These two if not tempered with restraint and wisdom can cause unimaginable pain to the people. This was Lord Bingham. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This was a classic case of corruption of power by individuals who could not control it, let alone control their own impulses. How can somebody with an umbrella know how hard the rain is beating? That goes to Lord Bingham who evicted tenants from his land during winter and not to mention famine.
These two men also hated each other. Hatred separates men from each other. It blinds them and numbs them against each other. This was the relationship between Brudenell and Bingham. As cold as ice. Despite their strained relationship, the Commander in Chief appointed them together to lead an army against the Russians who had attacked Turkey. Turkey had been attacked and England was furious. Brudenell was even more furious when he was told to report to Bingham.
He undermined Bungham's authority and led his own Brigade independently. Independently from the authority of his superior. An error in judgment had been made by the Commander in Chief. The men saw that and knew that. Just how did the Commander in Chief make such an error?
Not to mention none of the Commanding officers had any military experience. But wealth and position favored them. Wealth and position cannot replace experience in an army. The army suffered. Suffered from diseases, exhaustion and mismanagement.
This led to so many deaths. Unnecessary deaths since the Russians had not at any one time attacked them. Apr 30, Sean Chick rated it really liked it. Well written and seemingly fair account. I knocked off a star for some discussions being a trifle shallow and inaccurate such as the description of famine Ireland and the detail before the Crimean War is a bit extreme by comparison to the coverage of the actual war.
Jul 25, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: history. Jul 17, Marianne Villanueva rated it liked it Shelves: history. Especially when their stupidity leads to the wipe-out of hundreds of men and horses. It's like one of those samurai epics, the glory of ritual sepukku. Mishima would approve. In eight minutes, the first line of the British cavalry ceased to exist.
A page later, the French cavalry attempt a rescue, sending "French troopers mounted on Algerian horses," not in line but in "loose formation learned The two British commanders should have been court-martialed. One, to his credit, became seriously depressed, and was recalled. The other acted like nothing had happened, and was given a hero's welcome. Aug 25, Adam Tschorn added it.
During the men's European runway shows this summer, I overheard a fashion editor describing a military history book he'd read. With the cardinal-red military jacket, blue sash and chest full of medals worn by Prince William during his April nuptials to K During the men's European runway shows this summer, I overheard a fashion editor describing a military history book he'd read.
With the cardinal-red military jacket, blue sash and chest full of medals worn by Prince William during his April nuptials to Kate Middleton fresh in my mind, I was intrigued and inquired further. The book the editor had referred to is "The Reason Why: The Story of the Fatal Charge of the Light Brigade" by Cecil Woodham-Smith Constable, , and it focuses on the contentious relationship between the seventh Earl of Cardigan and the third Earl of Lucan, their obsession with the details of their station and the trappings of military regalia rather than with any actual fighting.
Their conflict came to a head on the battlefield in the Battle of Balaclava and the infamous cavalry charge immortalized by in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade. The aforementioned Earl of Cardigan is the one in whose honor the coat-type cardigan sweater was named, his commanding general, Lord Raglan, who had lost an arm at the battle of Waterloo, is the namesake of the raglan sleeve, and the knit ski mask-type head gear known as the balaclava takes its name from the battle.
So the notion that a fascination with fashion may have played a part in the famously mismanaged military maneuver the British casualties were extremely high and the battle didn't do much to advance their position against the Russians was too intriguing to pass up. I soon tracked down a copy it's readily available both online and at the Los Angeles Public Library. One would be hard-pressed to find a work of history crammed with more bed-hopping and bursts of bombast than the dense opening chapters of "The Reason Why.
James Thomas Brudenell a. Foreshadowing anecdotes include an court-martial involving the issue of new stable jackets, a blow-up over a banned bottle of porter on a banquet table, and a long-simmering animosity that played out through the micromanagement of and obsession over every last detail of training, clothing and preparing the troops.
And what uniforms they were. And while it may seem like the battlefield shenanigans of aristocratic dandies more than a century and a half ago would have little relevance, Woodham-Smith closes by positing, more or less, that the look, feel and organization of today's military — in the U.
Which, as ourmilitary involvement abroad itself advances toward the decade mark, actually makes it more relevant than ever. Feb 02, Turk Finnery rated it it was amazing. An absolutely fantastic history of the Battle of Balaclava, a disastrous episode of the Crimean War in The focus is mainly on the personal background of the personalities involved, mainly the Earl of Cardigan and the Earl of Lucan, neither of whom are portrayed in a flattering way. In the Victorian Era, the British Army had an unbelievable policy where aristocrats could buy their own rank and regiment, whether they were qualified to lead or not.
This was called the Purchase System, and the An absolutely fantastic history of the Battle of Balaclava, a disastrous episode of the Crimean War in This was called the Purchase System, and the tragedy detailed in this book explains why the system was abolished.
If you are not familiar with the Charge of the Light Brigade, I won't detail it in this review because it would spoil the climax of this amazing book. Lord Cardigan is an arrogant and unlikable snob who bought his way to the top and treats everyone under him extremely poorly. He also excessively complains to the Army command about every time he feels disrespected, a seemingly daily occurrence they had the good sense to kick him out at one point, but he wormed his way back in thanks to some royal connections.
Whether they were above or below him in rank, he made everyone's life miserable. On the other hand, while Lord Lucan might seem more reasonable by comparison, his actions and policies as a landlord in Ireland during the potato famine are absolutely monstrous this section of the book is especially appalling.
I don't know who is worse, and in the end, there is a lot of blame to go around. You'd have to be really brave to follow either of these guys into battle - they clearly didn't know what they were doing, and were more preoccupied with petty squabbles and matters of decorum. There were other bunglers involved too, such as Lord Raglan the giver of vague orders and Captain Nolan the messenger and interpreter , who both contributed significantly to a military catastrophe that was entirely preventable.
My only concern is that the reasons for this war were not thoroughly explained. I do not understand why the British wanted to be involved in a war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire at all. Maybe it is impossible to explain that particular "reason why", but it doesn't feel like much of an attempt was made.
Other than this minor omission, this book is pretty much perfect. The battles are easy to follow and understand, and it's generally very readable and compelling throughout. If you have any interest in the Victorian era, military tactics, or just history in general, you must read this. There is not much of a happy ending here; this book details several sad and frustrating events in history, but it's so well-written and well-researched that I can't help but recommend it.
Mar 28, Dave Bingham rated it really liked it. The book is a well-written account of the famous charge of the Light Brigade, but it also gives an in-depth biography of the two principal leaders of the Cavalry responsible for this debacle, Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan. They let their personal animosities for each other to derail any common sense or rationale in carrying out their responsibilities as leaders.
Their pers The book is a well-written account of the famous charge of the Light Brigade, but it also gives an in-depth biography of the two principal leaders of the Cavalry responsible for this debacle, Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan.
Their persistent failures in supplying their troops and conducting reconnaissance to effectively plan their attacks, their total lack of knowledge of military strategy and use of the cavalry, their misguided priorities on the battlefield seem incredulous. Hard to believe also that the Russian army opposing the British in Balaclava were as misled and incompetent as they were.
My only dislike of the book is that I thought the author went into too much detail on the backgrounds of both Lord Cardigan and Lord Lucan and their pettiness and the temper tantrums they frequently threw. Jun 17, David rated it really liked it. This is the classic history of the personalities and events leading up to the Charge of the Light Brigade. It is quite readable and engaging: the author's tone is mostly conversational, and to a modern audience feels like a cross between a war story and Downton Abbey.
The book has a couple of deficiencies: it's hard to keep up with the large and often similarly titled cast of individuals, and there is a LOT of attention paid to the real and perceived slights between these aristocrats- but their This is the classic history of the personalities and events leading up to the Charge of the Light Brigade.
The book has a couple of deficiencies: it's hard to keep up with the large and often similarly titled cast of individuals, and there is a LOT of attention paid to the real and perceived slights between these aristocrats- but their very pettiness is itself something that requires this level of detail to be believed. It's fascinating to see how much further ahead American military strategy was at approximately the same time - this is merely a few years before the Civil War began, and if there's something that makes the Northern leadership look good, it's these guys.
An interesting nonexistent companion volume would be doing the same thing from the Russian point of view. I would have liked to see a little more time spent on the denouement- the ending feels much quicker than the rest of the book.
But all in all, a great read. Jun 04, Shane Orr rated it really liked it. This book details the events that led up to the charge of the British light brigade against far more numerous Russian forces in the Crimean War in the mid s. The cardigan even originated here.
So why would a cavalry brigade of attack a Russian position of tens of thousands supported by artillery? The answer is rooted in a British system that allowed wealthy aristocrats to purchase milit This book details the events that led up to the charge of the British light brigade against far more numerous Russian forces in the Crimean War in the mid s.
The answer is rooted in a British system that allowed wealthy aristocrats to purchase military ranks to earn glory in battle. Combined with a personal hatred between two of these high ranking officers, combat inexperience and miscommunication played a key role.
Access to the personal papers of the participants and eye-witnesses allowed Woodham-Smith to give a detailed and fascinating account of the root causes and mistakes leading up to the fatal outcome. An exceptional book. Well-researched, full of fascinating insights and carefully written to encompass each of the main characters viewpoints of a situation.
It reads like a novel with smooth prose and Cardigan, Lucan and Raglan have been brought to life beautifully. Not that Lucan was free from faults but I do feel sorry for the man, he was rathe An exceptional book. Not that Lucan was free from faults but I do feel sorry for the man, he was rather mistreated throughout it all.
May 19, Giovanna rated it liked it Shelves: bookgroup , nonfiction. I have to admit I started this book with a bad attitude, planning to skim it--it wasn't the one I wanted to read. In the end, I had to admit it was good popular history--shocking how ridiculous the guys in charge were--sound familiar? Nice to know that if nothing else, at a remove of years people agree how ridiculous and disastrous leaders can be.
Bonus: as a knitter, it's always fun to read about Raglans, Cardigans, and Balaclavas. Nov 28, Susan Cooper rated it liked it. For anybody interested in military science, this book would receive four or five stars. For me, it had more detail than I am interested in. Jun 07, Marguerite Kaye rated it it was amazing.
I first read this about ten years ago, so this is a re-read for me, and in the gap I've read a lot more about the Crimean War. I remember on the first read just how utterly flabbergasted I was by the sheer incompetence, the nerve and the arrogance of Lords Raglan, Lucan and Cardigan. I'd read the book because I'd seen the s film and thought it was exaggerating - not. Lords Lucan and Cardigan are brothers-in-law who can't stand each other. Really, really can't stand each other. They are also I first read this about ten years ago, so this is a re-read for me, and in the gap I've read a lot more about the Crimean War.
They are also soldiers with little or no active service and an outrageously high self-belief in their ability simply because they are aristocrats. Linda Colley. The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier. Jakob Walter.
The Embarrassment of Riches. Simon Schama. Vanished Kingdoms. Norman Davies. Our First Revolution. Michael Barone. David Howarth. Stephen Budiansky. A Needle in the Right Hand of God. Howard Bloch. By Permission of Heaven. Adrian Tinniswood.
Great Issues in American History, Vol. Richard Hofstadter. Victorious Century. David Cannadine. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Also find Softcover. Published by Constable, Used - Softcover Condition: Good.
Quantity: 2. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched the following working day from our UK warehouse. Established in , we have over , books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Also find Hardcover Softcover. Used - Hardcover Condition: Very Good. Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover.
Spine still tight, in very good condition. Also find Hardcover First Edition. Published by Penguin, Harmondsworth, Soft cover. No Jacket. Octavo paperback. Initials on front cover and 4 names on title page. Slightly rubbed, Good condition. No dust jacket. Minor shelf wear Good condition is defined as: a copy that has been read but remains in clean condition.
All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Published by McGraw Hill, Used - Hardcover Condition: Fair.
Condition: Fair. The book has a dust jacket. Sylvere Lotringer, intellectual who infused U. Veterans of fruitless wars: Two Marine Corps memoirists share their gratitude and dismay. Cinema legend James Ivory, 93, talks about letting it all hang out — and more. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing.
0コメント