I found this book at a small bookstore while waiting for a flight out of Toronto's Pearson Airport. After leafing through it and laughing at Fawcett's unique humour, I decided to buy the book. Of course, I didn't want to be gouged at the airport, so I ordered it from Amazon.ca.
The book arrived and I read a few of the more interesting chapters. Today I read the whole book while waiting at the hospital for Janelle to come out of the OR.
It's a great book, very funny, very easy to read, and very accessible if you know even just a little bit about history. Bill Fawcett is not the author of the book, but its editor. The book is actually a compilation of articles written by various historians about poorly commanded battles throughout history. The first chapter deals with Alexander the Great's battle against Darius III at Arbela and the last one details the bungled battle of French commander Navarre at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. A handful of the articles are written by Bill Fawcett himself, and these are the best ones. They're funny, witty, and well written. Some of the other ones are less interesting. For example, the author who wrote about the civil war seemed kind of cranky--like he had a point to prove; and the author who wrote about the Six Day War seemed to have a political agenda because the article was more about the politics surrounding the war and the historical events leading up to the war than the actual war itself. But, mostly, the articles are right on, fun to read and short enough that you can read one or two in one sitting without getting bored out of your pants.
So it's a fun and interesting book if you're interested in this kind of thing.
The book arrived and I read a few of the more interesting chapters. Today I read the whole book while waiting at the hospital for Janelle to come out of the OR.
It's a great book, very funny, very easy to read, and very accessible if you know even just a little bit about history. Bill Fawcett is not the author of the book, but its editor. The book is actually a compilation of articles written by various historians about poorly commanded battles throughout history. The first chapter deals with Alexander the Great's battle against Darius III at Arbela and the last one details the bungled battle of French commander Navarre at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. A handful of the articles are written by Bill Fawcett himself, and these are the best ones. They're funny, witty, and well written. Some of the other ones are less interesting. For example, the author who wrote about the civil war seemed kind of cranky--like he had a point to prove; and the author who wrote about the Six Day War seemed to have a political agenda because the article was more about the politics surrounding the war and the historical events leading up to the war than the actual war itself. But, mostly, the articles are right on, fun to read and short enough that you can read one or two in one sitting without getting bored out of your pants.
So it's a fun and interesting book if you're interested in this kind of thing.
This does sound like my kind of book! Can I borrow it sometime??
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