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The Face of Battle
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The Face of Battle Paperback - 1983

by John Keegan

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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.

Summary

Military historian John Keegan’s groundbreaking analysis of combat and warfare

The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger." Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme.

“The best military historian of our generation.” –Tom Clancy

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From the publisher

John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle--a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare

The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger." Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme.

The Face of Battle is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Mask of Command together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.

First line

I have not been in a battle; not near one, nor heard one from afar, nor seen the aftermath.

Details

  • Title The Face of Battle
  • Author John Keegan
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 364
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York
  • Publication date 1983-01-27
  • Features Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780140048971 / 0140048979
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 in (19.56 x 12.95 x 1.78 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Western Europe
  • Category History - Military / War
  • Library of Congress subjects Battles, Military history
  • Dewey Decimal Code 904.7

Media reviews

"The most brilliant evocation of military experience in our time"
—C.P. Snow

"In this book, which is so creative, so original, one learns as much about the nature of man as of battle."
—J.H. Plumb, The New York Times Book Review

"This without any doubt is one of the half-dozen best books on warfare to appear in the English language since the end of the Second World War."
—Michael Howard, The Sunday Times

"A totally original and brilliant book"
—The New York Review of Books

About the author

Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan (1934-2012), was one of the most distinguished contemporary military historians and was for many years the senior lecturer at Sandhurst (the British Royal Military Academy) and the defense editor of the Daily Telegraph (London). Keegan was the author of numerous books including The Face of Battle, The Mask of Command, The Price of Admiralty, Six Armies in Normandy, and The Second World War, and was a fellow at the Royal Society of Literature.

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

by Keegan, John

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

by John Keegan

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

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The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme

by John Keegan

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