Abstract
In this chapter, we ask what it is that military memoirs do. We do this by thinking about the functions of the military memoir, looking at the range of ways in which these books are used in order to consider the purposes they can be seen to serve. We review how military memoirs have informed the writing of histories of armed conflicts, and their utility in exploring the socio-cultural understandings of war and the sociology of military personnel. We think about the public readership of military memoirs, and the difficulties of establishing clear ideas about that readership. We conclude this chapter by considering how these books might (or might not) be seen as vectors for militarisation, exploring how military memoirs exist as commercial products with a market and associated sales profiles, and sit within a set of cultural products and practices which make sense of war and military activities in particular ways. All through this chapter, we are concerned with the work that military memoirs do in arguments about armed conflict, the military activities that make it possible and the military personnel employed and deployed to those tasks.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.