Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
The Crimean War
Author: R V L ffrench Blake
Publisher:
Pen and Sword
47 Church Street
Barnsley
S70 2AS
Website
: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
ISBN:
1 84415 449 1
Published:
September 2006
UK
Price: 16.99
If
you are considering purchasing just one volume on the Crimean
War, I am sure this very reasonably priced re-print of the
highly successful classic masterpiece will more than meet
your requirements. Although there have been several much larger
and more detailed volumes published to date, this one is without
a doubt one of the easiest to read, whilst being sufficiently
authoritative enough at the same time.
The
lessons learnt during the Crimean War – one of the most
important periods in our military history, resulted in “seeds
being sown” that would eventually change the British
Army for ever. The author – a distinguished and decorated
WW2 cavalry officer himself, has cleverly brought together
the events leading up to the war with all major aspects of
the campaign. He has also covered plus a lot more too.
I
am sure the researcher will be delighted with excellent black
and white period maps and engravings included. The highly
detailed appendices is an added bonus , as it features a chronological
table of events and an excellent bibliography together with
the Order of Battle for both the British Expeditionary Force
of 1854 and the Russian and French Order of Battle for Alma.
The section covering the titles of British Cavalry Regiments
as they changed in the period between 1854 and 1900 and then
again 1971 is most useful.
This
publication will be invaluable for those lucky enough to be
able to visit the battlefield, however for the rest of us
“armchair or deskbound historians” it will be
very useful and an enjoyable read too.
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Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
Blood - Red Desert Sand
The British Invasions Of Egypt & The Sudan 1882-1898
Author: Michael Barthorp
Publisher:
Naval and Military Press
Unit 10, Ridgewood Industrial Park
Uckfield
East Sussex
TN22 5QE
Website : www.naval-military-press.com
ISBN:
0 304 36223 9
UK
offer price: 5.95
This volume is worth every
penny for the remarkable black and white photographs alone!
The splendid pictures featuring many British military units
are the work of pioneer war photographers and remarkably date
back to as early as 1882, making this volume a must for military
historians and family history researchers, together with model
makers and militaria collectors alike.
The narrative is engrossing,
encouraging the reader to turn the pages and learn more about
this fascinating period in British history – a time
when many of our Regiments were awarded battle honours that
remain on Regimental colours and form part of their cap badges
and uniforms today .
The author initially covers
the period when British forces fought the French at Aboukir
Bay, he then continues to recall events in 1882 when they
again landed in Egypt to secure the strategic Suez Canal.
The campaign in the Sudan is featured in excellent detail
too and is supported by a number of maps and engravings of
early paintings and drawings.
A bargain and valuable addition
to any enthusiasts library . |
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Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
CROMWELL’S MASTERSTROKE
Dunbar 1650
Author: Peter Reese
Publisher:
Pen and Sword
47 Church Street
Barnsley
S70 2AS
Website
: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
ISBN:
1 84415 179 4
Published:
October 2006
UK
Price: 19.99
The
author of this excellent volume having already written several
successful books on Scottish battles, together with an acclaimed
biography of William Wallace, has carved himself the enviable
reputation for providing the reader with gripping and authoritative
accounts of important events in Scottish military history.
This
volume is no exception and therefore I feel sure that the
reader will be delighted with the end result and possess a
volume that will be invaluable if conducting further research
into this particular battle - one of the decisive events in
the Civil War, which resulted in Oliver Cromwell’s New
Model Army defeating the Scots on their home ground.
This
is one of the first full-length histories on Dunbar to be
published. It provides the reader with a useful insight of
the lead up to the battle as well as a graphic account of
the battle itself, the complex political background, key personalities
and characters involved together with the structure of opposing
armies. The readable narrative is backed up with several maps
and a series of black and white photographs and period engravings.
The excellent guide to the battlefield as it is today will
be invaluable for the tourist and researcher, as will the
very useful appendix which includes a list of the Scottish
prisoners taken at Dunbar.
In
summary, value for money and a must on your bookshelf if this
period of history interests you. |
Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
The History Of The Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918
Author: Major General C R Simpson
Publisher:
Naval and Military Press
Unit 10, Ridgewood Industrial Park
Uckfield
East Sussex
TN22 5QE
Website : www.naval-military-press.com
ISBN:
?
UK
offer price: 5.95
This
volume is worth every penny for the remarkable black and white
photographs alone! The splendid pictures featuring many British
military units are the work of pioneer war photographers and
remarkably date back to as early as 1882, making this volume
a must for military historians and family history researchers,
together with model makers and militaria collectors alike.
The
narrative is engrossing, encouraging the reader to turn the
pages and learn more about this fascinating period in British
history – a time when many of our Regiments were awarded
battle honours that remain on Regimental colours and form
part of their cap badges and uniforms today .
The
author initially covers the period when British forces fought
the French at Aboukir Bay, he then continues to recall events
in 1882 when they again landed in Egypt to secure the strategic
Suez Canal. The campaign in the Sudan is featured in excellent
detail too and is supported by a number of maps and engravings
of early paintings and drawings.
A
bargain and valuable addition to any enthusiasts library . |
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Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
The Adventures & Inventions of Stewart Blacker
Author: Barnaby Blacker
Publisher:
Pen and Sword
47 Church Street
Barnsley
S70 2AS
Website
: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
ISBN:
1 84415 431 9
Published:
October 2006
UK
Price: 19.99
The
majority of people may at this stage wonder who on earth Stewart
Blacker was! I for one hadn’t heard of him, however
I am sure that many will have all heard of at least one of
his inventions- the famous PIAT anti-tank weapon – a
weapon which had a dramatic effect on the enemy during Second
World War and was instrumental in the actions, that led to
several men being awarded the Victoria Cross.
This excellent volume written by Blacker’s Grandson,
is based on previously un-published memoirs and letters from
the family archives. It tells the fascinating story of a most
remarkable man, who during his amazing and adventurous life,
served King and country in both the Army and Air Force before
joining MI5 and not being content with that, was also the
first man to fly over Everest!
Blacker - a classics scholar, fluent in several tribal languages
of the North West Frontier area of India, was an aviation
pioneer, who having taken to the air shortly after the famous
Wright brothers found himself in charge of the fledgling British
air force at the out break of the Great War. Despite being
shot down several times and breaking his neck on one occasion,
he felt guilty, as he considered he had taken the easy option
by waging war on the enemy from the air and therefore chose
to return to his Regiment. He subsequently fought in the trenches,
before being wounded at Neuve Chapelle in 1917. During the
Great War, it was Blacker who also led the team which designed
the mechanism allowing a machine gun to fire through a rotating
propeller! He was therefore without a doubt a “boffin”,
especially as he also pioneered high altitude aviation photography
and was responsible for the development of several allied
weapons in both wars too.
Having read the book, readers may consider this brave and
clever man to have been eccentric, especially when they hear
that during one period in his life, he was invited to take
command of a Bolshevik division in Central Asia! However all
in all, it is a fascinating volume, supplemented with some
superb (and unusual) black and photographs. I am therefore
sure it will provide many hours of enjoyable reading for a
wide range of readers, especially those with an interest in
the Great War, early aviation and weapons. |
Book
Review By Michael D Booker (December 2006)
RED PARTISAN
Author: Nikolai I Obryn’ba
Publisher:
Pen and Sword
47 Church Street
Barnsley
S70 2AS
Website
: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
ISBN:
1 84415 428 9
Published:
October 2006
UK
Price: 19.99
The
author of this excellent book was a very ordinary individual
who was just setting out on his career when the Germans invaded
Russia in 1941. As a result, he immediately volunteered for
service in the Red Army, however when the enemy advanced,
it was not long before he was taken prisoner.
In
this volume , he tells of the brutality of the invader and
recalls horrors and atrocious conditions in their prison camps
and his subsequent struggle for survival as he escaped and
later fought with the partisans behind the German lines in
Belorussia.
Of
course, many volumes have already been written about the campaign
on the Eastern Front and both the German and Russian armies,
however this is an uncompromising account of the human side
of the conflict and life in the Red Army and as the readable
text is supported with some excellent black and white photographs,
it is therefore a valuable contribution to any library. |
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