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Abstract
Although war memoirs constitute a rich, varied literary form, they are often dismissed by historians as unreliable. This collection of essays is one of the first to explore the modern war memoir, revealing the genre’s surprising capacity for breadth and sophistication while remaining sensitive to the challenges it poses for scholars. Covering conflicts from the Napoleonic era to today, the studies gathered here consider how memoirs have been used to transmit particular views of war even as they have emerged within specific social and political contexts.
Philip Dwyer is Professor in Modern European History and Director of the Centre for the History of Violence at the University of Newcastle, Australia. His recent publications include Theatres of Violence: Massacre, Mass Killing and Atrocity throughout History, coedited with Lyndall Ryan (2012). His monograph Napoleon: The Path to Power, 1769-1799 (2008) won the Australian National Biography Award.
“The articles… all provide insights and are all engaging, a trait not often found in edited volumes. The topics range over time (from 17th-century European wars to present-day Afghanistan) and over continents (Europe, North America, Asia, Africa)… Dwyer’s own introductory article incisively orients readers not only to the memoir field, but also to the various perspectives and approaches inherent in war memoir presentation.” · Choice
“The overall quality and scope of this collection are excellent. Its methodological chapters are particularly strong, its case studies are well-chosen, and it manages to cover major engagements while giving attention to long-neglected topics.” · Sönke Neitzel, London School of Economics
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| War Stories | i | ||
| War Stories - The War Memoir in History and Literature - Edited by Philip Dwyer | iii | ||
| Contents | v | ||
| Preface | vii | ||
| Chapter 1 Making Sense of the Muddle | 1 | ||
| Chapter 2 War Memoirs, Witnessing and Silence | 27 | ||
| Chapter 3 ‘A Lively School of Writing’ | 48 | ||
| Chapter 4 ‘The Tallest Pine in the Political Forest’ | 73 | ||
| Chapter 5 British Memoirs and Memories of the Great War | 94 | ||
| Chapter 6 A Cog in the Machine of History? | 111 | ||
| Chapter 7 Post-Soviet Russian Memoirs of the Second World War | 143 | ||
| Chapter 8 Reimagining the Yugoslav Partisan Epic | 168 | ||
| Chapter 9 The War That Was Not | 193 | ||
| Chapter 10 Remembering the ‘Endless’ Partition | 208 | ||
| Chapter 11 ‘To Be Made Over’ | 229 | ||
| Chapter 12 Memoir Writing as Narrative Therapy | 252 | ||
| Chapter 13 Pugnacity, Pain and Professionalism | 277 | ||
| Index | 301 |