mcdaniel@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu (Tim McDaniel) (05/30/89)
From: mcdaniel@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu (Tim McDaniel)
Here is a partial bibliography of the books of Captain Sir Basil Henry
Liddell Hart (1895-1970), as listed on pp. 767-8 of "A History of the
Second World War". My earlier attempt (based on the local on-line
card catalog) seems to have been swallowed by an unfriendly e-mail
forwarder.
I have appended reviews to the end of certain entries. In general,
CSBHLH has good ideas, but he can be too turgid and often flaggellates
deceased equines. If the British are involved (WWI and WWII) they get
most of the attention--partly because of his extensive first-hand
knowledge. His books are distinguished by their excellent maps: at
the beginning of a section on a particular theatre, there is usually
either a clear and complete theatre map or the page number of the
appropriate map. I recall only two cases in which he mentions a place
that was not labelled on a map, and in both cases it was clear from
the context where it had to be. Would that other authors were as
good!
(As a final note in the Liddell Hart/Tuchman discussion, the following
quote is from Lady Kathleen Liddell Hart's posthumous forward to "A
History of the Second World War": "Basil had small private means, so
research for the 'History' was always slowed down as he had to earn a
living by his journalism and by writing other, more quickly produced
books." (page ix) I suppose, then, it would not be incorrect to call
Liddell Hart a professional journalist, at least in part!)
MEMOIRS
The Liddell Hart Memoirs, 2 vols. (London, Cassell, 1965; New York,
Putnam, 1965)
THE CONDUCT OF WAR (AND GENERAL HISTORY OF WARS)
Strategy--The Indirect Approach (London, Faber, latest edition 1954--
enlarged from "The Decisive Wars of History", 1929) (Read twice.
Godo thoughts, but belabors points.)
Thoughts on War, 1919-39 (London, Faber, 1944--contains the collected
essence of the author's military thought)
The Revolution in Warfare (London, Faber, 1946; Yale University
Press, 1947)
The Ghost of Napoleon (London, Faber, 1933; Yale University Press,
1933)
THE THEORY OF MECHANIZED WAR (IN PARTICULAR)
Paris, or The Future of War (London, Kegan, Paul, 1925--in the 'Today
and Tomorrow' series; New York, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1925)
The Re-making of Modern Armies (London, John Murray, 1927)
When Britain Goes to War (London, Faber, 1935--enlarged from "The
British Way in Warfare", 1932; also Penguin, 1942, with
additional chapters, and under the original title. In America
"The British Way in Warfare", New York, Macmillan, 1933)
The Future of Infantry (London, Faber, 1933; Harrisburg, Military
Service Publishing Co., 1936)
Dynamic Defence (London, Faber, 1940)
The Current of War (London, Hutchinson, 1941--in particular Chapters
I-VI. The rest of the book is a commentary on the 1939-40
campaign)
The Tanks--The History of The Royal Tank Regiment and its Predecessors
(etc.) 1914-45, 2 vols. (London, Cassel, 1959; New York, Praeger,
1959)
OTHER BOOKS ON THE THEORY AND FUTURE OF WAR
Europe in Arms (London, Faber, 1937)
The Defence of Britain (London, Faber, 1939)
This Expanding War (London, Faber, 1942--partly a commentary on the
1941-42 campaigns)
Defence of The West (London, Cassel, 1950)
Deterrent or Defence (London, Stevens, 1960)
INFANTRY TACTICS
New Methods of Infantry Training (Cambridge, 1918)
Science of Infantry Tactics (Beccles, Clowes, 1921, 1923, 1926)
HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY--WITH A BEARING ON FUTURE WARFARE
T. E. Lawrence--In Arabia and After (London, Cape, 1934. In America
"Colonel Lawrence: The Man Behind the Legend", New York, Dodd,
Mead, 1934)
Foch (London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1931; also Penguin)
Sherman (London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1929. In America "Sherman:
Soldier, Realist, American", New York, Dodd, Mead, 1929)
Great Captains Unveiled (London, Blackwood, 1927; Boston, Little,
Brown, 1928)
A Greater than Napoleon--Scipio Africanus (London, Blackwood, 1926;
Boston, Little, Brown, 1927) (Excellent! So little material
available that CSBHLH doesn't have a chance to be turgid. Also
refreshing to read about such a magnificent general and honorable
citizen -- Rome was shortly to suffer from too many of the former
and too few of the latter.)
WORLD WAR I (1914-18)
A History of the First World War (London, Cassel, 1970. Originally
published as "A History of the World War, 1914-1918", London,
Faber, 1934. Enlarged from "The Real War 1914-1918", London,
Faber, 1930; Boston, Little, Brown) (Depressing, belabored, and
almost totally lacking in any interesting strategy or tactics, but
that's WWI's fault, not CSBHLH's.)
The War in Outline, 1914-1918 (London, Faber, 1936)
Reputations: Ten Years After (London, John Murraay, 1928; Boston,
Little, Brown, 1928)
Through the Fog of War (London, Faber, 1938; New York, Random House,
1938)
WORLD WAR II (1939-45)
The Other Side of The Hill (London, Cassell, 1951--enlarged by some
60 per cent from the original edition of 1948 which alone was
published in America, New York, Morrow, as "The German Generals
Talk", 1948) (Read. Don't remember much. Was probably
interesting.)
A History of the Second World War (London, Cassell, 1970; New York,
Putnam's, 1970) (Finished posthumously--by his wife and almost by
me (I was almost comatose at times). Spends far more time on
North Africa than justified by its importance, e.g. as compared to
Russia, which is covered only in broad brush. This is probably
due to "The Tanks", which took him some 12 years to write--why not
recycle some of it? Interesting at the beginning, though, when
all the decent generalship took place.)
GENERAL
Why Don't We Learn from History? (London, Allen & Unwin, 1944)
CONTRIBUTIONS
The Strategy of Civilian Defence (ed. Adam Roberts. London, Faber,
1967. In America "Civilian Resistance as a National Defence",
Harrisburg, Stackpole, 1967)
Churchill--Four Faces and the Man (London, Allen Lane The Penguin
Press [sic], 1969. In America, "Churchill Revised: A Critical
Assessment", New York, Dial, 1969)
EDITED BOOKS
The Rommel Papers (London, Collins, 1953; New York, Harcourt, Brace,
1953)
The Letters of Private Wheeler (Napoleonic Wars) (London, Michael
Joseph, 1951)
The Soviet Army (London, Weiderfield & Nicolson, 1956. In America
"The Red Army", Harcourt, Brace, 1956)
--
"6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding
profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so
called: 6:21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith."
Tim, the Bizarre and Oddly-Dressed Enchanter | mcdaniel@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu
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