Symbol of Courage: A History of the Victoria Cross

click here for more details, find new or used items

Max Arthur

Used from £18.00

Pages: 720 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 0283073519

Pub: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd

Pub date: 2004-06-18

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 309761

Reader Reviews:

A good book (2/2 people found this helpful)

And very well written and interesting !.

Its a lot easier to read than David Harveys seminal 2 volume set called "Monuments to Courage" and its a good book !

Valuable addition to VC history (16/17 people found this helpful)

Max Arthur's new book has filled a gap in VC literature. Not since "The Victoria Cross 1856-1920" by Creagh & Humphris (pub.1920), has there been a book that attempts to describe every action chronologically of all 1341 recipients. What sets the book apart is the full description of the campaigns, which give the reader a point of reference. This is of great help, especially with some of the more obscure colonial wars like the Second Nada Hill Expedition 1879-80 and the Karen-Ni Expedition of 1888-89.
There is a very informative glossary and a biographical index of the award recipients in alphabetical order, which includes their final resting place. There is a most useful appendix, which lists the VC recipients and the London Gazette details.
There are many interesting snippets added to the descriptions of the actions. A couple of examples are:- John McGregor of the Canadian Mounted Rifles who enlisted in 1915 after travelling 120 miles cross-country in snowshoes - Patrick Roddy of the Bengal Army during the Indian Mutiny he was offered a bar to his VC but chose promotion instead. He would have been the first VC & bar.
As the Editor of the Victoria Cross Society, I have no hesitation in thoroughly recommending this excellent book - a 'must' for all students of the VC and a good book to those who wish to learn more.

a long awaited book (9/9 people found this helpful)

I have been looking for a book like this for a long time it gives in detail how every VC was won from the fisrt one issued up to and includeing the falklands war an excellent read being hard to put down

Similar Products

Supreme Courage: Heroic Stories from 150 Years of the VC

Lost Voices of the Royal Air Force

Lost Voices of the Royal Navy: Vivid Eyewitness Accounts of Life in the Royal Navy from 1914-1945

Bravest of the Brave: The Story of the Victoria Cross

Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A New History of the Second World War and the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices World War 2)