Annual Booklist 2021 : Zack White
Zack White is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Southampton, specialising in crime and punishment in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He is presenter of the podcast The Napoleonicist (https://anchor.fm/the-napoleonicist), co-host of History Hack (https://historyhack.podbean.com/), sits on the committees of the Waterloo Association and War & Society Collaborative, and is Chair of the Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity.
Being asked to contribute to the SAHR’s Annual Booklist is a daunting privilege. As readers of history, we could all easily rattle off a ‘top twenty’, so limiting this to a mere five titles was particularly challenging, especially in terms of trying to work out the best criteria to apply. In the end I decided to ask myself one question: if someone approached me saying that they were only going to read one book in their life on a particular topic or aspect of the British army, what would I recommend. Although these options are predominantly Napoleonic, they each cover a different aspect or perspective on conflict, ranging from ‘great men of history’, to memory, personal experience, data driven research, and the civilian experience. The fact that I repeatedly changed my mind on my ‘top five’, shows the quality of so much of the research currently being conducted within the sub-discipline of military history.
Wellington: The Path to Victory (Rory Muir, 2013)
One of the finest examples of the art of biography, Wellington: The Path to Victory will dominate the field of ‘Wellington Studies’ for decades. Technically this is a cheeky inclusion as Path to Victory is volume one of a two part series, and to stop at the end of this volume would leave the reader desperate to complete the story with Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace. This book is a masterclass in the art of combining rigorous research with effortless readability.
All for the King’s Shilling (Edward Coss, 2010)
I found this book a revelation, and it remains the volume which has had the biggest impact on how I think about war. Using the case study of the British soldier during the Peninsular War, Coss demonstrates how little has changed about what fundamentally motivates a soldier both in combat and on campaign. Drawing on a considerable range of data about men’s professions prior to enlistment and diet, he offers a compelling perspective on the notorious ‘scum of the earth debate’, and their reasons for plundering.
The Junior Officer’s Reading Club (Patrick Hennessey, 2009)
One the books that I remember particularly fondly from my university reading lists, this was a particularly eye-opening indication of the realities of service life. Hennessey wrote frankly about his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering an insight into the darkness of conflict, the telescopic nature of time under fire, and the boredom that often clouded campaign life. It remains amongst the most engaging and thought provoking war memoirs that I’ve read.
Waterloo Witnesses (Kristine Hughes Patrone, 2021)
The Battle of Waterloo easily ranks as one of the most written about battles in history, which made discovering a genuinely fresh perspective courtesy of this title a real pleasure. Patrone places the officers wives and British expats living in Brussels at the heart of the British experience during the Waterloo campaign. The author’s great eye for a pithy quote, makes this a fast paced read which combines the well known aspects of the Waterloo campaign, and soldiers experience with the often-neglected perspective of those who waited for news ‘behind the lines’.
Wellington’s Men Remembered (Janet and David Bromley, 2012-2015)
This is not a book for reading, but instead is a reference work detailing the locations of the graves of thousands of veterans of the British army from the Napoleonic era, along with some biographical information. I chose this not least because it touches on a topic very close to my heart – the importance of memory, and recognising the sacrifice of service personnel, irrespective of whether they fell in the field. I would urge people to explore these volumes, and visit veterans buried near to them.
As for the future, for some time I have been bemoaning the lack of a detailed, scholarly study which looks at the life, and more importantly work, of Frederick Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827). This may seem like an odd suggestion for a book that needs to be written, since Derek Winterbottom produced an interesting study of York’s life in 2016. Yet all too often York’s life and his professional career have been considered in isolation, while very little attention is paid to the latter part of his life, following his return to the position of Commander-in-Chief once the scandal of the Mary Ann Clarke affair had subsided. York in fact continued to work on reforms which arguably were a continuation of his earlier efforts to improve standards within the army, with his efforts from 1811 onwards particularly seeming to focus on discipline. Setting these within the wider context of his professional life, and his personal views, and considering the interplay between his public and private life, would offer a valuable insight into an important figure in the administration of the British army during one of its formative periods.