The Sword and the Spirit: Proceedings of the first ‘War & Peace in the Age of Napoleon’ Conference (Reason to Revolution) Zack White (Editor)
Helion and Company (August 15, 2021)
ISBN-13 : 9781914059315
More than two hundred years on, the Napoleonic Wars still fascinates, with fresh perspectives and new information continuing to develop our understanding of the era. Drawing on cutting-edge research presented at the British Commission for Military History’s inaugural ‘War and Peace in the Age of Napoleon’ Conference, this volume presents a rich array of papers from both established and emerging experts of the period. Featuring the work of Edward Coss, Andrew Bamford, Jacqueline Reiter, Alistair Nichols, Vanya Bellinger, Gavin Daly, Silvia Gregorio-Sainz, and Hailey Stewart, The Sword and the Spirit examines some of the people, personalities, and policies that shaped the conflict.
From assessments of Napoleon’s mental state, to the actions of individuals such as Sir Home Popham and Carl von Clausewitz; from the siege of San Sebastian to the fields of Waterloo, this book considers the impacts that patronage, diplomacy, psychology, personal experiences, and the disobedience of established practices all had on the waging of war. In the process, it demonstrates the truth of Napoleon’s remark that the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.
Editor
Zack White is a PhD Researcher at the University of Southampton specialising in the Napoleonic era. He is presenter of the podcast ‘The Napoleonicist’, and runs the online hub and forum www.thenapoleonicwars.net. He has previously written chapters and articles on subjects ranging from the relationship between the Duke of Wellington and his troops during the Peninsular War, to popular attitudes towards the same conflict, and morale amongst British soldiers during the period. He is currently writing on crime and punishment in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. A former secondary school teacher, and inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Romance, Revolution & Reform, White is also the co-presenter of the military history review podcast ‘Khaki Malarkey’, and chairs the British Commission for Military History’s ‘Next-Gen Network’.