I Am Soldier

I Am Soldier

Beginning with Julius Caesar, considered to be the finest solider-writer of all time, history has witnessed a strong tradition of warriors mixing the pen with the sword. In I Am Soldier, John Keegan has compiled over 70 stories of soldiers on campaign, from biblical times through the war in Yugoslavia.

Among them are the stories of Aristodemos, the Spartan, who faced the Persians at Thermopylae in 480; the Japanese soldier Toranosuke, who slew enemies in traditional style from horseback with a cross-bladed spear; and John Young, an infantry squad leader in Vietnam, whose experiences in the Mekong Delta left him with PTSD. These stories, along with those of Roman centurions, American revolutionaries, Confederate soldiers, French poilus and American WWII paratroopers, paint a wide and vivid canvas. Each tale covers the soldier’s earlier life and battle training, and how the experience of the particular battle impacted his future fighting career.

The picture that emerges from I Am Soldier is not of the differences between fighters of different periods, but of the principles that unite them: discipline, valor and the human limit to which soldiers on campaign are pushed in every age.

Softcover: 240 pages

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Ltd. ( November 17, 2009 )

Item #: 56-7985

ISBN: 978184603515

Product Dimensions: 6.15 x 9.22 x 0.6 inches

Product Weight: 14.0 ounces