Bit of a personal/professional bombshell to impart. I was notified yesterday that my job at
@Helionbooks
will cease to exist at the end of the year, and that I am therefore being made redundant. The From Reason to Revolution series will continue, but not under my leadership.
@KKriegeBlog
Damnit Alex, you've made me go all emotional & reserved Englishmen aren't supposed to do that!
Thank you very, very much for your kind words, they mean an awful lot to me.
So pleased to know that the series has made a difference, & sure that it will continue to do so.
The last time I went to London, the Queen died while I was there. The time before that, the Government collapsed while I was there. Fair warning that I'm going to London again tomorrow.
Time to reveal what's on the way in the first half of 2024 for my From Reason to Revolution series from
@Helionbooks
, beginning with
@latelordchatham
on a certain naval officer that you may have heard her mention once or twice.
Time to announce another batch of titles in my From Reason to Revolution series from
@Helionbooks
. These ten books are all scheduled for publication in the second half of this year.
Time to introduce the planned From Reason to Revolution titles due for release by
@Helionbooks
in the second half of this year, starting with
@JoshProvan
's study of the Pensacola campaign.
I've been working for a while on a title for Wargames Design Studio's 'Musket and Pike' series of games. My project's still some way from release, but for anyone not familiar with the series there's now a free demo available based on Vienna 1683:
I am conscious that I owe people an update after all the expressions of support received in response to the news that I would be leaving Helion. Likewise all the new followers that I seem to have acquired as a result - who knew that being made redundant had that side-effect?
Am under order to commission more battle studies and, in particular, more army studies (ie uniforms, organisation, etc). Still open to any proposals 1721-1815, but if you've a book idea that fits either of the above then now would be a really good time to make your pitch.
Not sure what the next step is. As it falls out, I have a short holiday booked from Friday which gives me some thinking time and I'll hopefully come back fighting after that. Needless to say, if anyone is aware of opportunities that might be to my interest, do please let me know.
An update for
@ThatchGer1
and anyone else awaiting the
@Helionbooks
From Reason to Revolution title on Suchet's campaigns. It'll now be coming in two volumes, due out April and May respectively:
I found Napoleonic Twitter pretty much as soon as I joined. I'm struggling to find its 18th century equivalent. Who should I be following for C18th military and naval history?
Feels like a positive start to the new year. First two academic job applications sent off yesterday, Routledge book project successfully resurrected (all I've got to do now is write it!), and flights now booked to return to
@SYWcon
as a speaker in April.
I am extremely proud of all that has been achieved with the series since I joined Helion 8 years ago with the brief to set it up, and with over 60 titles under contract for release over the next five years I am happy that I am leaving it in good shape.
Very sad to learn of the death of Digby Smith, aka Otto von Pivka, at the age of 89. His Murat's Army was one of the first
@Helionbooks
From Reason to Revolution titles that I signed up, and his Napoleonic Wars Data Book remains a useful reference next to my desk.
Last but by no means least, an edited collection on Napoleonic siege warfare, brought together by
@ZwhiteHistory
and including a chapter by myself on the bombardment of Antwerp in 1814 along with lots of other great content.
Pleased to announce that I will be revisiting the topic of my 2013 book A Bold and Ambitious Enterprise (published by
@Frontline_Books
) in a talk next month for
@NAM_London
. Hope to see some of you in the actual or virtual audience.
Best comments I've seen on this today. My rule with the From Reason to Revolution series that I created was that the academic stuff had to be accessible and the popular stuff had to be scholarly. Treated like that, everyone can contribute & both 'sides' can learn from each other.
Big Academic vs. Amateur Historian vibes on here today.
"Academic History is Stuffy!"
"Popular History is Dumbed Down!"
As someone who is an academic credentialled professorial professional, I have some thoughts. First, feel free to check out what my mentor said below. 1/7
Contract now signed for me to write the Peninsular War volume in
@routledgebooks
' new 'Wars and Battles' series. Although I'd hope that all my books show scholarly rigour, this will be my first officially academic title since 'Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword' came out in 2013.
It has been my privilege to work with some great authors, without whom none of this would have been possible, and I am very grateful for all their work - which has left me with a bookcase's worth of reminders of this time.
Since
@mcribbHistory
tells me he has a wish-list for my From Reason to Revolution series with
@Helionbooks
, does anyone else have ideas for books I should seek to commission on military & naval history 1721-1815? No promises, but interested to know what folk would like to see.
A game to round off my first time at
@SYWcon
. Alas, the gods of the dice did not smile upon my brave Hessians or their British allies, but great fun nonetheless. Thanks to
@Venture_minis
for hosting.
My periodic reminder that if you're working on a book project you need to start talking to publishers at an early stage. Two very promising complete manuscripts landed out of the blue recently, but however good they turn out to be the release schedule is full until mid-2025.
Spent second half of last week in London, where I was elected Secretary of
@societyarmy
at the AGM at
@NAM_London
, attended a 301st birthday party at the Athenaeum, and, as it now transpires, caught Covid. Still, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
Register now for the SAHR's next online talk! Dr Evan Wilson
@wilsoneven
will speak about his recent book on British veterans and the end of the Napoleonic Wars on Tuesday 9 January at 7pm GMT/2pm EST.
Finally tracked down digitised version of obscure book I’ve been hunting for for ages. 1000-odd pages, of which one is blurred and illegible. Guess which page contains the thing I needed the book for?😡
New release in my From Reason to Revolution series from
@Helionbooks
. A treat for Seven Years War enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic, looking at the small war that often gets neglected in favour of the big battalions.
🎄 Christmas Advent Offer - Day 2🎄
Light Troops in the Seven Years War: Irregular Warfare in Europe and North America, 1755-1763 is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Sunday 31st December – no code needed ✨
🛒 Buy it here:
New from
@helionbooks
! 'Atlas of the Battles and Campaigns of the American Revolution' includes over over 120 full color maps showing troop dispositions and topography for critical clashes!
👉
#AmericanRevolution
#MilitaryHistory
Out today, the
@routledgebooks
Handbook of the Global History of Warfare, which includes my contribution on warfare in the age of Napoleon: . Quite the price-tag, though there's currently a discount available and the e-book is rather more affordable.
Heading Home from my tripto
@SYWcon
, with time for quick stops yesterday at the Fallen Timbers battlefield and Fort Meigs, and a longer visit today to Fort Ligonier. Huge thanks to
@KKriegeBlog
for hosting me and taking the time to show me the sights.
Fascinating afternoon at the Sikorski Museum. Wojtek the bear, and some brilliant Napoleonic relics including General Krasinski's czapka and officer's headgear of the Tartar Squadron of the Imperial Guard believed to be the only surviving relic of that unit. Well worth a visit.
Calling all naval historians!
From Reason to Revolution series editor Andrew Bamford is inviting contributions to a Helion and Company online conference in October 2022. The conference will cover naval warfare in the period circa 1721-1815.
If I've been a bit distracted recently, it's mostly been due to pulling together proceedings of the conference that
@1812andallthat
and I ran for
@societyarmy
. SAHR members will get a copy with their winter Journal, anyone else can order from
@Helionbooks
:
Exciting new years news, part one: I've been invited to speak at the Battle of Falkirk Muir (1746) Conference later this month, revisiting my work on the Irish Brigade and the '45. Other speakers include
@arthistorynews
and
@ArranPJohnston
. Tickets at:
Pleased to announce that the University of Oklahoma Press is reprinting my first book in a paperback edition due out in July: . In the meantime, I've a last couple of hardback copies still for sale if anyone would like one - down to £20 including UK postage
#NewRelease
We are pleased to announce You Have to Die in Piedmont!: The Battle of Assietta, 19 July 1747. The War of the Austrian Succession in the Alps is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Thursday 6th April – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Very pleased to see this in print after a lengthy gestation process. Hopefully all the work that went into it has helped us create a prototype so that we can produce atlases of other conflicts in the era too - what other atlases would folk like to see?
#NewRelease
Atlas of the Battles and Campaigns of the American Revolution 1775-1783 from our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Thursday 5th October – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Don Hagist with an edited collection on the armies of the American War of Independence that includes several of the papers from last year’s series conference as well as new material.
We’d like you all to meet Luna, who came to live with us today. She is a blue roan cocker spaniel, and as far as we can tell she has only two settings, which are ‘mad as a box of frogs’ and ‘sound asleep’. Her sister Rosie has gone to live with my parents.
A bit of cheer for a grey and miserable Friday - here's a peak at the first batch of forthcoming From Reason to Revolution titles due out in 2023 from
@Helionbooks
.
Starting with
@RobbieMacNiven
's study of the 33rd Foot in the American Revolution:
Stunning cover art by
@HookChrista
for my next contribution to
@Helionbooks
From Reason to Revolution series. Chapters by
@ArranPJohnston
and
@Proudplaid
as well as Lucy Bamford & I, Andrew Cormack, Jonathan Oates, and Mark Price. Should be out next month:
Looking forward to getting stuck into this beauty from
@SeaforthPub
; perfect timing too, as I can use it to cross-check the details of the Spanish ships in the new Anson bio about to go to print for
@Helionbooks
.
Nearly finished copy edits of the forthcoming
@Helionbooks
title on Suchet's campaign (much to
@ThatchGer1
's delight, I hope), and loving the author's characterisation of Bentinck's generalship as 'aggressive mediocrity'
Exciting new years news part two. In March I'll be jetting off to the US for the Seven Years War Convention, to speak about my current work on the 1758 British operations against the French coast. Huge thanks to
@KKriegeBlog
for the invitation. Details at:
In my unending quest to keep
@ThatchGer1
happy (if not his bank manager), Volume 2 of To Conquer and to Keep is now available, taking the story of Suchet's campaigns from the advance on Valencia to the end of the war.
#NewRelease
To Conquer and to Keep Volume 2 1811-1814: Suchet and the War for Eastern Spain, 1809-1814 from our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series is now available!
✨ Save £5 off RRP until Thursday 6th July – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Another new From Reason to Revolution release, taking a fresh look at Frederick the Great's last campaign - a conflict too easily written off as a 'Potato-War' and the first step in a Prussian military decline that ended at Jena, but in fact a fascinating story in its own right.
#NewRelease
The War of the Bavarian Succession, 1778-1779: Prussian Military Power in Decline? From our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Thursday 20th July – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Back to the eighteenth century for the bank holiday weekend in gorgeous Whitby with
@Dillons1745
. Finally getting my living history enthusiasm back after lockdown, helped by being back in the ranks with a musket again. Photo courtesy of the Scarborough News.
Big new exhibition opening next month, co-curated by
@FlintlockFemme
; looking forward to seeing all her hard work, and that of
@JacRiding
, come to fruition.
COMING SOON 📢
We are delighted to announce that ‘Hogarth’s Britons’ is coming soon to Derby Museum and Art Gallery!
Don’t miss this world-class exhibition, opening on Friday 10 March.
More here:
I am putting together an edited collection on British Amphibious Warfare in the long C18, building on the papers that were presented at the
@Helionbooks
conference last month: Chapters on Belleisle 1761 and raids in the Adriatic already added. Looking for:
Of possible interest to
@NRWGCharity
, grave and window dedicated to Basil Jackson, at St Giles’, Goodrich, Herefordshire. Lt Royal Staff Corps at Waterloo & one of last four living officer survivors of that action - see Dalton pp.38-39.
Today, a thread on how to evaluate popular military history. Just how accurate is that history book you are reading? How can we evaluate the claims that historians make? We are going to explore this through the use of of some examples, both positive and negative. 1/33
New Napoleonicist episode:
Robin Thomas
@RobinThomas1000
joins me to explain why his new study for
@Helionbooks
on the nature of the British army in the Flanders campaign of 1793-5 is important (and it absolutely is!).
Clue: Logistics matters
🎧
Concluding my contribution to
@Books2Cover
's
#HistoryWritersDay
, here’s a link to my most recent work for
@Helionbooks
, whose ‘From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815’ series I edit: . These books are all available direct from Helion, currently with 25% off.
Another new From Reason to Revolution release, strongly recommended to anyone with an interest in the conduct of war in the 18th century or the interplay between domestic politics and battlefield realities.
#NewRelease
Great Britain and the Defence of the Low Countries 1744-1748: Armies, Politics and Diplomacy from our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series is now available!
✨ Save £5 off RRP until 16th October – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Something a little different for No.99 in my From Reason to Revolution series; a much-needed look at the women who followed the British Army in its campaigns against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.
#NewRelease
We are pleased to announce Ladies, Wives And Women is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Monday 24th October– no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Another new From Reason to Revolution title just released. This one examines the British Army during one of its more troubled periods through the experiences of one soldier, the author's ancestor, who rose from private to serjeant-major.
#NewRelease
Not So Easy, Lads: Wearing the Red Coat 1786-1797 from our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series is now available!
✨ Save £5 off RRP until Tuesday 10th October – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
Pleasant novelty of being able to get on with some of my own writing for the first time in an age. 3,000 words on the bombardment of Antwerp for
@ZwhiteHistory
’s siege warfare book, although since no one’s opened fire yet I suspect I might end up with some heavy editing to do…
The weather was finally good enough to get up onto the high ground today, although we left it a touch late for getting down again. Think this probably justifies another pub tea.
⭐ Upcoming Conference ⭐
Helion and Company are proud to announce the first From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail Conference being held online between 1st – 2nd October 2022
Tickets £10.
Find out more here:
A new From Reason to Revolution Peninsular War study just out. Carole Divall not only provides a formation history but also looks at how one of Wellington's divisions was structured and administered on campaign. All inspired by a conversation on the
@societyarmy
battlefield tour.
#NewRelease
Wellington’s Unsung Heroes: The Fifth Division in the Peninsular War, 1810-1814 is now available!
✨ Save 20% off RRP until Thursday 13th April – no code needed ✨
Buy it here:
The final volume to complete Quintin Barry’s trilogy on naval warfare in the American War of Independence, this one looking at the Indian Ocean campaigns.
@KKriegeBlog
@cathfeely
@DerbyUni
@derbymuseums
I can't keep trying this line for ever, & am under no illusions about the state of academia, but if I don't try again now I'm not sure when I ever will. If something else comes up I'd be a fool to turn it down, so it's all wait-and-see but at least I have the makings of a plan.
Very much looking forward to reading this, which I signed up as a From Reason to Revolution title but which
@Rob_Griffith_
saw through production. Great to have a personal account in English from one of the lesser-known coalition armies.
#newrelease
A Swedish Soldier in the Napoleonic Wars: The Memoirs of Carl Magnus Hultin, 1807-1814 from our From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series is now available!
✨ Save £5 off RRP until Monday 5th February – no code needed ✨
🛒 Buy it here: