Lou Dimarco's book War Horse will soon be released. It's listed on Amazon now:

http://www.amazon.com/War-Horse-History ... 321&sr=8-1

Please note, I'm jumping the gun a bit here, as it's soon to be released, meaning it isn't out quite yet.

There will be more on the book to follow, but I've been lucky enough to read an advanced copy, and it is excellent. Lou traces the history of the hose in warfare from it's earliest appearance up through the history of the horse as an implement of war. A person who has enjoyed the threads here on the Society of the Military Horse forum could not help but enjoy the book. There's something for everyone, and the details on horse use in various eras is very well presented, and fascinating. Any student of the horse should enjoy it, and learn from it. Highly recommended.

Additionally, as those of you who have participated here for some time know, the authorship speaks for itself. This is not a book written by someone unknown to us, but rather by somebody who is very well known, and respected here. That speaks a great deal for the book.

Great news. Congratulations Lou, and thanks.

Sandy

Most interesting, I just preordered it.

Tom

Congratulations Lou.

I didn't quite figure out when this book will be available...... I did pre-order. Looking forward to receiving it.
Richard

Thanks Pat for the announcement, and thanks everyone for their interest.

The last I heard from the publisher was mid March. At that time the final manuscript was shipped to the printer and it would be distributed to venders in April. Amazon is saying April 30 for shipping and I believe it will be no later than that.

I think you will enjoy the book as many of the issues that come up periodically in the forum are addressed. I hope at least, though it may not be the final word on many subjects, it will be a starting point for discussion. I'll be anxious to hear what the forum members think and to discuss and answer any questions that come up.

Enjoy!

Just an update: The books are printed and ready for shippment and the publisher will begin shipping the books to venders tomorow. It should show up online and on bookstore shelves over the next two weeks.

Last update: Amazon (US) now has the books in stock and will ship immediately.

I just ordered a copy. Buy it now as Amazon is currently selling it at 34% off list.

I have a e-mail from AMAZON stating my pre-order of this book has been shipped.
Richard

Done. Thanks for the heads up, Philip.

I have ordered mine at the discounted Amazon price

Lou,
Your book arrived today from AMAZON. I'm off to the cabin this weekend to do some serious reading

I was pleased to see you used the CW picture of Lt Williams, one of the best pictures of a CW horse.
Regards,
Richard

I also ordered a copy when Pat first announced it.
Have just been told it has been posted off and should be here by June 3rd.
Luckily I have plenty to occupy myself with till then!

My copy from Amazon was delivered today. I'm looking forward to a good read.

I received my copy today and have been reading sections. The book is quite different from almost all histories of the cavalry. As an artist I look for underlying structure and patterns. The author has done much the same thing in his analysis of the military use of horse cavalry as a "weapons system" (his term).

Showing his military background.

It's interesting to note that when we look at histories of some things, such as individual aircraft, or an individual armor example, we often will get a lot of detail on how the thing worked, but almost no detail on its role in battle. How many books, for example, have we read on WWII armor where individual examples of armor were discussed in the context of their place in an armored formation, and how they worked with each other. Not very many. That is, I'd submit, because so many of those types of texts were either written by non military authors, or for a strictly civilian readership. That doesn't make them bad, but it does make them incomplete.

To take another example, there's lots of books on battles, but rarely does a book remain both entertaining and give us a true military picture. One that does off hand, I'd note, is the book A Time For Trumpets on the Battle of the Bulge. It was written by an Army officer who had served in WWII, and is very engaging. In reading it, however, a person is struck by how much military formation and operation details are actually in it.

Lou's book is like that, in that he manages to put the horse in context in that fashion.

Sounds interesting. Look fwd to reading it

War Horse
A History of the Military Horse and Rider
by Louis A. DiMarco

Westholme Publishing, LLC
Eight Harvey Avenue
Yardley, PA 19067
http://www.westholmepublishing.com

April 2008

Lou DiMarco, well known to participants here, has written and introduced this excellent book on the very topic of this website.

War Horse is a complete history on the topic, going back into vast antiquity right up to the closing days of the cavalry, and even on to the present day. Those of us who have enjoyed Lou's posts here will not be disappointed. The book is complete in every sense, going into the horses themselves, the nature of and what this all means in context. All of this is placed in context with examples from representative battles from various periods.

No significant historical period is omitted. Battles and periods as far reaching as ancient Egypt up to the Boer War, and beyond that to the current era are all discussed. It's fascinating to be able to read about the Battle of Kadesh, 1275 BC, and the cavalry of World War Two in the same book.

Needless to say, writing a book of like this would be a daunting task. A book could well be written on any one era, and on any one topic. Approaching a complete synthesis would be difficult in the extreme. And yet, in spite of that, Lou has managed to do this, and has also managed to keep the entire text engaging and entertaining. This book will be very much enjoyed by those whose interest have brought them here to this site. But beyond that, as the horse in war is so much a part of the history of the horse, it should be enjoyed by anyone with a serious interest in the history of man's interaction with the horse.

On a couple of side notes, I was lucky to be able to read this book pre publication. I just received my published copy, which is the first time I've seen it with the photographic illustrations. I enjoyed the text very much when I read it and I must say that the publisher did a really nice job with the illustrations. It came out very well indeed, and the illustrations really add to the text.

Secondly, this is the third published book I'm aware of which makes note of and thanks the Society of the Military Horse. We can really be proud of that. It's quite an honor to be noted in this fashion by any one published work, let alone three. We're very fortunate and honored indeed.

This material appeared down in the thread announcing that this book was soon forthcoming. As it pertains directly to the book, I've gone ahead and quoted it and reposted it here.