TWO BOOKS

The season of guesting and feasting is nearly upon us and I doubt I’ll be getting that much blogging done, certainly not as much as I’d like.

With that in mind let me suggest two books for those interested in the Sikh Wars and the Tudor War in Ireland respectively.

Here’s an extract from a review I’m working on of Amarpal Singh Sidhu’s The Second Anglo- Sikh War.

“This is a great book in both size and content. The research and writing are superb. Those who have read Sidhu’s First Anglo-Sikh War can be assured the high quality is maintained in this volume.

It is tempting for the reader to turn immediately to the better- known actions of the war.  To do so would be a mistake-because Sidhu’s careful scene setting and meticulous descriptions of the main actors and their motives add great depth to the readers understanding of why things turned out as they did. 

The rise of the Sikh kingdom and Ranjit Singh’s centrality to its pre-eminence left a conflicting legacy. The mass of Sikhs remained confident and proud of their achievement. Their Government on the other hand in the main felt no allegiance at all to the Sikh state. Many were not Sikhs and had ascended to position by virtue of usefulness in one form or another to Ranjit.  With Ranjit gone only graft, profitable treachery and surviving the wrath of a nation, they had betrayed motivated them.

Yet beyond the Court the Sikh State had depth and resilience.  This was the core of the British dilemma.  The Sikh Government had helped orchestrate its own army’s defeat but the Sikhs themselves, well aware of the fact, did not consider themselves to be beaten.”

Simply an essential book for anyone interested in the Sikh Wars.

Turning to points West, for anyone interested in the Tudor wars in Ireland James O’Neill’s The Nine Years War 1593-1603 is a must. As conflicts go The Nine Years War warrants more attention and yet this is the first serious treatment of the entire war published to date.

Ten years in the making James O’Neill’s book will, I believe, rapidly become the definitive text for anyone wanting to understand the greatest war ever fought by the Tudor State. 

It was a war of two halves with the Irish decisively winning the first half and the English slowly but relentlessly turning the tide to clinch the final victory in the second.  

As you might hope great attention is focused on arms, tactics, strategy and logistics. Contrary to much received opinion in military terms it was the Irish who proved to the innovative modernisers and the English who were handicapped by clinging over-long to traditional and out dated practices.

At the end of the conflict England was bankrupted, its economy shattered by the ceaseless demands of the war. Many leading English Captains, martial reputations in tatters, were among the slain - along with thousands of ordinary soldiers.  

For Ireland, the war which had begun so promisingly ended in total ruin. A civilization that had seen off Vikings, Normans and a succession of English medieval potentates was utterly defeated. 

Friends in the book trade tell me this one is flying off the shelves so, if it’s of interest, I’d say buy it now or find yourself paying an awful lot more later. 

I'll review both of these books in depth at some point meantime if your interests lie in either period-don't hesitate.