About this title: As Bell argues in this tour de force of interpretive history, nearly every modern aspect of war took root during the Enlightenment and the French Revolution: conscription, unconditional surrender, total disregard for the rules of combat, mobilization of civilians, guerrilla warfare, and the perverse notion of war fought for the sake of peace.
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780747579625ISBN:0747579628
Description: New. Brand new books, maps and cd's available immediately from a reputable and well rated UK bookseller; despatched promptly and reliably worldwide. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780747579625ISBN:0747579628
Description: Good. Good, never read-books may have a tear, creasing, or other defect. Apart from this, good condition. No.1 BESTSELLERS-great prices, friendly customer service-usually dispatched within 24 hrs. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780747579625ISBN:0747579628
Description: Fine. Minor bumping to edges and extremities, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780747577195ISBN:0747577196
Description: Very Good. Very good, never read-books may have a tear, creasing, or other small defect. Generally, very good condition. No.1 BESTSELLERS-great prices, friendly customer service-usually dispatched within 24 hrs. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780747577195ISBN:0747577196
Description: New. Brand new books, maps and cd's available immediately from a reputable and well rated UK bookseller; despatched promptly and reliably worldwide. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780618349654ISBN:0618349650
Description: Good in Good jacket. 400-Z-Add Good Condition: A copy that has been read, but remains in good condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or be an ex-library item. Some pages or dust-jacket may have tiny tears. Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may ... read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket not necessarily included minimal wear to binding, majority of pages undamaged, minimal to no highlighting/underlining of text, no missing p. read more
Description: Acceptable. Some damage to the cover but integrity still intact, binding slightly damaged but integrity still intact, possible writing in margins, possible underlining and highlighting of text. read more
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
"Interesting book about the rise of the Concept of Total War. By this, he means one in which the lines between civilian and military are blurred during war. However, he also explores the creation of a distinct military culture that is separate from civilian life, a phenomenon that was new in 1790 (yes, this focuses on the French Revolution and Napoleonic Period). Finally, he looks at the shift from seeing war as a normal state of affairs to the idea that going to war is abnormal and undesirable, but then weaves in how the idea of total war fits into this.
"I had a bit of up and down with this book before even getting to the first chapter - (oh, the cliche of a book as a journey, how do you sneak in when I try to avoid you?).
To begin with, I picked it up in a book sale cheaply in a minor explosion of glee, being as I am a total sucker for anything to do with the Napoleonic Wars. I blame Bernard Cornwell, C.S. Forrester, and most of all Georgette Heyer. (Yes, Georgette Heyer - don't laugh till you've read an Infamous Army.) Then, as I read the introduction, I started getting a bit worried, as Bell starts expounding about how he is going to reevaluate the period with a new culturally-based theory of war and how society's perceptions changed it during the period of question.
This sort of thing tends to set off alarm bells on my head, because people who go into a field looking to overturn 'outdated dogma' (or similar) and create bold new theories often tend to come out with, to be frank, things that are just a little insane, and not in a good way. Especially in fields that have already had plenty of attention already. Thankfully though, Bell isn't one of these people - his argument is constructed slowly and carefully, and he has a very nice way of using his primary sources to weigh up other people's arguments against each other's and against his own. He's a good historian, in other words.
He's also a good writer, and the book (once you get through the introduction and its ominous overtones of 'All New Amazing Theory!!') is engaging as all hell. Which it should be, really - the events it's talking about are pretty damn near to 'all hell' time after time, so it would be a feat to make them boring. All the same though, there's a nice mix of semi-dramatised retelling of key events in the history-docu reenactment style with a more widescreen sober analysis of the wider events, and it transitions pretty well between, too.
He also blessedly keeps most of the slightly laboured parallel-drawing with the modern USA to the introduction and epilogue too, where they can be more safely ignored. The actual history is way more interesting."
"The author makes the argument that the French Revolution and The Napoleanic Wars were the first instance of systematic warfare being waged against civilian populations. While that premise is arguable, the book is well worth the read. Reads like a modern day military thriller."
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