Most Popular Books by Richard Holmes

When the Ulster Scots arrived in New Hampshire in 1719, there were no roads in Derry (then called Nutfield). Led by the Reverend James McGregor, the "Moses of the Scotch-Irish in America," the entire congregation of Aghadowey had trekked from their home county of Londonderry, Ireland, to start their lives anew, undeterred by British prejudice or Anglican intolerance. These hardy men and women were great walkers, and during the eighteenth century a warren of footpaths crisscrossed East Derry Hill. Richard Holmes retraces their footsteps, walking the road of Derry''s history from its rough-and-tumble politics and early educational institutions through its dramatic split from Londonderry Parish to the sprawling shoe factories of the Industrial Revolution. In this first history in decades, Holmes demonstrates that the hometown of Robert Frost and astronaut Alan Shepherd is also home to a hardworking, free-thinking, vibrant community.

From the impact of the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, to the problems of military uncertainty and the role of women in combat, this collection of essays explores the changing face of militarism from the perspective of defence management experts.

This fascinating book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history, from Agincourt, Lepanto, and Trafalgar, to Gettysburg, Stalingrad, and the Somme. It begins with the battle of Megiddo fought by the ancient Egyptians and takes the reader through to the Second Gulf War of 2003. On the way it encompasses almost 300 battles from around the world - from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, to Europe and the Americas.

''This is the room from which I will direct the war,'' Churchill declared, shortly after becoming Prime Minister in 1940. It was from these cramped confines that Churchill turned a seemingly inevitable defeat at the hands of the Nazis into a famous victory. Built in 1938 as a temporary refuge in case of air raid attack, this secret bunker became a second home to Churchill - and to large numbers of military personnel and civil servants whose work until now has been largely unsung. Drawing on a fascinating range of original material, including newly available first-hand accounts of the people who lived there, Holmes reveals how and why the bunker and its war machine developed; how the inhabitants'' lives were transformed; and how their work led to victory. Elegant and illuminating, Churchill''s Bunker is a unique exploration of one of the most important sites in British history.

Sketches on the Shores of the Caspian is the product of the author''s journey through the Caspian region as part of an expedition headed by his cousin James Brant, the British Consul at Erzeroum. Holmes provides a wonderfully intimate portrait of the country. Written in a very accessible style it nonetheless provides a wealth of detail on the towns, the climate, trade, military, people and culture as well as valuable information on the Russian presence in the region at the time. This very scarce volume is here published with a new Introduction by leading scholar of Asia, Morris Rossabi, Professor of Inner Asian History, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University and Distinguished Professor of History, Queens College, The City University of New York.

One August morning in 1993, the military historian, Richard Holmes, nudged his heels into the flanks of his horse, Thatch, and set off with his four friends to follow the route taken by the British Expeditioary Force nearly 80 years previously, on its retreat from the German offensive at Mons. His ride took him from the Belgian border over the haunting battlefields of the First World War, across the plains and rivers of northern France, to the banks of the Marne, where in September 1914 the BEF played its part in General Joffre''s counter-attack against Von Moltke''s German armies.

A handsomely illustrated photographic account, by the bestselling author of ''Tommy'' (2003), of the human experience of war as directly witnessed by British soldiers in the First World War.

Our foremost military historian offers us a compelling and at times terrifying account of what it means to be a contemporary soldier, written in the words of the men and women of his regiment who are currently completing a dangerous and bloody six-month tour of duty. In this remarkable book, Richard Holmes draws on the testimonies of the 700 soldiers of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment to capture in vivid detail the average soldier''s day-to-day experience of war. Embroiled in a conflict often too dangerous for reporters to cover, these soldiers - most of them young, many without any previous experience of warfare - have kept ongoing records of the drudgery, anxiety and horror involved in fighting a violent and increasingly unpopular war against a ruthless and resourceful enemy. All have risked their lives, and many have died. Others have been recognised and awarded for their courage, resourcefulness and gallantry - Private Johnson Beharry recently became the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in twenty-three years. With these intimate and revealing glimpses of life in the modern army, Richard Holmes paints a sweeping portrait of a new generation of soldiers - grunts, gallants and heroes - and the sacrifices their decision to fight for their country entails.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.

80th ANNIVERSARY EDITION Produced in collaboration with Imperial War Museums Relive the day that changed the course of history. On 6 June 1944, D-Day marked the beginning of a campaign that involved more than a million men and helped seal the fate of Hitler''s Germany. Written by esteemed military historian Richard Holmes and including rare documents, diaries and secret memos from the archives of the Imperial War Museums, D-Day Remembered details the planning, execution and aftermath of the most momentous event of the Second World War.

The popular ideal of the inspired artist, beautiful, brooding and young, owes its origin to portraits of the poets, writers and artists of the Romantic period. This book presents a fascinating illustrated history of an extraordinary generation, and assesses the impact of their work on contemporary culture

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.

For hundreds of years battle has raged over the area of northern France and Belgium known as the fatal avenue. This book guides readers on a journey through the terrain as it is today, seeking to recreate on each walk the atmosphere of the battles through the stories of the men who fought them. Each chapter is illustrated with a map of the battlefield area, and several sketch maps showing troop movements and local points of interest.

“This is the room from which I will direct the war,” Churchill declared upon seeing the dank storage basement in an improbably central location near the Houses of Parliament. The chambers would become his base of operations during the heaviest enemy bombardment of London. In Churchill’s Bunker, distinguished Churchill biographer Richard Holmes provides the first comprehensive history of the Cabinet War Rooms, from which Churchill managed to turn a seemingly inevitable defeat at the hands of the Nazis into a victory for the free world. Here was the Map Room that charted the advances and retreats of armies, the locations of warships, and the often painful progress of the convoys that kept the nation supplied with munitions. Here the planners worked on future operations and the intelligence staff pondered the enemy’s next moves. And remarkably, all of this highly charged work was known only to those who needed to know. Drawing on a wealth of original material, including new firsthand accounts of the people who lived and worked there, Holmes reveals how and why the bunker and its war machine developed, how life was conducted in a realm where “only the clock told whether it was night or day and . . . an electric bell gave warning of an air-raid,” and how Churchill interacted with his staff in very close quarters. A unique exploration of the calculus of secrecy during the Second World War, Churchill’s Bunker provides an intimate portrait of Churchill and his closest advisors in one of the most fascinating and underexplored venues of twentieth-century history.

Soldaterliv; Soldatens Historie; Soldaters Vilkår; Kampmoral; Kampvilje; Soldaterkammeratskab; Korpsånd; Soldiers; Fighting Man; Wariors; Krigene; Store Slag og Kampe; Store Generaler; Store Hærførere; Hære; Hærstyrker; Regimentshistorie; Hæres Historie; Warfare; Krigskunst; Krigsvidenskab; Krigsteorier; Militærliv; Kampvogne; Tank Warfare; Partisankrigsførelse; Guerrillakrigsførelse; Verdun; Skyttegravskrigsførelse; Wellington; Ypres; Vietnamkrigen; 1. Verdenskrig; 2. Verdenskrig; Romerske Legioner; Blitzkrieg; Overlord; SAS; Commandosoldater; Preussiske Hære; Våbenhistorie; Våbenudvikling; Uniformshistorie; Medical Care; Royal Engineers; Stalingrad; Napoleon; Napoleonskrigene; Franske Hær; Franske Soldater; Grande Armee; Engelske Hær; Logistics of Warfare; Heste i Krigsførelsen; Irregulær Krigsførelse; Israelske Hær; Tyske Hær; Gustavus Adolphus; Fransk-Tyske Krig; Fighting Spirit; Esprit de Corps; Buddy-System; Belønningssystemer; Medaljer; Udmærkelser; Dekorationer; Schlieffen-Plan; Cambrai; Burma; Arab-Israeli Conflicts; Air Warfare; Alexander den Store; Frederik den Store; Che Guevara; Korstog; Crusades; Crecy; Disciplin; Austerlitz; Shell Shock; Lejesoldater; Clausewitz; Guderian; Rommel; Lawrence, T.E.; Kursk; Koreakrigen; Green Berets; Kommandosoldater; Xenophon

En biografi om Sir John French - en britisk rytterofficer og feltmarskal - der var hovedperson i en række afgørende britiske militære begivenheder under Boerkrigen 1899 -1902 i Sydafrika og i begyndelsen af 20. århundrede under 1. Verdenskrig.