Acts of war the behavior of men in battle

The reality of what it is to be a soldier, by Britain's foremost military historian. This ambitious, wide-ranging, exhaustively researched book is a compelling attempt to grasp the very nature of war. It takes us through the soldier's experience in its entirety - from the humiliation of ba...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Holmes, Richard 1946- (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: London Cassell 2004
Edition:Cassell Military paperback edition
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Summary:The reality of what it is to be a soldier, by Britain's foremost military historian. This ambitious, wide-ranging, exhaustively researched book is a compelling attempt to grasp the very nature of war. It takes us through the soldier's experience in its entirety - from the humiliation of basic training and the intense comradeship of army life, to the terror, isolation and exhaustion of battle. What does it feel like to be in the firing line? How does killing change a man? And what do the extreme conditions of war reveal about a man's basic instincts, his courage or his fear, his urge for self-preservation or self-sacrifice? Covering several centuries of warfare, and including the personal recollections of veterans from two World Wars, from Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and the Arab-Israeli conflicts, Richard Holmes gives us a powerful picture of what motivates the soldier and enables him to maintain the struggle in conditions of extreme degradation and danger.
Item Description:Originally published: as Firing line. London: Random House, 1985.
Physical Description:xii, 436 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates illustrations 20 cm
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN:0304367001
9780304367009