A Soldier's Life: General Sir Ian Hamilton 1853-1947

by John Lee, Brian Bond (Foreword)

In this riveting new biography, John Lee shows that Sir Ian Hamilton had a far more successful and influential military career than history has so far related. In the years before the First World War, Hamilton was widely acknowledged as possibly the most experienced soldier in the world. All this was to be shattered by the devestating failure in Gallipoli in 1915. Through painstaking study of archive material and contemporary sources. John Lee reveals that Gallipoli was a doomed exercise almost from the start and that Hamilton, though largely exonerated by the Dardanelles Commission which investigated the campaign, deserves to have his entire career re-assessed.

Genres: Biography

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Lee (June 1946- ) studied Modern History at Birkbeck College, London, earning a MA in Social and Economic History. He also earned a MA from King's College, London in War Studies.

Reviews

[Matthew Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was my privilege when I was a young man to know a man who served at that Gallipolli. That hellish campaign is burnt onto our collective consciousness but as always there was another side to the story, and Lee strives to add balance to a somewhat skewed narrative. Highly recommended.