| PVT641 | 18 Oct 2018 5:51 a.m. PST |
Gentlemen,
My son is interested in learning about this war. Not the F&I, just Europe. What books do you suggest? |
| Ed von HesseFedora | 18 Oct 2018 7:04 a.m. PST |
If completely new, I would start with the Osprey book as an overview. link |
| Atomic Floozy | 18 Oct 2018 7:16 a.m. PST |
"It would require a great philosopher & historian to explain the causes of the famous Seven Years' War in which Europe was engaged and in which Barry's regiment was now on its way to take part…" YouTube link |
| HG Walls | 18 Oct 2018 7:30 a.m. PST |
You cannot go wrong with any of the writings of Christopher Duffy. link |
| Lascaris | 18 Oct 2018 8:51 a.m. PST |
Agree on Duffy. Frederick the Great, a military life, would be a nice, digestible place to start. Beyond Duffy there's Showalter's back on Frederick, Szabo's The Seven Years War in Europe although I think he has a bit of an axe to grind so careful there, Dibgy Smith's new SYW two volume set, although that covers the entire global war, or Savory's His Majesty's Army in Germany which is great but a bit heavy going for the young. |
| Fred Mills | 18 Oct 2018 9:00 a.m. PST |
For the SYW in North America, Peter MacLeod's Northern Armageddon is the best there is, covering the campaign that led to the fall of Quebec. He wrote a follow-up volume on the Ste Foy campaign, which is also good, but neither as detailed nor as engaging (in my humble opinion). Both are very good. But Northern Armageddon is superb. Happy reading. |
Richard Brooks  | 18 Oct 2018 9:28 a.m. PST |
Depending on his age G.A. Henty's With Frederick the Great will give a taste of the period while placing a teenager right in the middle of it all with Frederick. |
| 14Bore | 18 Oct 2018 10:27 a.m. PST |
2nd on Christopher Duffy
Or you could go for the long slog and read Thomas Carlyle's History of Frederick the Great |
| PVT641 | 18 Oct 2018 11:15 a.m. PST |
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| 14Bore | 18 Oct 2018 2:46 p.m. PST |
If he's only 15 he would have a good chance of finishing Carlyle
link |
| Cavcmdr | 18 Oct 2018 5:53 p.m. PST |
The novels of G. A. Henty. The complete works were available on Kindle for 99p. He covers lots of periods.
I read "Cornet of Horse" when I was about ten years old and again this year (45+ yrs later). It introduced me to soldiers in tricorns. I'm still there. That one is WSS. There is another about the SYW. The style is good and the pace fairly fast. It is written for those more interested in battles than sieges and logistics though the reasoning is included.
Enjoy, though the other novels may expand my figure collection yet again. |
| HansPeterB | 18 Oct 2018 10:00 p.m. PST |
It's long been lamented that we lack a really good, up-to-date appraisal of the conflict. I would say that Szabo's <The Seven Years War in Europe> (Routledge, 2007) is the best single volume on the European conflict, but he's definitely not primarily a military historian. If its just the military side of the conflict, I would agree that Duffy would be the way to go, but Dennis Showalter's <Frederick the Great: A Military History> (Frontline, 2012) is also worth looking at. |
| langobard | 19 Oct 2018 4:45 a.m. PST |
Another vote for Duffy's Frederick the Great a Military Life. |
| PVT641 | 19 Oct 2018 5:52 a.m. PST |
Thank you very much Gentlemen! |
Gunfreak  | 19 Oct 2018 7:48 a.m. PST |
Duffy's Prussia's Glory, it's quite short, but gives you two famous battles, and several skirmishes, and full of honour and daring! May not go very in-depth, but if it's inspiration you're after, few books are better. |
| AussieAndy | 21 Oct 2018 10:05 p.m. PST |
Duffy is always readable. If he has enough brains to be interested in this stuff, then he'll have enough brains to cope with Duffy. The maps in Duffy's books are generally plentiful and helpful, which makes things a whole lot easier. |
paints his first three ships from the starter set.