- Hardcover: 608 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New title edition (5 Sep 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007137532
- ISBN-13: 978-0007137534
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 5.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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- #34 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Holmes, Richard
Sahib
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Review
‘For anyone interested in the Raj this book is a must.’ Observer
‘Richard Holmes’s mastery of the British Army is unequalled … A worthy memorial of one of the extraordinary experiences in British history.’ Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph
‘Holmes is a passionate and richly entertaining champion of the rank and file.’ Daily Telegrah
‘Insightful, colourful, relevant and pithy’ The Times
‘Redcoat is not just a work of history but of enthusiasm and unparalleled knowledge. This is a wonderful book, doing justice to men who have long deserved a chronicler of Richard Holmes’ skill.’ Bernard Cornwell
‘It would be hard to exaggerate the excellence of this book. Vivid, comprehensive, well-written, pacy, colourful.’ Simon Heffer
‘A wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it.’ Bernard Cornwell, Daily Mail
‘Beautifully written, Redcoat is a vivid account of squalor and suffering almost beyond belief, for the men, their wives and followers, and their horses. One of the best chapters is a description of barrack-room life that will turn a few stomachs in this more fastidious age.’ John Canon, TLS
‘Redcoat is the story of the British soldier from the Seven Year War through to the Mutiny and Crimea. It is consistently entertaining, full of brilliantly chosen anecdotes and rattles along at a good light infantry pace.’ David Crane, Spectator
‘All the best-known soldier writers are discussed here, and their anecdotes are told with enthusiasm and aplomb… This is an army from another world, and Redcoat is a splendidly entertaining, moving and informative description of its strengths and foibles.’ Hew Strachan, Daily Telegraph
Praise for Tommy:
'Subtle and endlessly fascinating… Holmes has a sharp eye for anecdote and detail.' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
'Holmes has produced yet another fascinating, balanced and original book of a highly emotive subject.' Sunday Telegraph
'Packed with amazing facts and arresting anecdotes…the depth of his research and the breadth of his interests commands respect.' Sunday Express
Literary Review
'the great achievement of this book is to give us a soldier's-eye view of life in India'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In response to the other review posted of this book,you are just plain wrong! Richard Holmes has once again excelled himself with a truly compulsive history that provides some excellent elaboration on the contents of his earlier works "Redcoat" and "Wellington". Admittedly the first 90 or so pages which outline the background of the British in India and Afghanistan are pretty hard work but once you get past those this book is a treasure trove of rarely discussed historical nuggets. There are excellent descriptions of the joys of "pig-sticking", the British sport of choice, the (usually brutal) punishments meted out to recalcitrant soldiers, and just as you expect the book to be winding down there are excellent closing chapters on sanitation, prostitution and the bizarre matrimonial escapades of the soldiers and officers. Some geo-political background is necessary, for example,to understand the differences between British Army troops, East India Company troops and privateers but in the main this book gives an excellent "ground-level" view of 18th & 19th century soldiering.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having previously read Holmes's other works, "Redcoat" and "Tommy", I knew what to expect, and, all in all, I wasn't disappointed. As the author says in the preface, this isn't a moralizing book. It isn't in the remit of the book to serve judgement on the rights and wrongs of empire. What Holmes actually does is say what happened and what were the day-to-day experiences of the people involved, whether they be British soldiers, sepoys, British civilians or Indian civilians. This book is packed full of the most interesting extracts from the letters and journals of those involved. However, not wishing to detract too much from an engaging book, the prose is a little bit clunky at times; I found myself re-reading sentences quite regularly and even then only understanding the gist of what was intended, rather than the details. One slight problem I encountered was the naming of the chapters being a bit mysterious. I couldn't consistently predict from its title what each chapter would be about and they often digressed and overlapped. Still, it's a welcome addition to my collection -- well worth a read.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An extremmely well written and interesting book, structured in such a way that it gives a real insight into the lives of the early expeditionary forces sent to Imperial India to guard and protect British Interests.
One can almost smell the camp-fires and the latrines and the powder-smoke of the British lines, such is the realism and candour of the narrative.
Prior to reading this book I could not have imagined the amount of effort and money that was involved just in being a British officer in India, the number of servants that one had to have (as well as their upkeep!), horses, camels, even elephants.
How their tents were made and what they had to take on campaigns and what pleased or digruntled the British soldier - it's all in here.
A truly absorbing read; I've read it 3 times and learned new things every time I read it. Essential reading for those interested in the history of the British in India.
One can almost smell the camp-fires and the latrines and the powder-smoke of the British lines, such is the realism and candour of the narrative.
Prior to reading this book I could not have imagined the amount of effort and money that was involved just in being a British officer in India, the number of servants that one had to have (as well as their upkeep!), horses, camels, even elephants.
How their tents were made and what they had to take on campaigns and what pleased or digruntled the British soldier - it's all in here.
A truly absorbing read; I've read it 3 times and learned new things every time I read it. Essential reading for those interested in the history of the British in India.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Background
I bought the book hoping it would give some background knowledge for a story I wanted to write about my Grandfather and Great Grandfather who both spent time in India, serving in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Spice
not his best
I have read and enjoyed most of his works but this one was hard going - in fact boring. I hoped for much more real life account on the frontier soldier, but he goes on and on... Read more
Published on 9 July 2006 by Mr. R. J. Nichol
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