Warrior Race: A History of the British at War

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Macmillan, 25 feb. 2003 - 864 pagini
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 Boadicea to King Arthur, Rob Roy to Henry V, the Duke of Wellington to Winston Churchill. It is a sense of identity that grew under careful cultivation during the global struggles of the eighteenth century, and found its most powerful expression during the world wars of the twentieth.

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.

But Warrior Race is more than just a compelling historical narrative. Lawrence James skillfully pulls together the momentous themes of his subject. He discusses how war has continually been a catalyst for social and political change, the rise, survival, and reinvention of chivalry, the literary quest for a British epic, the concept of birth and breeding as the qualifications for command in war, and the issues of patriotism and Britain’s antiwar tradition.
Warrior Race is popular history at its very best: incisive, informative, and accessible; 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.

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Cuprins

A warlike Province Britain AD 43410
xix
Stern in Contest Arthur and After 410800
31
A People Accustomed to be Conquered 8001100
56
Just Quarrels Britain at War 11001603 an Overview
86
So Haughty a Spirit Chivalry and Command
112
The Small Folk Infantrymen and Technology
140
Sharp Sickness The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 163760
170
The Highland Bagpipes Mak a Din Rebellions 16601746
198
The Stern Business of War Command and Discipline
446
The intensity of the Moment Survivors and Casualties
473
Same as the Lads Women Work and Wages
500
Ramsay MacDonald and his German Comrades Objections to War 191419
524
The Cemetery of All that Is Best Remembering and Counting the Cost
539
A War of Peoples and Causes Duties and Ideals 193945
593
Only Scratches Invasion Fears and Blitz Realities
612
You May Go for a Burton Next Time Attrition in the Air and at Sea 193945
637

A Parents Hand North America 177583
225
By Jesus We Have Dirks and Arms APlenty Ireland 17981800
245
You Fight For a Good Cause Patriotism and the Pursuit of Power
270
A Wild Rattling Man Recruitment and Discipline
291
Honourable Danger Command Courage and Rewards
316
Duty Must Be Done Killing Dying and Surviving
337
Each Honoured Name Memories and Attitudes
366
Their Officers Example Preparation for Command and Civil War Postponed 18701914
425
Dont Fence Me In Women GIs Black Men and Evacuees
664
Tactful Handling Command and Combat
684
Its All For You Peace and Perceptions of the War
698
A Normal Hazard Cold War and Hot War 194598
726
What Next?
752
Notes
759
Bibliography
809
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Despre autor (2003)

Lawrence James was born in Bath and was educated at the University of York and Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career, he emerged as one of the outstanding narrative historians of this generation. His previous books include" Raj and The Rise and Fall of the British Empire." He lives near St. Andrews, Scotland.

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