This book is a great bedtime read - even for an old matelot who knows little about the Army. With 384 stories (all numbered for ease of reference) from The Bible and classical literature through history to recent times, this anthology is a real treat. Some of the stories are of the horrors of war but others of fun and humour. What fun is the story of the 1820s dinner for General Sir George Murray (number 214) and Churchill's quip about eating with Montgomery (341) is a gem (and one I have told many times since reading it!). ( )

Interesting tidbits of trivia. ( )

1982 The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes, edited by Max Hastings (read 2 Mar 1986) This is a book with various accounts of military 'anecdotes.' The first part was not too enthralling, but when it got to the 19th century I found many of the excerpts well worth reading. There were a number of excerpts from books I have read, and I was disturbed to realize I had no special memory of the excerpts. But the list of sources in the book alone makes it worth having the book, and I may read some of those books. I found hilarious an excerpt "Backwards" by M.L.S. from an incident in North Africa in 1944 about a professor trying to drive. The excerpt on Sedan is from a 1961 book by Michael Howard's The Franco-Prussian War and I thought it good. Many of the excerpts concern British troops, since of course it is the "Oxford Book." A good book. ( )