Alistair Horne fu un giornalista, biografo e storico inglese dell'Europa, con un focus particolare sulla Francia del XIX e XX secolo. I suoi scritti esplorarono una vasta gamma di argomenti, tra cui viaggi, storia e biografie, spesso addentrandosi in eventi storici complessi e nel loro impatto umano. Horne era noto per la sua capacità di intrecciare una ricerca storica dettagliata con una narrazione avvincente, conferendo ai suoi libri una voce distintiva. Il suo lavoro offre profonde intuizioni su momenti cruciali della storia europea, esaminando le forze politiche e sociali che plasmarono il continente e concentrandosi frequentemente sui conflitti e sulle loro ripercussioni.
The book offers a compelling examination of Montgomery, highlighting his strategies and leadership during pivotal moments in military history. It delves into his personality, decisions, and the impact he had on World War II, providing insights into his complex character and the challenges he faced. Through detailed analysis and engaging narrative, readers gain a deeper understanding of Montgomery's legacy as one of the most significant figures in military leadership.
The battle of Verdun lasted ten months. It was a battle in which at least 700,000 men fell, along a front of fifteen miles. This book shows that Verdun is a key to understanding the First World War to the minds of those who waged it, the traditions that bound them and the world that gave them the opportunity.
The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It brought down six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, returned de Gaulle to power, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict and as many European settlers were driven into exile. Above all, the war was marked by an unholy marriage of revolutionary terror and repressive torture.Nearly a half century has passed since this savagely fought war ended in Algerian independence, and yet ,as Alistair Horne argues in his new preface to his now-classic work of history,its repercussions continue to be felt not only in Algeria and France, but throughout the world. Indeed from today's vantage point the Algerian War looks like a full-dress rehearsal for the sort of amorphous struggle that convulsed the Balkans in the 1990s and that now ravages the Middle East, from Beirut to Baghdad struggles in which questions of religion, nationalism, imperialism, and terrorism take on a new and increasingly lethal intensity.A Savage War of Peace is the definitive history of the Algerian War, a book that brings that terrible and complicated struggle to life with intelligence, assurance, and unflagging momentum. It is essential reading for our own violent times as well as a lasting monument to the historian's art.
In 1940, the German army fought and won an extraordinary battle with France in six weeks of lightning warfare. With the subtlety and compulsion of a novel, Horne�s narrative shifts from minor battlefield incidents to high military and political decisions, stepping far beyond the confines of military history to form a major contribution to our understanding of the crises of the Franco-German rivalry. To Lose a Battle is the third part of the trilogy beginning with The Fall of Paris and continuing with The Price of Glory (already available in Penguin).
A portrayal of the most significant events in 19th-century France. It begins with the military operations from the beginning of the Siege, in September 1870, to the last resistance of the Commune during May Week 1871.
Austerlitz was Napoleon's greatest victory, but it was also the beginning of the end. The success blurred his tactical vision and although there were victories after it, the apogee had been reached and the process has begun which resulted in the 1812 Russian campaign and Waterloo, his last battle.
Six battles that changed the course of the twentieth century, and the one trait that links them all: hubris.
This volume divides the history of Paris into seven distinct ages, with a foreword taking in Julius Caesar to Philip-Augustus, the great rival of Richard the Lionheart, to an epilogue taking in France since 1968. Historical narrative is interwoven with revealing detail, social and cultural history.
A bestselling historian on a crucial episode in French history.
"A useful and charming introduction to a nation that has oh-so-definitely helped make the modern world what it is... Horne does a service in helping the reading navigate the complexities of French history." —Los Angeles Times From the aclaimed British historian and author of Seven Ages of Paris comes a sweeping, grand narrative written with all the verve, erudition, and vividness that are his hallmarks. It recounts the hugely absorbing story of the country that has contributed to the world so much talent, style, and political innovation. Beginning with Julius Caesar’s division of Gaul into three parts, Horne leads us through the ages from Charlemagne to Chirac, touring battlefields from the Hundred Years’ War to Indochina and Algeria, and giving us luminous portraits of the nation’s leaders, philosophers, writers, artists, and composers. This is a captivating, beautifully illustrated, and comprehensive yet concise history of France.
