Soldiers as citizens : popular politics and the nineteenth-century British military /

Following up on his previous book Soldiers as Workers (2016), Mansfield (Univ. of Central Lancashire, UK) here explores British soldiers' attitudes towards, and participation in, the political movements and events in the period between the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the start of WW I (1790--1914). The task is daunting given the plethora of national and international events and the care needed to analyze sources written sometimes years after the events by soldier-writers cognizant of what their audiences wanted. Yet, the author approaches this undertaking with both aplomb and honesty, and defends his convictions with refreshingly clear prose. There are many trenchant observations, but the overarching thesis is that the men who enlisted had preservice political convictions and working-class attitudes (especially the rankers) that were not disposed of at the barrack's door. The interplay of these ideas with the economic reality of the time, imperialism, racism (whether in India or Ireland), and anti-reform suppression (of the Luddites or Chartists) is skillfully presented and explored. The text is written for those familiar with the basic details of the period (e.g., the 1857 Indian Mutiny), making it most suitable for advanced students and scholars. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Robert T. Ingoglia, St.Thomas Aquinas College