A Military Transformed? - A forthcoming book from Helion

This is a shameless bit of self-promotion but I hope you will all indulge me

In November 2013, my first book will be published. Well to be honest I am one of the co-editors with two friends, Stuart Mitchell and Michael LoCicero though I do contribute a chapter on the transformation of land based air support for amphibious operation between 1942 and 1944. The book examines the process of transformation that occurred within the British military from 1792 to 1945. It is based on papers given at a symposium we co-organised in 2011 at the Centre for War Studies, University of Birmingham. We are publishing with Helion and Company, which has been a great experience. Helion is a publisher with some interesting plans to make a difference in publishing military history and hopefully begin to bridge the gap between popular and academic presses.

Here is the book’s blurb taken from the Helion website:

Here is a list of the books chapters that includes a few focussed on the Second World War:

Introduction by Michael LoCicero, Ross Mahoney and Stuart Mitchell

1. The British Army, 1795-1815: An Army Transformed? by Andrew Limm
2. ‘Forsaking the good cause’? The Changes and Obstacles in Reforming the British Army, 1815-1854 by Peter Randall
3. Resistance and Reform: Transformation in the British Army Medical Services 1854-1914 by Andrew Duncan
4. “The Most Resistless and Revolutionary Weapon of Naval Warfare that has Ever Been Introduced”: The Royal Navy and the Whitehead Torpedo 1870-1900 by Richard Dunley
5. The Thin Khaki Line: The Evolution of Infantry Attack Formations in the British Army 1899-1914 by Spencer Jones
6. Learning to Manage the Army: The Army Administration Course at the London School of Economics by Peter Grant
7. The Royal Navy’s Adoption of Oil Before the First World War by Martin Gibson
8. Naval Wing Good, Military Wing Bad? An Orwellian inspired analysis of British Aviation Doctrine, 1912-1914 by James Pugh
9. “Hopeless Inefficiency”? The Operational Performance and Transformation of Brigade Staff, 1916-1918 by Aimeé Fox-Godden
10. Vanishing Battalions: The Nature, Impact and Implications of British Infantry Reorganisation prior to the German Spring Offensives of 1918 by Simon Justice
11. From ‘Jock Column’ to Armoured Column: Transformation and Change in British and Commonwealth Unit Tactics in the Western Desert, January 1941 to November 1942 by Neal Dando
12. ‘Lessons Learnt’: The Royal Air Force, Operation JUBILEE, and the Transformation of Combined Operations, 1942-1944 by Ross Mahoney
13. British Aero-Naval Co-Operation in the Mediterranean and the Formation of RAF No. 201 (Naval Co-Operation) Group by Richard Hammond
14. Re-evaluation of Wartime Communications: British Despatch Riders and Communications Reliability during the Second World War by Sarah McCook

Epilogue – Military Transformation in Crisis: The Future of Britain’s 21st Century Armed Forces by Matthew Ford

You can find the book here on the Helion website.

Ross

 

Well I'll be buying it...And I'm sure most others will now too..Like the last chapter....I'll be surprised if I don't see a blurb on it by Max Hastings...your invading his territory.

 

Son ordering it for me today...Well done matey.

 

Thank you Urqh. Much appreciated.

Ross

 

Ordered mate...thanks.

 

I've preordered it...You better not start putting extracts on here...I'm into freebies...but not when I'm waiting for it to be despatched. Can't wait....the chapter listing sounds excellent.

 

Thanks Urqh. No samples are going to be posted. I am a poor student and need as many people to buy the book as is possible ;-)

Ross

 

As far I am aware there is not a kindle version planned. I know Duncan wants to move in this direction but it has not happened yet. As to shipping, I have no idea to be honest. The book is listed on Amazon UK and is distributed in the US by Casemate so should end up on the Amazon US at some point.

Ross

 

Just to note that this was published last month!

Ross

 

I see it's available on Amazon but no reviews yet. Reasonably priced for a hard back.

 

Many congrats, Ross - it must be a great feeling to have your work published !

 

Helion are reasonably prived and are making an attempt to publish more academic work, thus, making what is normally prohibitively expensive more accessible.

Cheers Martin. Yes, it feels very good.

Ross

 

Looking forward to getting hold of a copy.
My old man was a scaleyback, so the last chapter is particularly magnetic for me.