Soldiers' Lives through History
Why do humans fight wars? That question's continuing relevance is made plain everywhere, in television and in newspapers, on the Internet, in video games, and not least in the cemeteries where bugles still sound over those who gave all in war and to war. Beginning with the brutal Sumerian and Assyrian armies of ancient Iraq and ending with the men and women of the military of the early 21st century, this series shows what life was and is like for soldiers. The weapons and technology change, culture chages, but human physical needs and fears do not. Titles in this series will answer questions such as: BLHow did soldiers become specialists, and how were permanent standing armies developed? BLWhat was it like to march in ancient Gaul or to fight with metal armor? BLHow did it feel to take part in a siege in medieval times? BLHow did the business of feeding and clothing armies advance over time? BLHow did the horrific health conditions on war fields in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries contribute to improvements in modern medicine? BLWhat was it like to shiver in a frozen Belgian wood in 1944, as German Tiger tanks rumbled toward your foxhole? BLHow do soldiers master high-tech weaponry, yet protect themselves from the most primitive, improvised explosive devices? BLAnd much, much more. This lively and comprehensive set reveals, ultimately, what kinds of societies produced these soldiers and the ways in whicih the soldiers, in turn, shaped their cultures.
