Warrior Race

[Desmond7]

The above book, in hardback, original price £25 is now a measly £5 at Bargain Books if you've got one near you.

Thought provoking and well worth reading. Especially for a five spot!

Good section on 20th century but some of the pre-Roman/Roman/Dark Ages stuff is superb too. A great gift at a STEAL price.

Des

[Guest]

"Warrior race" seems a bit non-PC as a concept and I just don't think that any race is more or less inclined to worriorship than any other.

[Desmond7]

Dunno about non-PC Angie?

Here's a review from the net.

I just thought it was full of good historical essays.

This sweeping yet detailed history investigates the role played by war in the shaping of Britain. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological research, as well as numerous unfamiliar and untapped resources, the celebrated narrative historian Lawrence James fully charts the reach of British military history: the physical and psychological impact of Roman military occupation; the monarchy's struggle for mastery of all the Isles; the civil wars of the seventeenth century; and the "total war" experiences of twentieth-century conflict.

Warrior Race explores the ongoing relationship between warfare and the British Isles—England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, both ancient and modern—in a manner that is as accessible as it is informed. James discusses how war has continually been a catalyst for social and political change; the rise, survival, and reinvention of chivalry; the literary quest for a British epic; the concept of birth and breeding as the qualifications for command in war; and other key issues such as patriotism and Britain's antiwar tradition.

This in-depth volume will be must-reading for all students and scholars of military history and the British national identity and character.

Quotes

"Majestic . . . Less a history of campaigns and battles than it is a consideration, sometimes even a meditation, on the nature and culture of British militarism, on the behavior of the British people during wartime, and on the long evolution of British national self-consciousness as a consequence of war."—The Washington Times

"Majestic . . . In his two previous books, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire and Raj, James proved himself a master of the grand sweep of history. Warrior Race—with its clever balance between perspective and detail—is more of the same. This is a marvelous book: impeccably researched, expertly written, and awash with telling insights."—Sunday Telegraph

"A huge survey of Britain and the British at arms . . . Thoughtful yet sweeping."—The Times (London)

"A volume of much interest, enlivened by engaging personal vignettes culled from a variety of sources archeological, historical, and literary . . . [The author's] encyclopedic knowledge and scholarship and his wide scope of interest, allied to his felicitous style and happy choice of examples to illustrate his theme, make Warrior Race a real pleasure to read."—Literary Review

"This imposing history is less a recounting of British feats of arms than of the creation of a British nation by the wars in the British Isles—England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Beginning with the Roman conquest, James proceeds through the Anglo-Saxons and Normans into the Middle Ages, and then marches through the civil wars, the continental wars from 1689 through 1815, and the colonial conflicts (mostly won, except for the American Revolution). The entire second half of the book covers the two world wars and their aftermath, where the United Kingdom assembled in the first half of the book exhausted itself (though not without valuable results) in two global conflicts and the twilight of empire. While a valuable summation throughout, the real splendor of the book is in its illustrative examples of the context in which the fighting men (and eventually women) were raised, and the impact of their experiences on the larger culture. Consider that a medieval knight's warhorse cost far more than his armor, that the author's mother-in-law had rationing brought home to her by bloaters (a fish) for breakfast, and that residual patriotism accounts for the current seller's market in works on the Special Air Service. Less charming are the tragedy of Anglo-Irish relations and the outrageous racism of Allied soldiers in England during WWII . . . Not for beginners on the subject, this big book will be worthwhile for everybody else with an interest in history."—Publishers Weekly

"Drawing on an extensive range of resources, James offers a graphic . . . account of the British experience of war from the time of the Roman occupation to World War II . . . The carefully documented resources at the back of the book may well be worth the price of admission."—Library Journal

"James' sweeping survey of two millennia of British martial history is not a dreary litany of battles and bloodshed. Instead, the events of 1066 and all that are briefly summarized, for James pursues less obvious aspects of the subject: the psychology and sociology of soldiering and the place of military experience in the British consciousness. This endows a thematic unity to James' narrative, linking the world of Roman Britain or Arthurian legend with that of the twentieth century, using commonalties like the fascination with war, its brutalizing actualities, styles of command, and prosaic but vital organizational matters of raising and paying for fleets and armies. Almost seamlessly linking eras, James perceptively develops how warfare has summoned ordinary people onto the historical stage, imposing on survivors experiences subsequently transmuted into the British social mentality: the Levellers of the English Civil War as precursors to the World War II generation's socialists. With added sinews like the felt memory of wars in Ireland, James capably steers this hefty history from the perils of sprawl and toward the popular track."—Booklist

"Huge and highly entertaining . . . The anecdotes are wonderful. Lawrence James has assembled more stories about British sailors, soldiers, and airmen than any previous author."—Sir John Keegan, The Daily Telegraph

"Substantial and entertaining . . . James is an accomplished storyteller with an eye for the lively anecdote, and a nice turn of phrase."—The Independent

"James makes good use of primary sources, especially with respect to WWII . . . The author has a practiced eye for the telling anecdote, whether writing of British officers who refused to surrender their dinner forks when a meal was interrupted by sniper fire or of ordinary soldiers in the trenches of WWI who considered themselves to be 'lions led by donkeys' . . . Solid."—Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

Lawrence James was educated at the University of York and Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career, he emerged as one of the outstanding British narrative historians of his generation. His other books include Raj and The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. He lives near St. Andrews, Scotland.

[Mark A]

I've read this book and thought it was very good. I have to say, being PC or otherwise doesn't come in to it at all.

M

[Ste]

I concur with the praise above. I'm re-reading this at the moment, having originally borrowed it from Liverpool City Library last year. Like Desmond, I picked it up at a Bargain Books shop for a fiver - well spent!

It is a grand, majestic volume, breathtaking in scope - the 'Elgar's Nimrod' of books. I found it really interesting to trace recognisable modern traits, such as the British fashion for gentlemen in command, back through hundreds of years of history, as medieval codes of chivalry were venerated and adopted by certain classes of society long after lances and armour graced the battlefield.

I also learned a lot about part time soldiering through the ages, from trained bands and Militia to Volunteers and the TA. Again, James examines these issues in a cultural context, rather than a traditional military history.

Overall, I thought I learned a good deal about 'why we are who we are'.

Cheers,

Ste

[SMG65]

Angie

I feel that I have to disagree with your view that you don't think that any race is more or less inclined to warriorship than any other.

Some civilisations are built on warriorship, (Spartans and Mongols are examples).

The British Isles in the early centuries had many invaders who were the ultimate in warriorship.

It takes a special and brave kind of warrior to cross a sea to a strange land to fight a war. If you invade a country by land and things don't go well you can retreat home. But invasion by sea is different, if you lose you die, (Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066).

The Roman Emperor Caligula had an army which didn't want to invade Britain, he called the invasion off and made them pick up stones on the beaches of Gaul to claim as their war trophies.

The invasions of Anglo Saxons, Vikings and Normans were achieved by the best warriors these peoples had, who knew the price of defeat. Those that wanted to stay at home did so in their respective lands.

Warriorship is like every aspect of human life, some people are good at some things and not so good at other things and the genes are passed down over the generations.

Thankfully the British warriorship gene has saved us in a number of major conflicts, surely that is more than luck.

I think a quote from Winston Churchill sums up the British 'Warrior Race'

'War is a hard school, but the British, once compelled to get there, are attentive pupils'

SEAN