Victoria's Cross by Gary Mead
This controversial book, by one of our finest military historians, reveals the squalid truth about Britain's highest military honour, exposing a shameful history of racism, misogyny and political expediency.
This highly revisionist, hard-hitting book will I predict be highly controversialYet no-one will deny Gary Mead's scholarship, deep research and ability to express an argument with lucidity and passion, as well as his readiness to name names. The Ministry of Defence must now listen to his arguments, and profoundly reform the way we reward - or more often fail to reward - our heroes * Andrew Roberts *
Victoria's Cross is a highly original, judicious book, which questions our long-held assumptions about Britain's highest honour. In beautifully lucid prose, Gary Mead reminds us of the complex background to the creation of the VC. More importantly, he reveals how this decoration, originally a means of recognizing exceptional individual gallantry, has, almost imperceptibly, come to be a potent political tool, far removed from its roots. This is a "must-read" book for anyone interested in military and social history. * Peter Hart *
A thorough, cogent and almost unarguable case -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator *
This book is not simply another collection of heroic VC stories. It is, rather, a critique of the criteria by which the medal is awarded, and its conclusions about the arbitrary nature of many VC awards are quite disturbing. -- Nigel Jones * Daily Telegraph *
Mead pulls no punches in asserting that the kind of behaviour necessary to gain a VC today is not so much courage as "madness". -- Book of the Month * Military History Monthly *
Victoria's Cross is a highly original, judicious book, which questions our long-held assumptions about Britain's highest honour. In beautifully lucid prose, Gary Mead reminds us of the complex background to the creation of the VC. More importantly, he reveals how this decoration, originally a means of recognizing exceptional individual gallantry, has, almost imperceptibly, come to be a potent political tool, far removed from its roots. This is a "must-read" book for anyone interested in military and social history. * Peter Hart *
A thorough, cogent and almost unarguable case -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator *
This book is not simply another collection of heroic VC stories. It is, rather, a critique of the criteria by which the medal is awarded, and its conclusions about the arbitrary nature of many VC awards are quite disturbing. -- Nigel Jones * Daily Telegraph *
Mead pulls no punches in asserting that the kind of behaviour necessary to gain a VC today is not so much courage as "madness". -- Book of the Month * Military History Monthly *
Gary Mead was a journalist for the Financial Times for ten years and has worked extensively for the BBC and Granada TV. He is the author of The Doughboys: America and the First World War (2000) and The Good Soldier (2007).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781843542704 |
| ISBN 10 | 1843542706 |
| Title | Victoria's Cross |
| Author | Gary Mead |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Atlantic Books |
| Year published | 2016-04-07 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |