Hi Bernard, I've followed up your mention of John Keegan and I read The Face of Battle. Now I am reading The Mask Of Command. Could you talk more about how he has influenced you? Had you read him before you started writing? I think that Keegan captures what it really feels like to be in soldier's position. Do you know of any other books that are like his? has he launched a style of writing about military history? Thanks for all your books and your ongoing thoughts. I'm on your website a couple times a week and I love reading the questions and answers. By the way, I'll be in England next march to look at the 1066 battle fields, any recomendations? James
I think the influence is simply to try and convey the chaos of battle. It might start off tidily enough, but Keegan makes it plain that it very quickly becomes chaotic, and that chaos has a strong influence on the participants. At its simplest it's the obvious fact that a French column advancing into volley fire is very soon going to find its progress impeded by its own dead and wounded. That may seem obvious, but few military history writers before Keegan took it into account, while now most of them do. It's applicable all across the board, of course, and two books I've enjoyed recently are Antony Beevor's brilliant Stalingrad and Martin Windrow's The Last Valley which is an horrific account of the French defence of Dien Bien Phu. Recommendations? You'll obviously go to Hastings, but after that it depends what you're interested in. Some of the English Civil War battlefields are interesting, but very few are really well signposted. I'd try and get hold of The Daily Telegraph book British Battlefields, published by Cassell Military Paperbacks. It might take some time, but try Amazon.co.uk - and that will give you a lot of good suggestions.