
Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan (1934-2012), was one of the most distinguished contemporary military historians and was for many years the senior lecturer at Sandhurst (the British Royal Military Academy) and the defense editor of the Daily Telegraph (London). Keegan was the author of numerous books including The Face of Battle, The Mask of Command, The Price of Admiralty, Six Armies in Normandy, and The Second World War, and was a fellow at the Royal Society of Literature.
"In this book, which is so creative, so original, one learns as much about the nature of man as of battle." --J.H. Plumb, The New York Times Book Review
"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." --Michael Howard, The Sunday Times (London)
"A totally original and brilliant book" --The New York Review of Books
"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) ― Daily Express (London)