John Keegan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir John Keegan OBE FRSL
Keegan in 1993
Born	John Desmond Patrick Keegan (1934-05-15)15 May 1934 Clapham, London, England
Died	2 August 2012(2012-08-02) (aged 78) Kilmington, Wiltshire, England
Academic background
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Academic work
Main interests	Military history, history of warfare, First World War
Notable works	The Face of Battle, Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle, The Mask of Command and other major works

Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan (born May 15, 1934 – died August 2, 2012) was a famous English military historian. He was also a lecturer, author, and journalist. He wrote many books about how people have fought wars throughout history, from ancient times to the 21st century. His writings covered battles on land, in the air, and at sea. He also explored how people use secret information in wars and the feelings of soldiers in battle.

John Keegan's Early Life and Education

John Keegan was born in Clapham, London. His father was an Irish veteran from World War I. When World War II started, John was sent to Somerset for safety.

At age 13, John got a bone disease called orthopaedic tuberculosis. This illness affected how he walked for the rest of his life. Because of this, he could not join the military. He was also too young to fight in World War II. He often mentioned these facts in his books, finding it interesting that a military historian could not serve.

His illness also stopped his schooling for a while. However, he later attended King's College, Taunton and Wimbledon College. In 1953, he went to Balliol College, Oxford. There, he studied history, focusing on war theories. After graduating, he worked at the American Embassy in London for three years.

Teaching and Writing Career

In 1960, Keegan started teaching military history. He taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. This academy trains officers for the British Army. He worked there for 26 years and became a senior lecturer. During this time, he also taught as a visiting professor at Princeton University and Vassar College in the United States.

In 1986, Keegan left Sandhurst. He joined The Daily Telegraph newspaper as a defence reporter. He stayed with the newspaper as their defence editor until he died. He also wrote for an American publication called National Review Online. In 1998, he gave the BBC's famous Reith Lectures. His talks were titled War in our World.

John Keegan passed away on August 2, 2012. He died of natural causes at his home in Kilmington, Wiltshire. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and two sons.

Key Ideas in John Keegan's Books

In his book A History of Warfare, Keegan explored how warfare changed over time. He looked at topics like using horses in battle, how armies got supplies, and the use of "fire" (weapons). A main idea he shared was that war is deeply connected to culture.

In his introduction, he strongly disagreed with the idea that war is just a simple way for countries to continue their politics. He rejected the ideas of Carl von Clausewitz, a famous war theorist. However, some writers like Peter Paret and Christopher Bassford said that Keegan's understanding of Clausewitz was not always correct.

Other Important Books by Keegan

John Keegan wrote many other books, including:

• The Iraq War
• Intelligence in War
• The First World War
• The Second World War
• The Battle for History
• The Face of Battle
• War and Our World
• The Mask of Command
• Fields of Battle

He also helped write about how history is recorded in modern conflicts. He worked with Richard Holmes on the BBC documentary Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle. Many people, like Frank C. Mahncke, see Keegan as one of the most important military historians of the late 20th century. Sir Michael Howard called him "the most readable and the most original of living historians."

John Keegan's Views on Modern Conflicts

John Keegan shared his thoughts on several modern wars:

• He believed the Vietnam War was the right thing for Americans to do. However, he thought they fought it in the wrong way.
• He thought that NATO's bombing of Serbia and targets in Kosovo in 1999 showed that air power alone could win wars.
• He was a strong supporter of the Iraq War. He said that even though seeing "raw military force" is uncomfortable, the Iraq War showed what needs to be done to keep the world safe. He felt it was a better guide than laws or treaties.

Awards and Recognition

John Keegan received several important awards and honours:

• On June 29, 1991, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This was for his work as a war correspondent during the Gulf War.
• In 2000, he was made a Knight Bachelor, which means he was given the title "Sir." This was for his great contributions to military history.
• In 1986, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).
• He won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1993 for his writing.
• In 1996, the Society for Military History gave him the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize. This award is for lifetime achievement in military history.
• The University of Bath gave him an Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) in 2002.

Published Works

• Waffen SS: The asphalt soldiers (New York: Ballantine, 1970) ISBN: 0-345-32641-5
• Barbarossa: Invasion of Russia, 1941 (New York, 1971) ISBN: 0-345-02111-8
• Opening Moves – August 1914 (New York: Ballantine, 1971) ISBN: 0-345-09798-X
• Guderian (New York: Ballantine, 1973) ISBN: 0-345-03385-X
• Rundstedt (New York: Ballantine, 1974) ISBN: 0-345-23790-0
• Dien Bien Phu (New York: Ballantine, 1974) ISBN: 0-345-24064-2
• The Face of Battle (London, 1976) ISBN: 0-670-30432-8
• Who Was Who in World War II (1978) ISBN: 0-85368-182-1
• The Nature of War with Joseph Darracott (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981) ISBN: 0-03-057777-2
• Six Armies in Normandy (1982) ISBN: 0-14-005293-3
• Zones of Conflict: An Atlas Of Future Wars with Andrew Wheatcroft (New York, 1986) ISBN: 0-671-60115-6
• Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle with Richard Holmes (New York: Viking Press, 1986) ISBN: 0-670-80969-1
• The Mask of Command (London, 1987) ISBN: 0-7126-6526-9
• The Price of Admiralty (1988) ISBN: 0-09-173771-0
• The Illustrated Face of Battle (New York and London: Viking, 1988) ISBN: 0-670-82703-7
• The Second World War (Viking Press, 1989) ISBN: 0-670-82359-7
• Churchill's Generals (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1991) editor
• A History of Warfare (London, 1993) ISBN: 0-679-73082-6
• The Battle for History: Refighting World War Two (Vintage Canada, 1995) ISBN: 0-679-76743-6
• Warpaths (Pimlico, 1996) ISBN: 1-84413-750-3
• Fields of Battle: The Wars for North America (1997) ISBN: 0-679-74664-1
• War and Our World: The Reith Lectures 1998 (London: Pimlico, 1999) ISBN: 0-375-70520-1
• The Book of War (ed.) (Viking Press, 1999) ISBN: 0-670-88804-4
• The First World War (London: Hutchinson, 1998) ISBN: 0-09-180178-8; (New York: Knopf, 1999) ISBN: 0-375-40052-4
• An Illustrated History of the First World War (Alfred A. Knopf, 2001) ISBN: 0-375-41259-X
• Winston Churchill (2002) ISBN: 0-670-03079-1
• Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda (2003) ISBN: 0-375-40053-2 (also published with alternative subtitle as Intelligence in War: The value – and limitations – of what the military can learn about the enemy ISBN: 0-375-70046-3)
• The Iraq War (2004) ISBN: 0-09-180018-8
• Atlas of World War II (ed.) (London: Collins, 2006) ISBN: 0-00-721465-0 (an update of the 1989 Times Atlas)
• The American Civil War (London, Hutchinson, 2009) ISBN: 978-0-09-179483-5

See also

In Spanish: John Keegan para niños