Chris Peers
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As a soldier, general, statesman, and empire-builder, Genghis Khan is a near-mythical figure. His remarkable achievements and his ruthless methods have given rise to a monstrous reputation. But who was the man behind the legend? As historian Chris Peers shows in this concise and authoritative study, Genghis Khan possessed exceptional gifts as a leader and manager of men-ranking among the greatest military commanders in history. But he can only be...
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This in-depth history of medieval Scottish warfare highlights the rivalries between the Norse warlords and the early Scottish kings.
Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Scotland's northern and western highlands underwent a turbulent period of significant wars. The Highlands and islands were controlled by the kings of Norway or by Norse or Norse-Celtic warlords, who not only resisted Scottish royal authority but on occasion seemed likely to...
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The Anarchy, the protracted struggle between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Matilda for the English crown between 1135 and 1154, is often seen as a disastrous breakdown in one of the best-governed kingdoms of medieval Europe. But perhaps the impact of the conflict has been overstated, and its effect on the common people across the country is hard to judge. That is why Chris Peers’ fresh study of this fascinating and controversial era is of such...
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This vivid military history explores two pivotal battles in the 19th century war between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.
The battle of Isandlwana on January, 22nd, 1879 was one of the most dramatic episodes in military history. In the morning, 20,000 Zulus overwhelmed the British invading force in one of the greatest disasters ever to befall a British army.
Later the same day, a Zulu force of around 3,000 warriors turned their attention...
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Warfare between the clans of the Highlands in the late Middle Ages determined the course of history in this region of Scotland, and Chris Peers' gripping account of it – and of the rivalry between the strongest clans – gives the reader a deep insight into this bloody, turbulent phase in the development of the far north of the British Isles. The battles he describes, all of them fought between the 1430s and the 1540s, were flash points in the long...
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In England in the eighth century, in the midst of the so-called Dark Ages, Offa ruled Mercia, one of the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For over 30 years he was the dominant warlord in the territory south of the Humber and the driving force behind the expansion of Mercias power. During that turbulent period he commanded Mercian armies in their struggle against the neighboring kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex and against the Welsh tribes. Yet the...
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Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana, both 1879, are undoubtedly the most famous of Britain's imperial battles, the former the subject of one of the nation's top war movies, Zulu, even if it wasn't actually filmed there. With South Africa becoming a more popular tourist destination, never has there been a better time to visit these iconic battlefields and trace the steps of the red-coated heroes who fought against overwhelming odds. This richly illustrated...
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In the field of military history as in so many others, the Chinese have often been both admired and seen as something utterly mysterious and inscrutable. Chris Peers illuminates the evolution of the military art in China with reference to ten battles, spanning more than 2,000 years, from the Battle of Mu in 1027BC to the Fall of Chung Tu in 1215 AD. Selected both for their historical importance and for the light which they shed on weapons and tactics,...
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In The African Wars, Chris Peers provides a graphic account of several of the key campaigns fought between European powers and the native peoples of tropical and subtropical Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His pioneering and authoritative study describes in vivid detail the organization and training of African warriors, their weapons, their fighting methods and traditions, and their tactics. He concentrates on the campaigns...