Antony Beevor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antony Beevor
FRSL
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Beevor in 2015
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| Born | Antony James Beevor 14 December 1946 Kensington, London, England |
| Occupation | Author, historian |
| Language | English |
| Education | Abberley Hall School Winchester College |
| Alma mater | Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
| Subject | Modern history |
| Notable awards | Samuel Johnson Prize |
| Spouse |
Artemis Cooper
(m. 1986) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | John Julius Norwich (father-in-law) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1966–1970 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Service number | 483855 |
| Unit | 11th Hussars |
Sir Antony James Beevor (born December 14, 1946) is a famous British military historian. He has written many popular history books. Most of his works are about the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and more recently, the Russian Revolution and Civil War.
Antony Beevor went to Abberley Hall School and Winchester College. He then studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After that, he was a tank commander in the 11th Hussars in Germany. In 1970, he decided to leave the army and become a writer.
His best-selling books include Stalingrad (1998) and Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002). These books are known for their detailed look at battles. They also focus on the experiences of everyday people during wartime.
Beevor's books have been translated into many languages. Millions of copies have been sold around the world. He has given talks at military schools and headquarters in many countries. He has also written for major newspapers.
Contents
Early Life and School
Antony James Beevor was born in London, England, on December 14, 1946.
He attended two private schools. These were Abberley Hall School in Worcestershire and Winchester College in Hampshire. Later, he went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. There, he studied with the famous military historian John Keegan.
On July 28, 1967, Beevor became an officer in the 11th Hussars. He served in England and Germany. He was promoted to lieutenant on January 28, 1969. He left the army on August 5, 1970.
Writing Career
Antony Beevor has been a visiting professor at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London. He also taught at the University of Kent. From 2002 to 2003, he was the Lees-Knowles Lecturer at Cambridge University.
Famous Books
His most well-known books are Stalingrad (1998) and Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002). These books tell the stories of major World War II battles. They describe the fighting between the Soviet Union and Germany. People have praised his vivid writing style. They also liked how he showed the lives of soldiers and civilians. He used new documents from Soviet archives for his research.
His book The Spanish Civil War (1982) was later rewritten. It became The Battle for Spain (2006). This new version kept some of the old content. However, it used the updated writing style of his Stalingrad book. It also added new characters and research from German and Russian sources.
Beevor's book The Second World War (2012) focuses on the experiences of women and civilians. It also covers the war in East Asia very well. Experts say his books have made people more interested in World War II. His work helps readers see events like D-Day in new ways. He has also appeared in TV shows about World War II as an expert.
Reception and Criticism
By 2014, his books had been translated into 35 languages. More than 8.5 million copies were sold.
In August 2015, the Yekaterinburg region in Russia thought about banning Beevor's books. They said he had Nazi sympathies. They also claimed he did not use enough Russian sources when writing about Russia. They felt he promoted false ideas from World War II. Beevor said that banning books is "a government trying to impose its own version of history." He compared it to other attempts to control historical truth.
In January 2018, his book about the Battle of Stalingrad was criticized in Ukraine. This was because of a single mistranslation in the Russian version of the book.
Newspaper Contributions
He has also written for many major newspapers. These include The Times, The Telegraph, and Guardian in the UK. In the US, he wrote for New York Times, Washington Post, and The Atlantic. He also wrote for Foreign Affairs, Le Monde, Libération, Le Figaro in France, and El País and ABC in Spain.
Other Activities
Beevor used to be a leader and member of the Council of the Society of Authors. In 2022, he resigned from this role. He did this with Philip Pullman to protest some actions by the CEO and the management team.
Personal Life
Antony Beevor comes from a family of writers. This includes the legal philosopher John Austin and his wife Sarah. His grandmother, Lina Waterfield, was also a writer and a correspondent for Observer. His mother, Kinta Beevor, wrote A Tuscan Childhood.
As of 2014, he is married to the biographer Artemis Cooper. They have two children together.
Awards and Honours
In 2014, Antony Beevor received the Pritzker Military Museum & Library's Literature Award. This award is for a lifetime of achievement in military writing. The award came with US$100,000.
He has also received several honorary degrees. These are special degrees given by universities. He received them from the University of Kent (2004), the University of Bath (2010), the University of East Anglia (2014), and the University of York (2015).
In July 2016, he became an honorary Fellow of King's College London. Also in July 2016, he received the Medlicott Medal. This award is for his services to history from the UK-based Historical Association.
Antony Beevor was made a Knight Bachelor in 2017. This means he can use the title "Sir" before his name. This honour was for his work supporting the development of the Armed Forces.
He has also received honours from other countries. These include being a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), a member of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia), and a commander of the Belgian Order of the Crown.
Awards for his Books
- Crete: The Battle and the Resistance
- Runciman Prize (for promoting interest in Greek history and culture)
- Stalingrad
- The first Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
- Wolfson History Prize
- Hawthornden Prize for Literature
- Berlin: The Downfall 1945
- Longman-History Today Trustees' Award
- The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 (Spanish Edition)
- La Vanguardia Prize for Non-Fiction
Published Works
Fiction Books
- Violent Brink (1975)
- For Reasons of State (1980)
- The Faustian Pact (1983)
- The Enchantment of Christina von Retzen (1989)
Nonfiction Books
- The Spanish Civil War (1982)
- Inside the British Army (1990)
- Crete: The Battle and the Resistance (1991)
- with Artemis Cooper. Paris After the Liberation, 1944–1949 (1994)
- Stalingrad (1998)
- Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002) (Also known as The Fall of Berlin 1945 in the U.S.)
- The Mystery of Olga Chekhova (2004)
- The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 (2006)
- D-Day: The Battle for Normandy (2009)
- The Second World War (2012)
- Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble (2015)
- Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944 (2018)
- Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917—1921 (2022)
Edited Books
- A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army 1941–1945 by Vasily Grossman
Book Contributions
- The British Army, Manpower and Society into the Twenty-First Century, edited by Hew Strachan
- What Ifs? of American History: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been, by Robert Cowley (Editor), Antony Beevor and Caleb Carr (2003)
See also
In Spanish: Antony Beevor para niños
