On Thursday 4th March, 2010, World Book Day, we asked teachers to talk to their classes about their favourite books or books they are currently enjoying. Mr Cowies’ first choice was John Keegan’s book ‘The American Civil War’:
‘The American Civil War was one of the longest and bloodiest of modern wars. It is also one of the most mysterious. It has captured the imagination of writers, artists and film-makers for decades but the reality of it confuses and divides historians even today. In this magisterial history of the first modern war, the distinguished military historian John Keegan unpicks the geography, leadership and strategic logic of the war and takes us to the heart of the conflict. His captivating work promises to be the definitive history of the American Civil War.’ Nielsen Bookdata Online
And his second was ‘Inverting The Pyramid’ by Jonathan Wilson:
‘Whether it’s Terry Venables keeping his wife up late at night with diagrams on scraps of paper spread over the eiderdown, or the classic TV sitcom of moving the salt & pepper around the table top in the transport cafe, football tactics are now part of the fabric of everyday life. Steve McLaren’s switch to an untried 3-5-2 against Croatia will probably go down as the moment he lost his slim credibility gained from dropping David Beckham; Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, was often brought to task for trying to smuggle the long ball game back into English football. Here Jonathan Wilson pulls apart the modern game, traces the world history of tactics from modern pioneers right back to beginning where chaos reigned. Along the way he looks at the lives of great players and thinkers who shaped the game, and probes why the English, in particular, have ‘proved themselves unwilling to grapple with the abstract’. ‘ Nielsen Bookdata Online
Mr Cowie says: “Both first rate – if you like military history and football. More for the boys?” Possibly, Mr Cowie, but you’d be surprised how many girls are actually interested in wars and ‘the beautiful game’!!!
