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The Face of Battle
by
John Keegan
Keegan, a senior instructor at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, speculates as to what soldiers present at such historic military engagements as Agincourt and Waterloo may have experienced.
Paperback, 365 pages
Published
January 27th 1983
by Penguin Books
(first published 1976)
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It’s a rare day that I become smitten with a 75-year old historian, but that day came when I read the introduction to The Face of Battle. I have several of John Keegan’s books, most of them featuring lots of photographs, but this is the one that made him famous – and for good reason. His elegant prose has the right amount of wit and clarity, scholarship and humility, gripping description and hard facts. After an introduction to military historiography that left me – I'm not even kidding – think...more
The classic examination of battlefield experience. The obvious, logical, and instinctual thing to do in the face of mortal danger is to flee. Why do men stand and fight in the face of death? What compels them to act against all reason?
Keegan looks at three battles fought in close geographical proximity. The English victory against the French at Agincourt, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, and the British and French offensive against Germany along the Somme. This is not about strate...more
Keegan looks at three battles fought in close geographical proximity. The English victory against the French at Agincourt, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, and the British and French offensive against Germany along the Somme. This is not about strate...more
By examining three different famous battles from three different eras -- Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme -- military historian Keegan explores the fascinating ways in which our brutality has remained constant, but our ability to exercise it has become magnified. The material and his undoubted mastery of the subject are strong points. Like many specialists, though, I felt he couldn't help himself when it came to piling on unnecessary detail.
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Absolutely amazing. Anyone joining the military who will see combat, and especially anyone who enjoys military history and science would enjoy this book. John Keegan is one of the world's most prominent military historians and this book is an excellent display of his understanding of what happens on the battlefield even though he's never served in the military.
In this book Keegan analyzes four famous battles throughout history. And when I say "analyzes" I mean he really ge...more
In this book Keegan analyzes four famous battles throughout history. And when I say "analyzes" I mean he really ge...more
John Keegan opens with the point that although he has never been a combatant, military history writing is rife with inaccuracy because most writers either regurgitate the facts baldly without consideration for context or prejudice their story by applying personal filters and perceptions to the antagonists. His research is impeccable, he picks three battles that occur in roughly the same location in three different time periods and explains the circumstances surrounding the ranks in terms of thei...more
This was the first book I read by John Keegan, and it became the first of many. In it he describes three different historical battles (Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme, if memory serves) and describes what we know (or can guess) about what the battle experience was like for the men involved. Of particular interest is the way he breaks this down into sub-topics like "infantry vs. archers", "infantry vs. cavalry", "cavalry vs. artillery" etc.
This is pr...more
This is pr...more
Meh. It's ok. Written in 1976, The Face of Battle is badly in need of an update. In addition, the battles are all very British (Agincourt, Waterloo, and The Somme). This is understandable, since the book is probably an outgrowth from Keegan's teaching notes. The focus is on the experience of the individual soldier, which is pretty standard stuff in current battle books. The Face of Battle can be a bit dry at times (the first 20 pages are a real slog), but it can also be quite fascinating. It was...more
What history should be; careful empirical analysis using a variety of methods to get at what actually happened. Keegan looks at Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme and dissects each battle, using not only primary sources, but stepping outside the box to view things from unusual angles. Not content with Lady Butler's view of the charge of British cavalry, he examined video footage of British police on horseback and determined that real horses simply wouldn't act that way for real. In short, he used...more
Incredibly hard to read - the prose is so dense with subordinate clauses that it becomes perilous to search for a continuous thread of syntax.
But, as a masterpiece of critical thinking, it is without parallel. In the world where every history book is "The Story of Salt" or a bio, it stands out even more. Written in the 70s, it is really looking back, but has some great insights into the future of man to man armed combat.
If you are into military works, it is essential. If you are not,...more
But, as a masterpiece of critical thinking, it is without parallel. In the world where every history book is "The Story of Salt" or a bio, it stands out even more. Written in the 70s, it is really looking back, but has some great insights into the future of man to man armed combat.
If you are into military works, it is essential. If you are not,...more
Keegan examines three battles--Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme--to explore (Page 78) "how and why the men who have had (and do have) to face. . .weapons control their fears, staunch their wounds, go to their deaths. It is a perpetual attempt to catch a glimpse of the face of battle."
Agincourt. . . . Keegan briefly describes its place in Henry V's campaign. He then goes on to discuss what happened at Agincourt from the perspective of the combatants. It is a sobering analy...more
Agincourt. . . . Keegan briefly describes its place in Henry V's campaign. He then goes on to discuss what happened at Agincourt from the perspective of the combatants. It is a sobering analy...more
A book about battles like the Somme and Waterloo has no business being this boring. Keegan's long winding, multi-claused sentences suffocate all the excitment out of what should be a thrilling topic. I love history and I thought this, from what I'd read about it, would be an interesting book, but dear God it is awful.
I can only recommend this to the biggest of history nerds - the kind that have busts of Napolean on their desk and closet-full of old Civil War uniforms from their reenacting ...more
I can only recommend this to the biggest of history nerds - the kind that have busts of Napolean on their desk and closet-full of old Civil War uniforms from their reenacting ...more
Jake
rated it
“But I have never been in a battle. And I grow increasingly convinced that I have very little idea of what a battle can be like.”
Thus ends the opening paragraph of Face of Battle, in which military historian John Keegan attempts to explore, as best one can absent the experience, what it is like to be involved in real military combat. He does this by examining three historically significant battles in North-western Europe: Agincourt (1415), Waterloo (1815) and the Somme (1916).
...more
Thus ends the opening paragraph of Face of Battle, in which military historian John Keegan attempts to explore, as best one can absent the experience, what it is like to be involved in real military combat. He does this by examining three historically significant battles in North-western Europe: Agincourt (1415), Waterloo (1815) and the Somme (1916).
...more
The book contains - in great detail, which is Keegan's forte - accounts of three famous battles, but looking at what the actual soldier in the field saw and experienced.
I focussed mostly Waterloo (the other two being Azincourt and Somme) and found it extremely informative without being boring or over-extended. This aspect is the one you never get to know when learning about famous battles, but maybe the one that readers should keep in mind the most.
Highly recommended.
I focussed mostly Waterloo (the other two being Azincourt and Somme) and found it extremely informative without being boring or over-extended. This aspect is the one you never get to know when learning about famous battles, but maybe the one that readers should keep in mind the most.
Highly recommended.
A comparison of the battle of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme from the soldier's perspective and from a strategic perspective. Very accessibly written and couldn't put it down. An unexpected result of reading this book on my bus commute was that 3 different men interrupted me to comment they had never seen a woman interested in military history before . . .
As he confesses in the first few pages, John Keegan has never been in war, but he sure writes about it a lot. I'd always wanted to read a book by this eminent British historian and, to be honest, I chose this one because it was the shortest. For what it is, it's very good.
After a longish critique of how poorly history is generally written, especially by the Brits, Keegan gets down to the business of describing three historically significant European battles - Agincourt, Waterloo an...more
After a longish critique of how poorly history is generally written, especially by the Brits, Keegan gets down to the business of describing three historically significant European battles - Agincourt, Waterloo an...more
I read this book to research what battle would be like in previous eras for the average soldier. This book certainly did that. I liked that the author quoted primary sources about the battle or from those who had been in the battles so the reader could better understand what those battles looked like first-hand.
Though newer research has been done in this field John Keegan's efforts contained in this volume can not be dismissed. The research and analysis are excellent and certainly are not "dry history". Well worth the read for historian and history buff alike.
John Keegan approaches battle analysis from a different angle: how a battle would have been experienced by various participants. More than any other book this will give you an idea of what it was like to be a participant in historic battles like Waterloo.
If you have the time to read only two books on the nature of war, then you read this one and Hanson's "The wars of the ancient greeks".
Hanson covers the Greeks and, to a certain extent, those who learned from them, and that's enough until you reach the middle ages, where Keegan picks up.
Normally, I find history of "great battles" to be absolutely useless and dull. Keegan manages to make three important battles interesting becasue he puts in the histo...more
Hanson covers the Greeks and, to a certain extent, those who learned from them, and that's enough until you reach the middle ages, where Keegan picks up.
Normally, I find history of "great battles" to be absolutely useless and dull. Keegan manages to make three important battles interesting becasue he puts in the histo...more
A must read if you are interested in military history. Keegan's breakdown of the three battles provides insight into the trials facing soldiers throughout history.
This is the best book of it's kind. Keegan proves why he is the master. It is detailed, researched and well written. I cannot recommend this book more highly.
This book was recommended in the Atlantic Monthly in an interesting mini-section. A professor drew up a list of "male" books that women should read and vice versa. This one was for the ladies. I suppose the intention would be to give women a perspective in what war is like from a soldier's (man's) experience on the battlefield over the centuries. (Keegan analyzes several important battles from Hastings to The Somme.)
The book read like it was written for specialists, an...more
The book read like it was written for specialists, an...more
I've never read a battle book like this. I couldn't put it down and I didn't want it to end.
A study of war through the ages, in all its never-ending similarities and horror.
An instant classic that changed the writing of military history forever.
This book is the "prequel" to History of Warfare. In it he compares the logisitcs and actions taken during three battles separated by time. The whole book revolves around the increase in numbers required to wage successful warfare. The absence of Gung-Ho (cf Viscount Montgomery who takes delight in telling you where things went wrong and, by implication, what he would have done) is laudable. Allowing for the dry style and academic approach to his subject this is a fascinationg and ...more
The best history on what it was like to be a soldier at Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme. Keegan never lets you down.
Recommended by John Lanchester in the Guardian (UK), 05/03/2011.
A good book but I cannot for the life of me remember why I read it.
likely to be one of the best ever analysis of warfare.
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Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan OBE is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime and intelligence warfare as well as the psychology of battle.
-Wikipedia
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-Wikipedia
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