Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library) [Paperback]

Christopher Duffy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998 | ISBN-10: 1853266906 | ISBN-13: 978-1853266904

War in the 18th century was a bloody business. A line of infantry would slowly march, to the beat of a drum, into a hail of enemy fire. Whole ranks would be wiped out by cannon fire and musketry. Christopher Duffy's investigates the brutalities of the battlefield and also traces the lives of the officer to the soldier from the formative conditions of their earliest years to their violent deaths or retirement, and shows that, below their well-ordered exteriors, the armies of the Age of Reason underwent a revolutionary change from medieval to modern structures and ways of thinking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`It is very much the sort of thing that one hoped someone would write about armies in the Age of Reason; and now it is a matter of great pleasure that it has not only been done, but also done so superlatively well.' - Army Historical Research Society

`Christopher Duffy is a wonderful writer who combines scholarship, depth and polish. The Social detail is astonishing, and his stiffly titled Military Experience in the Age of Reason will have a wide readership outside the regimental library. No one involved with the period, whether novelist, film maker, politician, or indeed psychologist, should fail to consult it ' - Country Life --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Combined Publishing (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853266906
• ISBN-13: 978-1853266904
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 3, 2001

By 

Jeff Cordell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

I've just recently discovered Duffy's works and I like them. Though he writes about a variety of military history topics his primary focus is the 16th - 18th centuries and the type of warfare they fought. It's always been an area that has interested me, but I never found much quality and in-depth material.Christopher Duffy has corrected that problem. This book takes every aspect of the military experience from 1715 - 1789 and looks at it in great depth. The officer, the common soldier, the general, campaigns, battles etc. It's very readable and beautifully researched. Each before mentioned topic has it's own chapter as do many others in the book and they all recieve equal attention. It works as both a survey book for the general reader and a in-depth study for the more knowledgable scholar. I reccommend it strongly. If one is wondering about any quibbles I may have, and there always are quibbles, it would be that the book could have used some illustrations, but that's a minor quibble indeed. If your interested in this subject or just military history in general you could do far worse than buying this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Following the Fife and Drum, January 19, 2009

By 

Jason S. Taylor "Marco's Realto" (Portland Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Kindle Edition)

This book is a contribution to what might be called the anthropological school of military history. It is about a time when the modern organized society was just beginning, and the timeless system of hierarchy and patronage was coming to an end. When Europe was ruled by theoretically absolute monarchs who practically had less power then a modern government because of the resistance of entrenched custom. When wars were simple power struggles, commanded by noble-born officers who came because that was what nobles did. And fought by soldiers who seem to have quite reasonably regarded the army as another form of workhouse.

The military culture of the eighteenth century is described in detail. It was made by it's time and place and took it's characteristics from it. In some ways it was like the modern military, in others it was like the medieval. And in others perhaps it would not be recognizable to either. Above all it shows the eighteenth century soldiers as human figures with faults and virtues. Some officers were the sort that gave the Old Regime a bad name, being corrupt or cruel. Others were intelligent, cultured, and compassionate. Some men were pillagers and vandals. Others were honorable men who took pride in their calling. But whoever they were, the author gives a picture of their life as they marched with weary feet along the road of war.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable window to history, September 5, 2008

By 

Steven D. Page ""Celtic Wargamer"" (Cartersville,Ga, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

Christopher Duffy has produced one of the finest introductions to a period of military history ever published. Writing in a highly enjoyable, almost conversational style, he guides the reader through every phase of military interest during the mid-eighteen century. Citing numerous first persons accounts, written by kings and captains, princes and privates, Professor Duffy offers insight not found in many military histories.

This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the Seven Years War, American Revolution, or the evolution of Napoleonic tactics. Historical wargamers will find the book especially enlightening.