A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme

The Face Of Battle

'The most brilliant evocation of military experience in our time.' C. P. Snow

The book which changed how military history is written. Keegan set out to discover what it must  have been like to be present at Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme - and he succeeded brilliantly.

Bernard Cornwell (Chosen as number one of his six best books)

This without any doubt is one of the half-dozen best books on warfare to appear in the English language since the end of the Second World War.

In this book, which is so creative, so original, one learns as much about the nature of man as of battle.

John Keegan is the Defence Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Britain's foremost military historian. The Reith Lecturer in 1998, he is the author of many bestselling books including The Face of Battle, Six Armies in Normandy, Battle at Sea, The Second World War, A History of Warfare (awarded the Duff Cooper Prize), Warpaths, The Battle for History, The First World War, and most recently, Intelligence in War. For many years John Keegan was the Senior Lecturer in Military History at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and he has been a Fellow of Princeton University and Delmas Distinguished Professor of History at Vassar. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He received the OBE in the Gulf War honours list, and was knighted in the Millennium honours list in 1999. John Keegan died in August 2012.

The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: an imperishable account of the direct experience of individuals at 'the point of maximum danger'. 
 
 It examines the physical conditions of fighting, the particular emotions and behaviour generated by battle, as well as the motives that impel soldiers to stand and fight rather than run away. 
 
 In this stunningly vivid reassessment of three battles, John Keegan conveys their reality for the participants, whether facing the arrow cloud of Agincourt, the levelled muskets of Waterloo or the steel rain of the Somme.

The First World War

A major work by our greatest military historian, acclaimed as the definitive history of the First World War, the conflict that shaped the twentieth century.

Magisterial in its scope, beautifully written and literally unputdownable... I cannot recommend Keegan's book too highly.

Nobody describes a battle as Keegan does, vividly relating the unfolding events to the contours of the field of combat... This book is a kind of war memorial. As first-hand memory fades, The First World War honours the dead as only true history can.

John Keegan's The First World War can take its place alongside the other defining works he has written... The best and most approachable introduction to the war.

A splendidly readable account of the war on all fronts, from its political and cultural origins to its bloody conclusion... Compelling.

Excellent... The First World War tells the story with passion, sanity and the military historian's eye for overall strategy.

Beautifully written and full of telling detail... The best overall account for the general reader that has appeared since that of Cyril Falls nearly forty years ago.

A splendid achievement. Many years of research, distilled with craft and conveyed in meticulous prose, make this the definitive book on the Great War… An enthralling and often very moving account of one of the great tragedies of modern history

The definitive account of the Great War and a national bestseller from eminent military historian John Keegan 
 
2018 marks the centenary of the First World War – the war that created the modern world. It destroyed a century of relative peace and prosperity and saw a continent at the height of its success descend into slaughter. It unleashed both the demons of the twentieth century - political hatred, military destruction and mass death - and the ideas which continue to shape our world today: modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, and radical ideas about economics and society. 
 
By the end of the war, three great empires – the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian and the Ottoman – had collapsed. But as Keegan expertly shows, the devastation extended over the entirety over Europe and still profoundly informs the politics and culture of the continent today. Pertinent, authoritative and gripping, this panoramic account of WW1 is regarded as a world history classic. 
 
‘The best and most approachable introduction to the war’ Guardian 
 
‘Nobody describes a battle as Keegan does, vividly relating the unfolding events to the contours of the field of combat... This book is a kind of war memorial. As first-hand memory fades, The First World War honours the dead as only true history can’ Sunday Times

War at Sea from Man of War to Submarine

The Price Of Admiralty

John Keegan's new book applies to maritime warfare the technique he put to such dazzling effect in his classic of war on land, The Face of Battle. His analysis concentrates on four key battles - Trafalgar, Jutland, Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic. 
 
The result not only illustrates the development of naval warfare through the sailing warship, the battleship, the aircraft carrier and the submarine, thereby giving a panoramic view, but takes the reader into the heart of the fighting, reminding us that the price of battle, whether on sea or land, is measuring in men's lives.

Refighting World War Two

The Battle For History

A guided tour of the controversies surrounding the history and interpretation of World War 11 from this century's most distinguished military historian.

John Keegan - dapper, lantern-jawed, a man who pounds facts into place as if with a sledgehammer - is the military historian's military historian... If he did not exist, the History Channel would not be able to invent him.

Although 50 years have passed since the end of World War II, there has as yet been no definitive history of that conflict. Existing histories have raised as many questions as they answer: Did Roosevelt have foreknowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbour? Could the Allies have invaded France before 1944? Might bombing the Auschwitz railway have impeded the course of the Holocaust? John Keegan here assesses the literature that has emerged from World War II - and the controversies it has generated - in a book that combines stunning erudition with crisp prose and highly personal discernment.

The American Civil War

This major and long-awaited work is the definitive history of the American Civil War by our greatest military historian.

It is hard to see how Keegan's masterful and thought-provoking book could be beaten

In its range and sweep, this book is difficult to better and promises to become the definitive account of the conflict

One of our finest military historians, Keegan brings a shrewd and discerning eye to [the] conflict... compelling

As a military historian John Keegan has the qualities of the best commanders

John Keegan brings his subject alive and is particularly good on how unreliably nasty (yes, nasty is surely the word) war can be, and what it does to the men whose job is to take part in it

Keegan tells the story of war between the industrial North and the agricultural South, and that's very good. But what I loved most, and what Keegan is always superb at, is analysis

You would be hard pressed to find a better written one-volume history of this epic struggle

The American Civil War was one of the longest and bloodiest of modern wars. It is also one of the most mysterious. It has captured the imagination of writers, artists and film-makers for decades but the reality of it confuses and divides historians even today. 
 
In this magisterial history of the first modern war, the distinguished military historian John Keegan unpicks the geography, leadership and strategic logic of the war and takes us to the heart of the conflict. His captivating work promises to be the definitive history of the American Civil War.

The Iraq War

The war against Saddam Hussein, described and analysed by our foremost military historian.

Of the conflict itself - such as it was - there is extensive, unsparing detail, observed in the crisp tones of an officer delivering his report most of all, this is a book which puts the war into a proper context for the layman. And for that alone it is worth reading.

One of our most distinguished military historians...A straight and self-contained book on Iraq.

Nobody does it better. The narration is clear and exciting...the author has you in his grip.

The Iraq War remains highly controversial, but in all the uncertainty about weapons of mass destruction, the use and misuse of intelligence, it remains an awesome military and political event and a formidable exercise in American power aided by the British army. Throughout the war and beyond it, John Keegan's analysis proved more accurate than any other commentator's, and now he brings his unrivalled knowledge of military history to bear on the war, its conduct and consequences. Written with special access to new sources of information, this book is the most authoritative and challenging account of a war which could both set the pattern for military conflicts in the 21st century and significantly affect the world political order.

Intelligence In War

A fascinating and highly readable study of this most topical of subjects by the most distinguished contemporary writer of military history.

This stimulating and informed book...has no contemporary equal. Keegan has done it again

Intelligence in War combines the lucid prose, perceptive judgements and narrative power that Keegan's readers have come to expect

This excellent and highly readable book is vintage Keegan

A fascinating book on a fascinating subject, written by a master of the craft

From the earliest times, commanders have sought knowledge of the enemy, his strengths and weaknesses, his dispositions and intentions. But how much effect, in the 'real time' of a battle or a campaign, can this knowledge have? 
 
In this magisterial new study, the author of A History of Warfare goes to the heart of a series of important conflicts to develop a powerful argument about intelligence in war. Keegan's narrative sweep is enthralling, whether portraying the dilemmas of Nelson seeking Napoleon's fleet, Stonewall Jackson in the American Civil War, Bletchley as it seeks to crack Ultra during the Battle of the Atlantic, the realities of the secret war in the Falklands or the numerous intelligence issues in the contemporary fight against terrorism.

A History Of Warfare

The definitive history of warfare told by Britain's foremost military historian.

John Keegan is at once the most readable and the most original of military historians... His book is a work of massive sweep...the most remarkable study of warfare that has yet been written.

Masterpiece...one of those rare books which could still be required reading in its field a hundred years from now.

Our finest military historian has produced a book of breathtaking scope...A tour de force.

The best book I read in 1993 was A History of Warfare...a dazzling display of historical pyrotechnics.

He examines every branch of warfare in its history, psychology, metallurgy, genetics, logistics, archaeology, tactics and strategy...He is as much at home in the Empire of Babylon as he is on the Somme...On every subject he has something fresh to say. His learning is staggering and his gift for exposition unequalled.

Keegan's power as a writer derives from the fact that he does not see himself merely as a chronicler of battles, but as a student of the human condition. It is the breadth of his grasp of civilisation, as well as of the soldier's art, that makes this book so formidable.

The definitive history of warfare told by Britain's foremost military historian. 
 
John Keegan’s masterpiece is a work of breath-taking scope that not only chronicles the history of warfare, but unearths lessons on the nature of humanity. Stretching across centuries and continents, from the Empire of Babylon to the Somme, A History of Warfare studies civilisations, psychology, archaeology, genetics, history and strategy with an expert’s eye. 
 
John Keegan’s unmissable and epic journey through military history has been widely acclaimed and remains vital reading today.

From Man-of-War to Submarine

Battle At Sea

Britain's foremost military historian, Sir John Keegan, brilliantly examines the realities of war at sea.

Rich in unexpected facts and insights...Keegan's historical command is dazzling

Among Britain's distinguished group of military historians... John Keegan is outstanding

In Battle at Sea, Sir John Keegan applies to maritime warfare the technique that he put to such brilliant effect in his classic of war on land, The Face of Battle. He concentrates on four key conflicts: Trafalgar, Jutland, Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic. He takes us into the very heart of the fighting while providing a remarkable panoramic view of naval warfare through the centuries.

From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris June 6th-August 25th,1944

Six Armies In Normandy

'An unsurpassed account of the Allied invasion of France from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. As a military historian John Keegan has the qualities of the best commanders, broad strategic grasp combined with insight into the human fibre of the battlefield, and an eye to what the lessons portend.' Observer

As well as being a rare military historian who can also write gracefully, John Keegan has a distinguished capacity for peering behind the conventional view of events.

The Allied assault on Normandy beaches was an almost flawless success, but it was to take three months of bitter fighting before the German defence of Normandy finally collapsed and Paris was liberated. 
 
In this masterly and highly individual account of that struggle, the reader is subjected to the gruelling ordeals confronted by the combatants - each encounter related from the point of view of a different nationality. While transcending conventional military history, it provides an intensely vivid picture of one of the Second World War's most crucial campaigns.

A Study of Generalship

The Mask of Command

'The brilliant, vivid pictures of each subject are interspersed with reflections on the relation between society and the use of force. The framework of four masks gives the author the opportunity to display not only his encyclopaedic knowledge of military history, but also his sparkling literary skill.' Field Marshal Lord Carver, Sunday Telegraph

As well as being a rare military historian who can also write gracefully, John Keegan has a distinguished capacity for peering behind the conventional view of events

The Mask of Command is about generals: who they are, what they do and how they affect the world we live in. Through portraits of four generals - archetypal hero Alexander the Great, anti-hero Wellington, the unheroic Ulysses S. Grant and the false heroic of Hitler - John Keegan propounds the view of heroism in warfare as inextricable linked with the political imperative of the age and place. He demonstrates how the role of the general alters with the ethos of the society that creates him and concludes that there is no place for heroism in a nuclear world. 
 
The Mask of Command is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Face of Battle: together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.

The Second World War

An outstanding history of the Second World War by one of our most distinguished historians.

[John Keegan] has a remarkable capacity to appreciate both the political context of the war and its immediate meaning for those caught in the heat of battle... Lucid, informed and authoritative

In this magnificently illustrated volume, our most original military historian gives the whys and wherefores of war as well as the blood and guts.

John Keegan's history of World War II stands above the competition

A graceful writer as well as a knowledgeable student of martial history, [Keegan] enlivens his chronicle with wry wit... An informed and informative accounting of a horrific war

In this comprehensive history, John Keegan explores both the technical and the human impact of the greatest war of all time. He focuses on five crucial battles and offers new insights into the distinctive methods and motivations of modern warfare. In knowledgable, perceptive analysis of the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa, Keegan illuminates the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole.

John Keegan

Keegan visits all the battle sites in turn and brings them to life with the evocative prose that his admirers will remember from The Face of Battle...This opus is a labour of love

An excursus on the military sites of North America that cleverly marries theme and chronology

He combines personal experiences with professional observations in a way that makes this sterling book an engrossing blend of anecdotal reminiscence and analytical reflection. Like all good writers of good history, Keegan distils the complex into the essence

A beguiling example of the trend for fusing history and travel

This is a book by a historian in a confident mood

Travels of a Military Historian in North America

Military history and geography explain each other in North America as nowhere else in the world. Award-winning historian John Keegan explores their relationship and examines the battles fought over three centuries between Frenchman and Indian, Royalist and colonist, Union and Confederacy, offering compelling profiles of both the land and military leaders, alongside historical events. 
 
Combining rigorous research and insightful analysis with personal experiences and reflections, all in lean and lively prose, Warpaths is a rich and engaging work of military literature.

John Keegan

Praise for Warpaths

Keegan visits all the battle sites in turn and brings them to life with the evocative prose that his admirers will remember from The Face of Battle...This opus is a labour of love

An excursus on the military sites of North America that cleverly marries theme and chronology

He combines personal experiences with professional observations in a way that makes this sterling book an engrossing blend of anecdotal reminiscence and analytical reflection. Like all good writers of good history, ...

Keegan visits all the battle sites in turn and brings them to life with the evocative prose that his admirers will remember from The Face of Battle...This opus is a labour of love

An excursus on the military sites of North America that cleverly marries theme and chronology

He combines personal experiences with professional observations in a way that makes this sterling book an engrossing blend of anecdotal reminiscence and analytical reflection. Like all good writers of good history, ...

Keegan visits all the battle sites in turn and brings them to life with the evocative prose that his admirers will remember from The Face of Battle...This opus is a labour of love

An excursus on the military sites of North America that cleverly marries theme and chronology

He combines personal experiences with professional observations in a way that makes this sterling book an engrossing blend of anecdotal reminiscence and analytical reflection. Like all good writers of good history, ...

Books by John Keegan

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