“The hitherto forgotten story of the development of the regimental band, mainly drummers and buglers. A rare piece of social history” (Books Monthly). The Instruments of Battle examines in detail the development and role of the British Army’s fighting drummers and buglers, from the time of the foundation of the army up to the present day. While their principal weapon of war was the drum and bugle—and the fife—these men and boys were not musicians as such, but fighting soldiers who took their place in the front line. The origins of the drum and bugle in the classical period and the later influence of Islamic armies are examined, leading to the arrival of the drum and fife in early Tudor England. The story proper picks up post-English Civil War. The drum’s period of supremacy through much of the eighteenth-century army is surveyed, and certain myths as to its use are dispelled. The bugle rapidly superseded the drum for field use in the nineteenth century—until developments on the battlefield consigned these instruments largely to barrack life and the parade ground. But there are surprising examples of the use of the bugle in the field through both world wars as the story is brought up to modern day and the instruments’ relegation to an almost exclusively ceremonial role. This is all set against a background of campaigns, battles, changing tactical methods, and the difficult processes of command and control on the battlefield. Interwoven is relevant comparison with other armies, particularly American and French. Stories of the drummers and buglers themselves provide social context to their place in the army.

Today, war is considered a last resort for resolving disagreements. But a day of staged slaughter on the battlefield was once seen as a legitimate means of settling political disputes. James Whitman argues that pitched battle was essentially a trial with a lawful verdict. And when this contained form of battle ceased to exist, the law of victory gave way to the rule of unbridled force. The Verdict of Battle explains why the ritualized violence of the past was more effective than modern warfare in bringing carnage to an end, and why humanitarian laws that cling to a notion of war as evil have led to longer, more barbaric conflicts. Belief that sovereigns could, by rights, wage war for profit made the eighteenth century battle’s golden age. A pitched battle was understood as a kind of legal proceeding in which both sides agreed to be bound by the result. To the victor went the spoils, including the fate of kingdoms. But with the nineteenth-century decline of monarchical legitimacy and the rise of republican sentiment, the public no longer accepted the verdict of pitched battles. Ideology rather than politics became war’s just cause. And because modern humanitarian law provided no means for declaring a victor or dispensing spoils at the end of battle, the violence of war dragged on. The most dangerous wars, Whitman asserts in this iconoclastic tour de force, are the lawless wars we wage today to remake the world in the name of higher moral imperatives.

The Battle for Control of the Brass and Instruments Business in the French Industrial Revolution narrates and analyzes the largest judicial battle in culture and industrial property in nineteenth century Europe, the echoes of which still ring today. The battle was about simple wind instruments made of brass and their related patents, not by opera - the musical genre that moved the most money and people at the time - or the revered and contentious high art. Music, in all its dimensions, had become a business. The nineteenth-century French industry of brasswinds shows how the strategic parameters of the Industrial Revolution and, essentially, the system that sustained them (capitalism), permeated everything. What lay behind those contentious disputes was the pursuit of commercial profit, and the consolidation of a dominant position that would yield the maximum possible economic return. The legal confrontation began when a group of French businessmen who built wind instruments saw their business and sources of financing threatened after being forced by the Army to use a series of musical instruments that were different to the usual ones and protected by patents for invention that belonged to Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. Diago Ortega provides evidence of how political power was used by economic power, and presents arguments on how culture articulated the social machinery and was a powerful tool for legitimizing political positions.

Bring history to life for students in grades 5 and up using Civil War: The War Between the States! This 176-page book includes activities, questions, and discussions about the origin, battles, and effects of the Civil War. The book also includes time lines, an answer key, and reproductions of historical photographs and drawings.

Stress is a universal phenomenon that impacts adversely on most people. Following on the heels of Stress Science: Neuroendocrinology and Stress Consequences: Mental, Neuropsychological and Socioeconomic, this third derivative volume will provide a readily accessible and affordable compendium that explains the phenomenon of stress as it relates physically and mentally to war, conflict and disaster. The first section will be dedicated to study of the link between stress and various forms of conflict. Specific instances of conflict will be discussed - the Gulf wars, Korea, Hiroshima bombing, the Holocaust, 9/11, Northern Ireland, terrorism in general, torture. The second section will explore the stress impact of more general physical disasters such as airline and vehicle accidents, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. The final section will focus on the clinical relationship between conflict stress and various mental diseases – PTSD, suicide, disaster syndrome, etc – as well as the adverse impact of stress on human physical health in general. Comprised of about 100 top articles selected from Elsevier's Encyclopedias of Stress, the volume will provide a valuable desk reference that will put relevant articles readily at the fingertips of all scientists who consider stress. - Chapters offer impressive and unique scope with topics addressing the relationship between stress generated by war, conflict and disaster and various physical/mental disorders - Richly illustrated with over 200 figures, dozens in color - Articles carefully selected by one of the world's most preeminent stress researchers and contributors represent the most outstanding scholarship in the field, with each chapter providing fully vetted and reliable expert knowledge