John Keegan

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John Keegan

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The Art Of War: War And Military Thought

John Keegan; Martin Van Creveld; Martin L. Van Creveld

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Second World War

John Keegan

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Other editions: Hardcover - 2005, Hardcover - 1989, 1989

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War In The Air 1914-45

John Keegan; Williamson Murray

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The Iraq War

John Keegan

Author of the acclaimed The Face of Battle, and, most recently, Intelligence in War, John Keegan now brings his extraordinary expertise to bear on perhaps the most controversial war of our time.

The Iraq War is an urgently needed, up-to-date and informed study of the ongoing conflict. In exclusive interviews with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, Keegan has gathered information about the war that adds immeasurably to our grasp of its causes, complications, costs and consequences. He probes the reasons for the invasion and delineates the strategy of the American and British forces in capturing Baghdad; he examines the quick victory over the Republican Guard and the more tenacious and deadly opposition that has taken its place. He then analyzes the intelligence information with which the Bush and Blair administrations convinced their respective governments of the need to go to war, and which has since been strongly challenged in both countries. And he makes clear that despite the uncertainty about weapons of mass destruction, regime change, and the use and misuse of intelligence, the war in Iraq is an undeniably formidable display of American power.

The Iraq War is authoritative, timely and vitally important to our understanding of a conflict whose full ramifications are as yet unknown.

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Other editions: Softcover - 2005, 2004, 2004, 2004, 2004, 2004

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Wars Of The Ancient Greeks

John Keegan; Victor Davis Hanson

The most distinguished series in military history, published in the US for the first time. Each is volume written by a leading authority in the field and edited by John Keegan, the world's preeminent military historian.
The ancient Greeks—who believed war was the most important of human endeavors—bequeathed to the West an incomparable military legacy that still influences the structure of armies and doctrine today. This brilliant and controversial account covers a millennium of Greek warfare. 70 color, 30 b/w photographs.

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Intelligence in War: The Value - and Limitations - of What the Military Can Learn About the Enemy

John Keegan

John Keegan, whose many books, including classic histories of the two world wars, have confirmed him as the premier miltary historian of our time, here presents a masterly look at the value and limitations of intelligence in the conduct of war.

Intelligence gathering is an immensely complicated and vulnerable endeavor. And it often fails. Until the invention of the telegraph and radio, information often traveled no faster than a horse could ride, yet intelligence helped defeat Napoleon. In the twentieth century, photo analysts didn’t recognize Germany’s V-2 rockets for what they were; on the other hand, intelligence helped lead to victory over the Japanese at Midway. In Intelligence in War, John Keegan illustrates that only when paired with force has military intelligence been an effective tool, as it may one day be in besting al-Qaeda.

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Growing Up In The City: A Boy's Tale

John Keegan

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Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Quaeda

John Keegan

In fiction, the spy is a glamorous figure whose secrets make or break peace, but, historically, has intelligence really been a vital step to military victories? In this breakthrough study, the preeminent war historian John Keegan goes to the heart of a series of important conflicts to develop a powerful argument about military intelligence.

In his characteristically wry and perceptive prose, Keegan offers us nothing short of a new history of war through the prism of intelligence. He brings to life the split-second decisions that went into waging war before the benefit of aerial surveillance and electronic communications. The English admiral Horatio Nelson was hot on the heels of Napoleon’s fleet in the Mediterranean and never knew it, while Stonewall Jackson was able to compensate for the Confederacy’s disadvantage in firearms and manpower with detailed maps of the Appalachians. In the past century, espionage and decryption have changed the face of battle: the Japanese surprise attack at the Battle of the Midway was thwarted by an early warning. Timely information, however, is only the beginning of the surprising and disturbing aspects of decisions that are made in war, where brute force is often more critical.

Intelligence in War is a thought-provoking work that ranks among John Keegan’s finest achievements.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 2003, Hardcover - 2003, 2003

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Intelligence in Warfare: From Nelson to Hitler

John Keegan

In fiction, the spy is a glamorous figure whose secrets make or break peace, but, historically, has intelligence really been a vital step to military victories? In this breakthrough study, the preeminent war historian John Keegan goes to the heart of a series of important conflicts to develop a powerful argument about military intelligence.

In his characteristically wry and perceptive prose, Keegan offers us nothing short of a new history of war through the prism of intelligence. He brings to life the split-second decisions that went into waging war before the benefit of aerial surveillance and electronic communications. The English admiral Horatio Nelson was hot on the heels of Napoleon’s fleet in the Mediterranean and never knew it, while Stonewall Jackson was able to compensate for the Confederacy’s disadvantage in firearms and manpower with detailed maps of the Appalachians. In the past century, espionage and decryption have changed the face of battle: the Japanese surprise attack at the Battle of the Midway was thwarted by an early warning. Timely information, however, is only the beginning of the surprising and disturbing aspects of decisions that are made in war, where brute force is often more critical.

Intelligence in War is a thought-provoking work that ranks among John Keegan’s finest achievements.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Face of Battle

John Keegan

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Other editions: 2003, Hardcover - 1986, Hardcover - 1983, 1977, 1976

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Mongols, Huns and Vikings: Nomats at War

John Keegan; Hugh Kennedy

They were history's most famous and ferocious warriors. From the Huns to the Mongols, successive waves of nomadic horsemen swept out of the great steppes of Central Asia and wreaked havoc on the static civilizations of Europe, India, and China. How were they so successful? And, what were the limits of their powers? An esteemed professor--who specializes in Arabic and medieval studies--reveals just how "underdeveloped" societies spawned such great generals, from Attila to Genghis Khan; how nomadic Arabs swarmed from the desert in the 7th century to carve out an empire that stretched from Spain to the Chinese frontier; why the Mongols failed to conquer Europe; and where those unique, seaborne raiders, the Vikings, fit into this story.

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Winston Churchill

John Keegan

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Other editions: 2002

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Winston Churchill: A Penguin Life

John Keegan

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Churchill

John Keegan

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The Art of War: War and Military Thought

John Keegan; Martin Van Creveld

Warriors have always understood that combat is an art requiring sharp, flexible minds capable of adapting quickly to constantly shifting situations. In a survey that looks widely across history and cultures, the theories of some of the finest military thinkers and strategists unfold. The story begins with ancient Chinese tacticians, especially Sun Tzu, and then proceeds to the age of classical antiquity; to Byzantine and medieval Western thought; to Machiavelli and his time; and to the true greats like Clausewitz. We head into the modern age with a look at the 19th century, naval warfare, the two World Wars, nuclear strategy, and guerrilla insurrections.

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The Renaissance at War

John Keegan; Thomas Arnold

With the dawning of the Renaissance came not only enlightenment in painting and sculpture but also technological and social advances that changed forever the art of warfare. First, firearms replaced bows as the weapons of choice on Western battlefields; then the new skills of literacy, numeracy, and book knowledge became essential to lead men into war. Suddenly, the old order, and the old commanders, were out, and new-style armies were taking the world by storm. Rich with anecdotal detail, a compelling and comprehensive narrative by an expert military historian transports you to the midst of the action as it examines the strategies, campaigns, prominent figures, and key conflicts of the age. From artillery and fortifications to military leadership, from cavalry tactics to the new infantry, from the Crusades to the guerrilla wars in late 16th-century France, penetrating cultural, tactical, and technical analyses plus numerous illustrations, maps, and charts paint a full portrait of war during the Renaissance.

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What If?: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been

John Keegan; James M. McPherson; Stephen E. Ambrose; David McCullough

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Six Armies in Normandy: Library Edition

John Keegan

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Warfare in the Seventeenth Century

John Keegan; John Childs

During the 17th century, technological evolutions in fortifications and arms meant that wars grew longer, armies larger, and military formations more disciplined. Yet, militias remained primarily mercenary; although armaments developed from the pike to the socket bayonet and uniforms began to appear, professionalism remained low. From the multifaceted conflicts of the Thirty Years' War to the campaigns of Louis XIV, a richly detailed picture emerges of military life and structure in the 1600s--its conflicts and conduct, the rise of a standing army, the difficulties posed by reliance on paid soldiers, the changing weaponry, the politics overseeing it all, and the relentless world shift from ancient to modern. A Selection of History Book Club.

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Six Armies in Normandy

John Keegan

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Cold War: A Military History

John Keegan; Lawrence Freedman

World War Two left two compelling, indelible images that colored the decades to come: the immense force of the Soviet Union's Red Army and the horrific devastation wrought by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki. For the next half-century, the great powers prepared themselves for another, deadlier international conflagration...one that never happened. Politicians and strategists devoted time, intellectual energy, and financial resources figuring out how to fight--or avoid--nuclear war; meanwhile the industrial complex dedicated itself to producing ever more complex weaponry. Through thoughtful analysis and striking photography, follow the changing expectations during this period, and how these expectations were influenced by the actual experience of limited warfare. From the evolution of nuclear strategy and technology to the effect of Korea and Vietnam to contemporary conflicts like Desert Storm, you'll see how a revival of conventional strategy has raised the possibility of a revolution in military affairs.

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Who's Who in Military History

John Keegan; Andrew Wheatcroft

Broad in geographical and chronological scope, witnessn all the major conflicts in history from 1453 to the present day.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 1976

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War and Our World

John Keegan

John Keegan, widely considered the greatest military historian of our time and the author of acclaimed volumes on ancient and modern warfare--including, most recently, The First World War, a national bestseller--distills what he knows about the why’s and how’s of armed conflict into a series of brilliantly concise essays.

Is war a natural condition of humankind? What are the origins of war? Is the modern state dependent on warfare? How does war affect the individual, combatant or noncombatant? Can there be an end to war? Keegan addresses these questions with a breathtaking knowledge of history and the many other disciplines that have attempted to explain the phenomenon. The themes Keegan concentrates on in this short volume are essential to our understanding of why war remains the single greatest affliction of humanity in the twenty-first century, surpassing famine and disease, its traditional companions.

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Other editions: 1998

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Wars of National Liberation

John Keegan; Daniel Moran

The impact of World War II opened the door for weak and impoverished nations to develop military means of defeating modern armies. In China, Korea, Vietnam, Palestine, Cuba, Ireland, Africa, and the former Soviet Union, where battles still rage today--indeed, all over the globe--impassioned revolutions, marked by irregular warfare, guerilla insurgency, and terrorism, turned nations upside down in the name of liberation. Vividly illustrated and packed with punch, this dynamic account of endemic violence, epic character, and the astonishing resourcefulness of commanders and combatants probes the nation in arms as a product of the Western legacy and of communism, religion, and tribal or familial loyalties. A chronology and biographies of crucial figures help delineate the lines leading backward to the prewar era.

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