Despatches from the Crimea

by William Howard Russell, Martin Bell (Foreword by)

William Howard Russell's uncompromising dispatches from the Crimea to the London Times, collected in this book, revolutionized war reporting and the public's perception of war. Never before had Britons on the home front been exposed to the grim realities of remote battlefields, and they were shocked and outraged by what they read. Russell's images of the plight of the soldiers and his criticism of medical facilities led the government to vastly improve soldiers' living standards and Florence Nightingale to improve sanitation for the wounded. Even now, more than 150 years after his reporting from the Crimea, readers will find Russell's graphic descriptions to be extraordinarily modern.

Among the dispatches reproduced for the book are Russell's eyewitness accounts of the battles of the Alma, Inkerman, Balaklava, and the Tchernaya, and the carnage at the Malakoff and the Redan. His description of the brave fiasco that came to be known as the Charge of the Light Brigade inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson to compose his famous poem. Russell's refusal to compromise and his meticulous attention to detail set a standard that remains today.

Genres: Military History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 1970

About the author

William Howard Russell was an Irish reporter with The Times, and is considered to have been one of the first modern war correspondents, after he spent 22 months covering the Crimean War including the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was a decent first hand account of the British Army in Crimean conflict, 1853-1856 taken from Sir William Howard Russell's reports and later book on the conflict. It was easy to read but I found that at time the book dragged and my interest tended to flag. I found the book "The Thin Red Line: The eyewitness history of the Crimean War" by Julian Spilsbury a much more engaging book offering very interesting and detailed first-hand accounts from the participants of this campaign.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyrighted in 1966, I own a paperback edition by Panther History (1970) - predating ISBN.
A clear read, even without much prior background knowledge about the Crimean War. Still, I can't help but wonder if an unedited version wouldn't be more interesting, as a lot of the omitted material was 'only of interest to the military historian'. Who do you think buys these ?