Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors by Richard Holmes

Description

This is the story of the British soldier from redcoats serving in the time of Charles II to modern, camouflage-clad heroes of Helmand. While many aspects of army life have changed over the years, the traditions and characteristics that define the British soldier endure.

This magisterial social history of the soldier brims with stories from the chaos of battlefields to the fug of barrack-rooms. Richard Holmes’s profound knowledge and understanding of his subject captures the British soldier, “warts and all”. Written with his trademark wit, anecdote and erudition, it is a final tribute to the men who fight for their country from one of our most celebrated and influential military historians.