War Stories
From the Charge of the Light Brigade to the Battle of the Bulge and Beyond
Published on 11. February 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-64313-341-6 (ISBN)
Description
A fascinating account of ordinary men and women swept up in the turbulence of conflict, War Stories tells the tales of thirty-four individuals who have pushed the boundaries of love, bravery, suffering, and terror beyond the imaginable.
These stories span three centuries and five continents. There is the courage of Edward Seager who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade; the cunning of Krystyna Skarbek, quick-thinking spy and saboteur during the Second World War; the skullduggery of Benedict Arnold, who switched sides in the American War of Independence; and the compassion of Magdalene de Lancey who tenderly nursed her dying husband at Waterloo.
Told with vivid narrative energy and full of unexpected insights, War Stories moves effortlessly from tales of spies, escapes, and innovation to uplifting acts of humanity in times of crisis, celebrating men and women whose wartime experiences are beyond compare.
These stories span three centuries and five continents. There is the courage of Edward Seager who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade; the cunning of Krystyna Skarbek, quick-thinking spy and saboteur during the Second World War; the skullduggery of Benedict Arnold, who switched sides in the American War of Independence; and the compassion of Magdalene de Lancey who tenderly nursed her dying husband at Waterloo.
Told with vivid narrative energy and full of unexpected insights, War Stories moves effortlessly from tales of spies, escapes, and innovation to uplifting acts of humanity in times of crisis, celebrating men and women whose wartime experiences are beyond compare.
Reviews / Votes
"Each account is exciting, and together they present readers with a wide variety of events, personalities, and historical eras. Snow and MacMillan's substantial, useful, and informative volume of true war stories will interest readers and researchers alike." -- Booklist "An excellent account. Snow has told the story of those engagements with brio and a gift for making sense of the complexities of battle. A fine example of serious and literate popular history. It ranks with Anthony S. Pitch's The Burning of Washington as among the best accounts of a war." -- The Washington Post [Praise for When Britain Burned the White House] "Authoritative and absorbing, his profiles sure and compelling, his judgments considered and fair, and his documentation most impressive. Wonderful for nineteenth-century political, military, and diplomatic history; general readers; and all libraries." -- Library Journal (starred) [Praise for When Britain Burned the White House] "Never before has this story been told more fully or more engagingly, with greater empathy for both sides, or with greater balance. Snow brings the combatants alive. The pace is brisk, the characterizations sure, the judgments done with a light touch. For the story of that campaign, this is now the narrative to read." -- Publishers Weekly [Praise for When Britain Burned the White House]More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
32 B&W illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
494 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64313-341-6 (9781643133416)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Peter Snow is a highly respected author and broadcaster. He presented BBC's Newsnight from 1980 to 1997. An indispensable part of election nights, he has also covered military matters on the world's battlefields for forty years. He is the author of several history books, including When Britain Burned the White House. He lives in London. Ann MacMillan grew up in Canada, where she worked for CHIN Radio, Global TV News, and CTV News. She worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for many years, before moving to London to marry Peter Snow.