1st Edition

Sport, War and the British 1850 to the Present

By Peter Donaldson Copyright 2020
192 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

192 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

192 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Spanning the colonial campaigns of the Victorian age to the War on Terror after 9/11, this study explores the role sport was perceived to have played in the lives and work of military personnel, and examines how sporting language and imagery were deployed to shape and reconfigure civilian society’s understanding of conflict. From 1850 onwards war reportage – complemented and reinforced by... Read more

Introduction

1 Victoria’s small wars, 1837–1899: ‘Hunt, shoot, and fight’

2 The South African War, 1899–1902: ‘We are having a very enjoyable game’

3 The First World War: ‘A new and deadly game'

4 The Second World War: Winning in the ‘ashes of civilisation’

5 War in the nuclear age, 1945 to the present: ‘Top guns 1, mad dog 0’

Conclusion

Biography

Peter Donaldson is Senior Lecturer in modern British history at the University of Kent, UK.

"This exploration of conceptual metaphors in the narration of Britain’s wars—how they were packaged, configured, and presented to the public, most of whom experienced war vicariously—gives insights into the cultural values of the time from which that narration is produced." - Sebastian Potgieter, University of Otago