeline. So we come to understand the social, economic, industrial and political dimensions of the war.

I give it five stars because it exploded so many of the pre-conceptions I had held about the war. In the 60s & 70s when I was doing my O-level history at school the wisdom imparted was that WWI was a misery inflicted upon the masses by an uncaring ruling class. I now understand that none of the belligerent populations (with the complex exception ... Read More:
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.Weimar and Nazi Germany (SHP Advanced History Core Texts)
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: John Hite, Chris Hinton

May 24, 2000
has a non biased view and an excellent amount of information in here with many activities for a-level students

however if there was to be a 2nd addition there would need to be some colour and some breaks in the paragraphs because much of chris's excellent views and information aren't poitned out so clearly
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.Letters from a Lost Generation - First World War Letters of Vera Brittain and Four Friends: Roland Leighton, Edward Brittain, Victor Richardson, Geoffrey Thurlow
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Mark Bostridge

November 04, 1999
The letter writers concerned are four young men, friends from public school who were all to die in the Great War: Roland Leighton, ( 1915) Geoffrey Thurlow, (1917), Victor Richardson (1917) , and Edward Brittain (1918). Their story has been told in Vera Brittain's war time memoir from 1933, `Testament of Youth', and the whole project seems to be a spin-off from the revival of the book's popularity as from the late 1970's: Though 'Testament of Youth' was virtually forgotten by the time of Brittain's death in 1970, it seems that her new generation of admirers can not get enough of her work, as her novels come back into print and diaries are published. The personal papers of four leading characters from `Testament of Youth' are now placed in the ... Read More:
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.House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-torn Zimbabwe
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Christina Lamb

February 05, 2007
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is riveting and nearly impossible to put down. I would highly recommend it.

House of Stone is written by Christina Lamb, an English journalist. In the opening passages I wasn't too sure if I trusted this author yet as I thought she was exaggerating (this is the scene where she describes a city's main market as reduced to rubble). I then turned the page to see a photograph depicting the rubble and it was there that my hesitation and disbelief dissolved.

The author takes the life story of two very different Zimbabweans and she chronicles this against the backdrop of the major political events of the past 45 years. She also interweaves the history of Zimbabwe dating back over a hundred years, ... Read More:
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.Forgotten Victory: The First World War: Myths and Realities
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Gary Sheffield

June 05, 2002
After reading this I feel that the most misunderstood moment in history has to be World War 1. There are many more forgotten moments but the thing about WW1 is most people think they know about it.

It's interesting that people think "Oh what a lovely war"- a musical for heavens sake! Poetry and even Black Adder are some how important historical references. They all have to be by their very nature distortions of what really happened. Prussian aristocrats turned it into a stalemate in memory to eradicate their own failings and the peace movement hailed it as a catastrophe even though far fewer died in this war compared to the "successful" WW2. So Gary Sheffield carries out a Herculean task of taking out the misunderstandings and the deliberate confusions to come ... Read More:
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.God's Fury, England's Fire: A New History of the English Civil Wars
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Michael Braddick

February 28, 2008
I am always a little reluctant to buy books that claim to be a "new history" of events that were well recorded and happened some 370 years ago. English history lacks bite, a dull procession of uninspired monarchs and a frenzy of Empire building. The Civil War seemed more a squabble, relatively small armies and minor engagements. Brought up in the West Country, the ruins of Corfe Castle and siege at Sherborne vaguely linked me to Cromwell, the man with warts, with no more than a hazy school history to call on.

I dipped into Michael Braddick's large book and - as they say - found it hard to put down. The issues, sketched from numerous angles were well developed. The politics of the three Kingdoms (although this is not focussed on Ireland and Scotland), the personality of Charles ... Read More:
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.French Napoleonic Infantry Tactics 1792-1815 (Elite) (Elite)
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Paddy Griffith

November 10, 2007
I am always a little reluctant to buy books that claim to be a "new history" of events that were well recorded and happened some 370 years ago. English history lacks bite, a dull procession of uninspired monarchs and a frenzy of Empire building. The Civil War seemed more a squabble, relatively small armies and minor engagements. Brought up in the West Country, the ruins of Corfe Castle and siege at Sherborne vaguely linked me to Cromwell, the man with warts, with no more than a hazy school history to call on.

I dipped into Michael Braddick's large book and - as they say - found it hard to put down. The issues, sketched from numerous angles were well developed. The politics of the three Kingdoms (although this is not focussed on Ireland and Scotland), the personality of Charles ... Read More:
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.The American Civil War and Its Origins 1848-1965 (Access to History S.)
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Alan Farmer

March 31, 2006
This series of books is great and this one is among the best that I've read - it is bigger and contains more detail than many of the others, encompassing the content from what were previously two civil war titles. The text is easy to read and clear and the book is packed with character profiles, maps, photos, cartoons and diagrams. 'Call-out boxes' and chapter questions encourage active rather than passive reading and I believe this has helped me understand and remember more of the details than might otherwise be the case.

A range of issues are covered, including: the home front, diplomacy, social conditions, economic differences between the north and south, the role of western expansion & the Mexican war, slavery and, of course, the military aspects of the conflict. The author ... Read More:
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.Michelin Historical Map 102: : Battle of Normandy (Michelin Historical Maps)
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Michelin Travel Publications

1997-12
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.
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.Dear Mom: a Sniper's Vietnam
City Travel Guides > Books > Wars- Battles and Campaigns
by: Joseph T. Ward

1991-10
having read a few books about the vietnam war. this book is a great read, it makes you want to keep reading until you have finished. the beginning of the book is a bit slow in the marine core training camp, but it gives you an interesting insight. the rest of the book is fantastic, you can almost imagine being there and sniping yourself. the style is also refreshing, you read a letter home to his mom, then he tells the story about what actually happened and you realise all the parts he omitted, and the horrors that no one would be able to send home to their mom in a letter.
so summing up excellent read just buy it, you wont be dissapointed.
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