{"title":"Books by Chris Peers","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399039710","title":"Border Battles","description":"Border Battles describes the events which took place on the battlefields of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, 1018–1513. Author Chris Peers links these with a historical narrative of the campaigns, the political situation which gave rise to them and the geographical factors which shaped them. Included are the two dramatic battles at Alnwick in 1093 \u0026amp; 1174 which highlighted the superiority of Anglo-Norman cavalry, the little known battle of Carham, battles at Berwick on Tweed – the most fought over town in Britain – and Flodden, the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought in the region between the two warring kingdoms, among others.A chapter is also given to the castles built during this period to defend Northumberland against Scottish incursions, which remain important features in the landscape, discussing the general principles of medieval defensive structures as well as the specific strategic situation, especially at Bamborough, Warkworth, Alnwick and Chillingham castles.A complementary volume to The Highland Battles (2020) and Clan Battles (2023), each chapter concludes with a guide to visiting the sites, and the book will be illustrated with photographs of both the featured battlefields and other notable sites of interest.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298346807669,"sku":"9781399039710","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399039710_26ba0326-6e1e-4c54-b653-942f268752c9.jpg?v=1786019162"},{"product_id":"9781399013147","title":"The African Wars","description":"In The African Wars Chris Peers provides a graphic account of several of the key campaigns fought between European powers and the native peoples of tropical and sub-tropical Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His pioneering and authoritative study describes in vivid detail the organization and training of African warriors, their weapons, their fighting methods and traditions, and their tactics. He concentrates on the campaigns mounted by the most successful African armies as they struggled to defend themselves against the European scramble for Africa. Resistance was inconsistent, but some warlike peoples fought long and hard - the Zulu victory over the British at Isandhlwana is the best known but by no means the only occasion when the Africans humiliated the colonial invaders.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298502193525,"sku":"9781399013147","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"9781399070034","title":"Clan Battles","description":"Warfare between the clans of the Highlands in the late Middle Ages determined the course of history in this region of Scotland, and Chris Peers's gripping account of it - and of the rivalry between the strongest clans - gives the reader a deep insight into this bloody, turbulent phase in the development of the far north of the British Isles. The battles he describes, all of them fought between the 1430s and the 1540s, were flash points in the long struggle for dominance between the leading clans of the region.   The battles are reconstructed in vivid detail. The first, Druim n Coub, was fought in 1433 between the Mackays and the Sutherlands. Then came Bloody Bay, a sea fight between rival MacDonald factions, Blar na Parc between the MacDonalds and the Mackenzies, Creag an Airgid between the MacDonalds and the MacIains, Glendale between the MacDonalds and MacLeods, and Torran Dubh between alliances headed by the Mackays and Sutherlands. The final battle, Blar na Leine, fought between the MacDonalds and the Frasers in 1544, marked the end of an era. The subsequent fate of the leading clans, principally the MacDonalds and Mackays, is also covered in a narrative that gives the reader a fascinating new perspective of clan loyalties and conflict which still resonates today.   As well as covering the fighting Chris Peers explains the way war in the Highlands was organized by the contending clans during the period - the strategies and tactics, weapons and armour they employed. The result is an absorbing all-round account of the military history of the Highlands before the clans eventually lost their independence.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298533781877,"sku":"9781399070034","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399070034_55fbe419-886e-46a4-bd27-a4f5a3b6782f.jpg?v=1786019560"},{"product_id":"9781473863675","title":"King Stephen and the Anarchy","description":"The Anarchy, the protracted struggle between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Matilda for the English crown between 1135 and 1154, is often seen as a disastrous breakdown in one of the best-governed kingdoms of medieval Europe. But perhaps the impact of the conflict has been overstated, and its effect on the common people across the country is hard to judge. That is why Chris Peerss fresh study of this fascinating and controversial era is of such value. He describes each phase of this civil war, in particular the castles and sieges that dominated strategic thinking, and he sets the fighting in the context of the changing tactics and military systems of the twelfth century. His fresh account of this pivotal episode in the medieval history of England will be absorbing reading anyone who is keen to gain an insight into this period of English history and has a special interest in the practice of medieval warfare.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301372604789,"sku":"9781473863675","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781473863675_ffdf6416-0fc1-4c4a-ad84-543a68e8b339.jpg?v=1786020491"},{"product_id":"9781526741745","title":"The Highland Battles","description":"The wars fought in Scotland's northern and western highlands between the ninth and fourteenth centuries were a key stage in the military history of the region, yet they have rarely been studied in-depth before. Out of this confused and turbulent period came the more settled and familiar history of the region. The Highlands and islands were controlled by the kings of Norway or by Norse or Norse-Celtic warlords, who not only resisted Scottish royal authority but on occasion seemed likely to overthrow it.   That is why Chris Peers's ambitious study is of such value for he provides a coherent and vivid account of the series of campaigns and battles that shaped Scotland. The narrative is structured around a number of battles - Skitten Moor, Torfness, Tankerness, Renfrew, Mam Garvia, Clairdon and Dalrigh - which illustrate phases of the conflict and reveal the strategies and tactics of the rival chieftains.   Chris Peers explores the international background to many of these conflicts which had consequences for Scotland's relations with England, Ireland and continental Europe. At the same time he considers to what extent the fighting methods of the time survived into the post-medieval period.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303093219701,"sku":"9781526741745","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526741745_c756ebd6-7ac0-47b7-819f-1a79b8f1e337.jpg?v=1786022392"},{"product_id":"9781399019354","title":"Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine","description":"As a soldier and general, statesman and empire-builder, Genghis Khan is an almost legendary figure. His remarkable achievements and his ruthless methods have given rise to a sinister reputation. As Chris Peers shows, in this concise and authoritative study, he possessed exceptional gifts as a leader and manager of men - he ranks among the greatest military commanders - but he can only be properly understood in terms of the Mongol society and traditions he was born into. So the military and cultural background of the Mongols, and the nature of steppe societies and their armies, are major themes of his book. He looks in detail at the military skills, tactics and ethos of the Mongol soldiers, and at the advantages and disadvantages they had in combat with the soldiers of more settled societies. His book offers a fascinating fresh perspective on Genghis Khan the man and on the armies he led.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312263803253,"sku":"9781399019354","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399019354_8be1c2e8-defb-4a76-88e4-a26b792e787c.jpg?v=1786019790"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-chris-peers.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}