The Face of Battle
A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · January 27, 1983
John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle—a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger." Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians.
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- Who it’s for
- A layered study of how battle is experienced, understood, and remembered.
- Genres
- Military History, World War I History, Napoleonic Wars
- Published
- Penguin Publishing Group, January 27, 1983
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For younger readers: World War One: 1914-1918, Kipling's Choice, Guts & Glory: World War II
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Start with this bookAbout this book
John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle—a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger."
Continue reading
Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme. The Face of Battle is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Mask of Command: together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.
Battle, Seen Close
A layered study of how battle is experienced, understood, and remembered.
Come here for
- battle analysis across three eras
- clear-eyed military history, not pageantry
Expect
- Agincourt, Waterloo, the Somme
- close-reading over grand sweep
Where it sits
| Military History | 83% |
|---|---|
| World War I History | 47% |
| Napoleonic Wars | 35% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Western European History
- Military Strategy
- Technology
- Authors
- John Keegan
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- January 27, 1983
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Western European History