Animals have a long
history in warfare, and this book explores a number of contributions
from our furry and feathered friends in more recent wars (I think the
oldest mentioned is the Crimean). A plus side of the relatively
modern scope is that there’s more evidence and less anecdote, and
there are usually some nice photos (although I do now feel a bit
inferior, given there was a collie who received multiple medals and
completed various missions and parachute jumps with the SAS).
There are many wars
featured, from Crimea to the Worlds Wars, and others around the
world, and various different types of animal. Dogs feature heavily,
as do pigeons, with the occasional cat and mule, and, perhaps most
famous of modern soldier animals, Voytek the bear.
The book’s long
enough to provide significant variety, with each chapter (usually
focusing on one or two animals) sufficient to put the story in
context without padding. I found the writing style to be easy to
read, and the subject matter to be charming, if sometimes sad (to be
expected, really).
I found it to be a very
engaging book, and enjoyed it rather a lot.
Thaddeus
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