The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: an imperishable acc
ount of the direct experience of individuals at 'the point of maximum danger'. I
t examines the physical conditions of fighting, the particular emotions and beha
viour generated by battle, as well as the motives that impel soldiers to stand a
nd fight rather than run away. In this stunningly vivid reassessment of three ba
ttles, John Keegan conveys their reality for the participants, whether facing th
e arrow cloud of Agincourt, the levelled muskets of Waterloo or the steel rain o
f the Somme.