ESSENTIAL HISTORIES SERIES. Edited by Robert O’Neill. Campaigns of the Norman Conquest. The Crusades. The Seven Years’ War. The French Revolutionary Wars. The Napoleonic Wars: the Rise of the Emperor 1805-1807. The Napoleonic Wars: the Empires Strike Back 1808-1812. The American Civil War: the War in the East 1861-May 1863. The American Civil War: the War in the West 1861-July 1863. The American Civil War: the War in the East 1863-1865. The American Civil War: the War in the West 1863-1865. The Korean War 1950-1953. Osprey Price pound;10.99 each.
The great commanders are all here, but what happened to the common people, asks Sean Lang
Tolstoy dismissed the idea that generals can actually control armies, and held that battles can be understood only through the smoke-filled eyes of the soldier in the thick of it. A generation of military historians has looked at the social history of war, so that in recent years military history has become a lot more readable and informative. In this series, the great commanders have reclaimed pride of place.
However, teachers looking for the details of military campaigns, or AAS level students researching a personal study, will certainly find these books detailed and authoritative. If you want a full narrative of the high politics that led to the Norman invasion, or the details of William’s campaigns in England after Hastings, this is the place to come. Schools teaching American history will find that the American Civil War, to which four volumes are devoted, comes off particularly well, and does manage to give an idea of the impact of the war on society.
By contrast, the Seven Years’ War, which was really the world’s first - and longest - global war, crams in the different campaigns and the only ordinary folk to get a look in are a British redcoat and a French Canadian nun. Though, since no one teaches the 18th century any more, perhaps we should be grateful even for this.
The series editor, professor of the history of war at Oxford, is quoted on the cover of each volume: “Read them and gain a deeper understanding of war and a stronger basis for thinking about peace.” A deeper understanding of strategy, maybe; the rest is probably a bit too hopeful.
Se n Lang teaches history at Hills Road sixth-form college in Cambridge
