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The Complete War Walks
£13.60£16.10 (-16%)
This one-volume edition comprises both Richard Holmes’ well-loved War Walks and War Walks 2. Dates such as 1066 and names such as Dunkirk often strike a chord of nostalgia, but the details of the historic events associated with them are forgotten. In The Complete War Walks Richard Holmes takes us on fascinating journey through time to visit twelve battlefields throughout Britain, Northern France and Belgium that mark crucial moments in Britain’s bloody and turbulent history. From Hastings to Dunkirk, Agincourt to The Somme, Richard vividly recreates the atmosphere of these key battles in our history. With his expert knowledge of weapons and warfare and using specially commissioned maps, Richard Holmes provides a brilliantly clear picture of the events which led up to each battle, the conflicts themselves, and the people who fought them. Using practical ‘views of the field’, he travels the battlefields as they exist today, pointing out their places of interest, paying tribute to the men who fought there, and bringing history to life. This book focuses on a selection of battles, six fought in Britain – or, in one case, on a struggle that straddled the Channel. A further six are set in a few hundred square miles of northern France and southern Belgium, a space so confined that a single day’s drive could take us across all our battlefields. Choosing the battles from a long list of potential candidates was far from easy, but a certain logic prevails. Battles that had far-reaching consequences, historically and politically, were brought to the forefront of the possible choices. In some cases, because of a battle’s importance, it entered part of an enduring mythology that demands attention. There were other obvious considerations that favoured certain battles over others: battles that were particularly decisive, or ones that were well documented, or have battlefields that remain striking today. I shied away from some battles that had already been described so well in print or on film, that I felt there was nothing new to add. In the twentieth-century France: Hastings, Agincourt, Bosworth, Naseby, The Boyne, Waterloo, Mons and Le Cateau, the Somme, Arras, Dunkirk, the Blitz and Operation Goodwood.
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Additional information
| Publisher | BBC Books, First Thus edition (22 May 2003) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 448 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0563487178 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0563487173 |
| Dimensions | 15.72 x 2.69 x 23.34 cm |
by Andy C
What can you expect from one of this countries leading historians. If you ever watched the series, this book is just as good. You can almost hear him talking and in doing so it all comes to life.
by Stuart. A
Anything by Richard Holmes – just superb
by ROBERT BUSH
Richard Holmes was just brilliant follow this up with the Western Front, he brings it all to life just wish the BBC would release the dvds but they won’t!!!!
by JohnP
Very engaging, couldn’t put it down! Descriptions and diagrams really put you in the place where it happened. I now know many more battlefields to visit.
by r white
Excellent
by kevin hammond
well written and good informations about the wars, although we would have prevered the films from the bbc with richard holmes about the wars
by honeymum
Wanted the DVD which doesnt seem to be available anywhere but this is the book that goes with the BBC series and it is great.
by Mr. A. Moore
Okay, so its a book based upon an excellent TV Series: War Walks. Yes it had been published as two volumes previously, but this book I simply love.
History for me was spoiled at school as it was so… boring! Dates and events and nothing else. This book changes all of that. I have a fondness for historic novels and recently read Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell and wanted to know more. I saw this at an event in Cheltenham where the author talked about Azincourt alongside Cornwell and Ian Mortimer and simply had to get this book because it is different. No longer this leader and that leader, this time and that time, marched in battle formation. But instead it gets you to what it was like for the common soldier.
Yes, like all good historians, Richard Holmes tells you the important stuff such as why the battles were faught, who was involved and why. But he tells you more than that. This book teaches you about the batles in not just the overarching way that historians tend to, but the details are there such as what it was like to use a longbow and see 60,000 arrows a minute fired (and what it was like on the receiving end!).
Seveal key battles from the 1066 battle of Hastings through the hundred years war and on to the two world wars. All are covered in the background reasons why they were faught and the immediate soldiers viewpoint. Some anecdotal stories are included and all go towards giving the reader a real insight into these pivotal moments in history.
I like it from the viewpoint of simply having an interest in this type of history, but this book is equally good for the history buff, the school pupil and really anyone needing to know.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.