Search results for ""author michael whitby""

Commander A.F.C. Layard, RN, wrote almost daily in his diary, in bold, neat script, from the time he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1913 until his retirement in 1947. The pivotal 1943-45 years of this edited volume offer an extraordinarily full and honest chronicle, revealing Layard’s preoccupations, both with the daily details and with the strain and responsibility of wartime command at sea.Enhanced by Michael Whitby’s explanatory essays, the diary sheds light on the inshore anti-submarine campaign in British waters; discusses pivotal events such as the invasions of North Africa and Normandy and convoys to Russia; describes encounters with important personalities; and records the final surrender of German U-boats. It is a highly personal piece of history that greatly enhances our understanding of the Canadian naval experience and the Atlantic war as a whole.A consummately well-researched work, Commanding Canadians will appeal to both naval scholars, as well as to general readers interested in military history.

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This volume introduces the reader to every important aspect of the society of Sparta, the dominant power in southern Greece from the seventh century BC and the great rival of democratic Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries. During this period Sparta evolved a unique social and political system that combined egalitarian structures, military ideals and brutal oppression, and permitted male citizens to focus on the practice of war. The system fascinated scholars at the time and has done so ever since: its outlines are clear, but because of the nature of the evidence almost all detailed aspects of Spartan social practices and constitutional affairs are open to debate. Michael Whitby introduces and presents some of the most outstanding contributions to the history of Sparta. Together they cover the key aspects of Spartan history and society: its problematic early history, social and economic organisation (especially the different categories of citizens and non-citizens), international relations and military achievements, religious practices and culture, the role of women, and sexual conduct and values. He has chosen them partly for their clarity and importance, and partly too for the questions they raise about the problems of studying Sparta - what evidence to consider, what precautions need to be observed in considering it, and what sorts of conclusions it is reasonable to draw. His intention is not to pretend that definitive answers can be offered to the main problems of Sparta but to encourage readers to formulate their own approaches and judgements with due respect for the limitations of the evidence and awareness of the benefits of informed speculation.

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Justinian I was the last great conquering Roman emperor, who dramatically increased the size of his realm although he never actually led an army in person. His long reign (527-565) was devoted to the challenging project of _renovatio imperii_, that is the renovation of Empire. His was the will and vision behind campaigns that saw the reconquest of Rome itself and Italy from the Ostrogoths, North Africa from the Vandals, and parts of Spain from the Visigoths. These grand schemes were largely accomplished through the services of two talented generals, Belisarius and Narses, and in spite of the distractions of wars against the Persians in the east for most of his reign and the devastation caused by bubonic plague. This is the only book available devoted to analysing all of Justinian's campaigns on the basis of the full range of sources. Besides narrating the course and outcome of these wars, Michael Whitby analyses the Roman army of the period, considering its equipment, organization, leadership, strategy and tactics, and considers the longer-term impact of Justinian's military ventures on the stability of the empire.

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The Chronicon Paschale is one of the major constituents of the Byzantine chronographic tradition covering the late antique period.

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