Mark Jones

Cornell are having a 44% off sale until December 5th! Buy books including mine… www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

One final thing (sorry @petemonks.bsky.social!), whilst I think BM&D isn't a particularly insightful book, Barry is by no means a bad writer. I've also heard his book on the British Army in Bosnia is very good.

That being said, it would be worth me rereading to see if my viewpoint has mellowed at all.

US 'surge' (no mention of why the UK didn't follow suit), but his scholarship on the US side of things simply rehashes what was out there already, without adding anything to the debate.

In short - part polemic, part cash grab.

Broadly speaking - it felt like the latest in an ever-extending line of manuscripts (often from Osprey Publishing) written by former officers to platform their political viewpoints, which rarely offer any critical assessment of the armed forces' own actions.

He's very complimentary about the...

Not to worry, I have quite a backlog to work through 😅

To be honest it's reassuring to hear that it is confronting, as so many books covering this period gloss over institutional/strategic failings in the Armed Forces in favour of blaming politicians.

'Rise and Fall' is also on my radar, but I found myself really frustrated with Barry's previous book, "Blood, Metal and Dust", so I'm being a bit cautious. Will undoubtedly wait for your review first 😅

Cheers Pete, think I'll need to grab a copy.

Port Cities: Racism, Urbanism and Resistance - Amsterdam Centre for European Studies - ACES - University of Amsterdam This is the Amsterdam book launch of Sam Wetherell’s award-winning book, 'Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain' (Bloomsbury, 2025). The book explores deindustrialization, racial divides, decolonisati...

Dutch friends! A reminder that I’ll be talking Liverpool and the remaking of port cities with a fantastic panel of scholars in Amsterdam on Tuesday. It will also be livestreamed. aces.uva.nl/shared/uva-p...

Hah - so true! Don't forget all the villainous stewards as well!

That was a great book

I swear there was a South African called Smuts on every ship 😅

I think for me, it was more his reuse of stock characters -eben reusing the same surnames on more than one occassion!

Out of interest, how did you find 'Changing of the Guard'? It's a book that interests me but something has always held me back.

Excellent suggestions, Pete!

A criminally underrated reply 😅

Women's Troubles -Book Launch with Dr Claire Pierson Women's Troubles Gender and Feminist Politics in Post-Agreement Northern Ireland

Join us in Belfast @centreforgender.bsky.social next Friday 28th 4-6pm for launch of Women's Troubles @frecklescorp.bsky.social @drdeiana.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-tro...

Brilliant- will add this to my archive/research planner. Thanks so much!

I should add that 'Army of Tribes' has been a huge influence on my research - definitely one of the foundational texts that drew me into this area of research.

Thank you for that suggestion! I was aware the regimental archive had transferred to NAM, but wasn't aware of the large Op Banner archive. My plan is to have the Royal Hampshires as one of my 'case studies' for my PhD thesis, so this is fantastic news - again, thank you so much for highlighting!

...compares to the wider historical record (both in terms of archival sources and in the perceptions of those 'the other side of the wire').

Also picked up this lovely copy of a regimental history!

#HistBookChat

Happy #HistBookChat Friday!

Finished Peter Morton's Emergency Tour" this week (not a brilliant photograph of thr book I'm afraid). A very interesting insights from a battalion commander on his tour in South Armagh. Lots to reflect on, and I'm intrigued to see how his memoir...

#Skystorians

Tragédie Bouffe - that's going on 'ze list'

Enjoy!

Fini/ Finally two "PhD adjacent" books. A lovely copy of a regimental history and what promises to be an interesting account of tactical intelligence in the Cold War era.

Lots of reading to be getting on with!

#HistBookChat #Skystorians #COIN #ColdWar

3/ By contrast both of these books have been on the radar for sometime.

I'm a big admirer of Hoffman's scholarship on Adaption, Innovation and Hybrid Warfare, and any book edited by Helen Parr, Frank Ledwidge and Aaron Edwards has got to be a 'must-read'.

#Skystorians #COIN #HistBookChat

2/...the first books I read in the New Year.

Both @rorycormac.bsky.social and Mark McGovern's books come highly recommended and I'll be looking forward to getting stuck in to these ASAP.

#Skystorians #COIN #HistBookChat

Well, it's that time of year when book buying goes into overdrive! This year's theme is definitely PhD research related (and what's a PhD loan for anyway?)

Peter Taylor's trilogy is still essential reading for the conflict in Northern Ireland and will be amongst...

#HistBookChat #Skystorians

What's left of Gaza:

Black—urban neighborhoods the IDF has fully demolished with earthmovers etc.

White—undemolished urban neighborhoods (with varying levels of major damage from 2 years of bombing, artillery, and ground fighting)

Yellow—IDF-controlled (white areas liable to further demolition)