Military Lives: Intimate Biographies of the Famous by the Famous

The twentieth century saw two major world wars and many major and minor conflicts. Who made themselves known through their involvement in those wars and conflicts? Who do we remember? Who were the heroes of the army, navy, and airforce? Who should have been the heroes? What makes someone dedicate their life to the defence of a nation, whether it be on land, at sea, or in the air? What part did these people play in shaping the path of modern British military history?
Britain as a nation has always been very proud of its military capabilities and through that its military personnel. Presented here is a unique collection of around 100 mini-biographies, taken from the Dictionary of National Biography, of some of the people who made the defence of their country their life.
Military historian Hew Strachan has not only chosen the 'lives' to go into this collection but has also written a detailed introduction to complement his selection, which in itself makes an interesting and insightful read.
This anthology isn't designed to give a cohesive history of life in the British army, navy, and airforce over the past 100 years, but rather it hopes to provide interesting snapshots into the lives of a few of the individuals who have made their mark, somehow or other, in the military world.
Entries include:
W. S. Chalmers on David Beatty
F. Maurice on Douglas Haig
Denis Richards on Sir Arthur Travers Harris
Ronald Lewin on Captain Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart
E. T. Williams on Field-Marshall Montgomery
Peter Wykenham on Arthur Tedder
Peter Wykenham on Hugh Trenchard

Hew Strachan is currently Chichele Professor of the History of War and Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. Prior to that he was Professor of Modern History and Director of the Scottish Centre for War Studies at the University of Glasgow. He is joint editor of War in History and he is the author and editor of many books (see Books by the same author, below). He was also Consultant Editor for The Oxford Companion to Military History (2001).