SPOILS OF WAR

Description

The treasures,Trophies & Trivia of the British Empire by Christopher Joll

Over the last seven hundred years the United Kingdom has acquired a staggering array of treasures as a direct result of its military activities, from Joan of Arc’s ring to Hitler’s desk. In Spoils of War Christopher Joll takes a robust and controversial view of the contemporary issues surrounding the repatriation of the nation’s acquisitions, particularly those of Imperial Britain.

The author highlights in detail a fascinating cross-section of these spoils, how they came to be acquired and tell the tales of some of the extraordinary (and extraordinary incompetent) men and women, now mostly forgotten, who had a hand in the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Along the way the book debunks a significant number of myths, exposes a major fraud perpetrated on a leading London museum, reveals previously unknown spoils of war and casts light on some very dark corners of Britain’s military history.