Animals in War

by Jilly Cooper

Pigeons carrying vital messages to and from the beleaguered city during the Siege of Paris; horses and mules struggling through miles of fetid mud to bring ammunition to the front in the Great War; dogs sniffing out mines for the British invasion force in the Second World War - countless brave animals have played their part in the long, cruel history of war. Some have won medals for gallantry - like G.I. Joe, the American pigeon who saved 100 British lives in Italy, and Rob, the black and white mongrel who made over twenty parachute jumps with the SAS. Too many others have died abandoned, in agony and alone, after serving their country with distinction. Jilly Cooper has here written a tribute to the role of animals in wartime. It is a tragic and horrifying story - yet it has its lighter moments a hilarious game of musical chairs played on camels during the Desert Campaign; and the budgie who remarked, when carried from a bombed-out East End tenement, 'This is my night out'. This is a vivid and unforgettable record of man's inhumanity to animals, but also an astonishing story of courage, intelligence, devotion and resilience.

Genres: History, Animals, Nonfiction, World War II, World War I, War, Dogs

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Dame Jilly Cooper, OBE (born February 21, 1937) was an English author. She started her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She was most famous for writing the six blockbuster novels the Rutshire Chronicles.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real tear jerker

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains plenty of information without coming across as a textbook, but the author relies heavily on other works, to the point where it might just be more worth reading those other books instead.

I'm not much of a non-fiction reader myself, so it was nice to read a book that still contained so much description. Some of it really was heart-wrenching. I doubt I'll read it again, but I would recommend it to someone studying war and looking for something a little more unique than the typical "they had these guns, these uniforms, and these tanks".

[Michael Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and heartwarming stories of how animals have been a part of human conflicts, particularly in the 20th century.

[Lyndsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of various animals and their stories as they were used by humans throughout the ages in battle and war. Not surprisingly, this can be a bit depressing, but it is such an interesting subject. Jilly Cooper covers a wide variety of animals and while she mainly focuses on the World Wars, she does provide a little info on earlier experiences. She includes horses, dogs, mules, pigeons, etc. This book was excellent. It was very knowledgable and yet was still surprisingly easy to read. My only qualm was I wanted more. The author does a good job of countering the sad with the warm and good. Obviously there was a lot of tragedy, but there was also courage from both man and beast and she included many heartwarming and uplifting stories. I felt like the author rushed through so much, and I wanted more details, more stories. But in order for her to do that, it would have had to have been a thousand pages long. So instead, I shall find more books to read about the subject. She has a great bibliography at the end that contains other books to read. A well researched and well written book!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think anyone could pick up this book and not expect to get emotional. Cooper has done a really good job with this subject matter. The book has its lighter moments - stories of loyalty, humour and bravery by different animals, but it also has its horrific ones. They aren't easy reading, but Cooper tackles them honestly and without a lot of unnecessary padding, keeping it stark and hard-hitting. Some of the stories are just heartbreaking. The ones that got me more were the ones about the sheer incompetence of the people supposed to be looking after the animals they were using, such as horses left tied in lines so they couldn't graze, completly clipped of hair so they wouldn't get mange, with little to eat - and the surprise recorded when they died from exposure or got colic from eating their rugs! The sheer idiocy of it all makes you want to scream. Still, I think it is one of those books that people SHOULD read, so that we can stop it ever happening again.

[Martin Mulcahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introductory book. I took a chance on the book when I saw it in a discount bin, and glad I did. The major fault I find with the book is that it never gives more than a paragraph or two of attention to any of the individual animals. It does cover a wide variety of animals, and tells more about the hardships the group had to undergo instead of the individual acts of heroism. My recommendation is to pick up the book (the authors percentage of this book goes to a statue fund for war animals) and use the information found in it to do more research on the subject on the net or through other books..., some of which are mentioned as great references within this book.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

All kinds of stories about animals who've served in wartime, and the humans who were lucky enough to work with them. All kinds of information you never suspected about this subject. The author says "it is written in tears, not ink," but I didn't find it all that tear-jerky. Perfect for infuriating the animal-rights activist on your gift list.

[Rocky Ybarra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Animals books are fun............

[William Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book, a real eye-opener and thoroughly recommended..