This is a searingly honest, keenly observed, well written and extremely funny military memoir and a must read for anyone interested in the tight brother and sisterhood of fast jet jockeys. It's a rare insight into a world hidden from view by operational security and corporate PR and all too often only revealed years too late . . . It's insightful, unapologetic and, at times hilarious

This isn't a book for the faint-hearted. It is a book for anyone who appreciates insight into how a fighter pilot trains, trains more, thinks (fast), handles the aircraft and onboard tech . . . then fights

The storytelling wouldn't be out of place in a thriller. If you are going to take one book on holiday it has to be Harrier . . . it's a superb read. You won't be able to put it down

Freedman offers excellent concise summaries of some of the world's main clashes since 1950 ... The author makes an encouraging point when he concludes this useful book: "The advantages of democratic systems lie not in their ability to avoid bad decisions, either by governments or commanders . . . The advantage lies in their ability to recognise these mistakes, learn and adapt. Closed systems, in which subordinates dare not ask awkward questions . . . will suffer operationally."

Lawrence Freedman is one of our most distinguished military historians. In this thoughtful book, drawing on decades of study, he looks at the marriage of authorities that takes place in the running of wars since 1945: where political power meets military expertise, and who ends up having the final say. ... sumptuous ... this should be the standard text in staff colleges around the world, and for military-history studies.

It is incredibly insightful, occasionally moving and profoundly wise.

In this broad survey of command in war since 1945, Lawrence Freedman brings to bear his extensive knowledge to explain the many complexities commanders at the highest level must now face, from grasping new ways of warfare to managing military organisation and supply and, above all, coping with the mercurial behaviour of their political masters. If there is a theme to Freedman's book, which ranges from the Korean War to Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine, it is to be found in the tensions and conflicts between military leaders and the politicians who call the shots that he documents. How often must a supreme commander have wished he were free to do what he wanted? Usually, politics has to be factored in. ... One of the revelations of Freedman's detailed and well-informed book is how difficult the management of conflict has become ... [an] invaluable panorama of the challenges of modern command

Command is arguably his finest book - fluently written and convincingly argued - into which he distils a lifetime of study into the nature and practice of war.

Sir Lawrence Freedman, Britain's most distinguished scholar of war, surveys 15 different battles and campaigns ... The lesson is that good command looks both ways, sensitive to the politics raging above while remaining in touch with the war being fought below.

comfortably the book of the year. It is a reminder of the human factor as a central component of the so-called correlations of forces in war.

Freedman's mastery of the subject of civil and military leadership in time of war is peerless ... a fascinating study of the psychological and political characteristics that determine success or failure in leadership in war.

The most brilliant critique of the Ukraine war has just appeared in Command by veteran strategist Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman. The book is about the tangles of command, politicians playing soldiers and soldiers playing politician in nine wars of this century.

Freedman's brilliant insights help us understand the dynamics of a modern military catastrophe. This is a "how to" book for politicians and generals alike. The Kremlin library deserves an urgent copy.

admirable ... what really makes this study special is that he reminds us that command is about people, both politicians and military men, with all their fears and flaws, vanities and preconceptions.

this fascinating account of how wars are won - and lost - by overmighty and insubordinate generals in democracies and dictatorships alike. Ukraine, Chechnya, the Falklands, Lebanon and Suez are among the conflicts whose triumphs and disasters are laid bare in extensive detail - just don't expect Putin, Lawrence Freedman warns, to heed the lessons.

Command, by Lawrence Freedman is a real page-turner, as various conflicts post-1945 are analysed from both a military and political standpoint. A must-read.

admirable ... what really makes this study special is that he reminds us that command is about people, both politicians and military men, with all their fears and flaws, vanities and preconceptions ... It is an important book - really first class - and timely.

In this historical and geographical tour de force, Freedman cogently examines the interplay of politics and command-the balance of decision-making by civilian leaders and their military counterparts. His account ranges from the end of World War II to the present, and across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America assessing the record of a host of important civilian and military officials who were in positions of command during times of war and peace. One of the critical questions Freedman explores is what military officers should do when civilian leaders demand actions that are illegal or contradict core national or professional values-and, conversely, what civilian commanders should do when generals refuse to follow orders. During wartime, it is not just the contest of civil and military authorities that complicate command but also the clashing imperatives of politics, expertise, resources, and individual egos. Freedman's book is a must-read, and even more so today, as it sheds light on the dynamics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which challenges the very core of the postwar international order.

Timothy Garton Ash tells the epic story of ... [postwar] Europe

Excellent ... Read as a letter, such gemlike vignettes can be treasured. Because in them, Garton Ash has captured something of what it means to be European. Though he is proudly in love with Europe, he is not blind to its faults

Part memoir, part history and is fascinating, rich in anecdote, and at times intensely moving

A panoramic contemporary history of Europe, in which sharp political analysis is enlivened with personal memoir — drawn from decades of distinguished work as a journalist and academic

Vivid and starkly unsentimental... X Troop is a gripping story of Jewish courage and empowerment in the midst of darkness and sorrow

The Lion House presents a historical universe that captivates and astonishes and is near-impossible to put down. A superb example of historical literature and research

Full of breath-taking events at the cross-roads of empires at a moment in history when notions such as Europe, Asia, Christianity and Islam were infinitely more fluid and permeable than they are today

Original... de Bellaigue... offers a vivid presentation of events, re-imagined as scenes and episodes... a different, literary kind [of history]

De Bellaigue writes with impecable scholarship, piecing together contemporary accounts to create a thrilling narrative

De Bellaigue is an expert stylist, sensitive to rhythm and vocabulary, and passionate in his pursuit of the fugitive detail that gives meaning to a whole episode

An exhilarating read

An engrossing book... This is history turned into drama and poetry, awesomely spectacular yet also intensely intimate

The world of Suleyman the Magnificent...is brought to life in this history

A masterpiece

Jessie Child's The Siege of Loyalty House turns an English Civil War stand-off into a fable of murderous polarisation: gripping, timely history

The Siege of Loyalty House ... tingles with a discerning historical imagination

[A] thrilling tale of war

[A] gripping tale of a royalist house standing its grown against the Roundheads ... Atmospheric, unflinching, and at times extraordinarily witty

[A] poignant book... the story is timeless

Compelling

Exhaustively researched and beautifully written, [The Siege of Loyalty House] tells the story of the epic two-year siege of Basing House, a royalist mansion finally captured by Oliver Cromwell in 1645.

When you are as good a writer as Jessie Childs, and as assuredly immersed in the archives, the pages zing with the technicolour of celluloid. ... [A] masterpiece.

Childs writes an engrossing, spellbinding narrative while laying out a clear and comprehendible history

The broad subject of this poignant book is what happens to people during civil war: how quickly and imperceptibly order becomes chaos and decency yields to cruelty. In other words, how close to inhumanity humanity always is. The focus is on an episode in the English civil war, but the story is timeless

A gripping account of the agony at Basing, The Siege of Loyalty House is also a potted social history of the civil wars and how they started. Jessie Childs, [is] a gifted storyteller