The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1986. Trade Paperback. Near Fine. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. ISBN:0195205286. "This selection is principally Brotosh and American, with occasional forays among fpreign armies. Although it beg ins in earliest times, it emphasizes the post-eighteenth-century period when anecdotage achieved the form we most readily recognize today. Many pages of the Old Testament, of course, are filled with b loodcurdling military history. Classical literature is rich in evocative battlefield experience. Yet searching the narratives of Xenophon, Thucydides, Caesar and others, I found surprisingly few pas sa ges that possess the quality of whimsey, and stand well enough alone to be characterized as anecdotes. Here, as throughout the book, I have compromised by including such memorable desrciptions as H ann ibal's crossing the Alps and Caesar's first landing in Britain, while generally seeking a quality of drollness, even at the expense of passing by many great military moments." 384 anecdotes, 514 p ages , with Sources and Acknowledgements, and Index of Principal Names and Places. Glossy coating on botton of spine has small peal away. 1/4" x 1/8". Gift inscription on FFep..