Steady the Buffs

[Steven Broomfield]

Steady the Buffs - A Regiment, a Region and the Great War, by Mark Connelly (Reader in Modern History and Head of the School of History at the University of Kent), (OUP, £55.00). ISBN 0-19-927860-1

I came across this in a review in (I think) the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research: it is a slim volume (264 pages), dealing with the progression of the BEF through the experiences of 4 battalions of The Buffs - the 1st (Regular, 6th Division), 6th, 7th and 8th (Service, 12th, 18th and 24th Divisions respectively). It attempts also to tie these battalions in with their locality, recruitment area, and ethos as a solid, not very flashy, county regiment.

I found it a fascinating read, written by a man who is not a military historian, but who has obviously read widely and well, and marshalled his sources to good effect. as well as the 'usual' sources (War Diaries, regimental history, divisional histories, known authors), he has also had access to personal memoirs, and has widely trawled the regimental archives.

The overall result is a book well-worth reading: the development of tactics in the BEF is well shown in these pages, through the eyes of the four battalions: from the 1st battalion's first shots in the Armentieres area in September 1914, through to the 7th battalion combing the Forest of Mormal in November 1918 the development of tactics, weapons systems, co-operation with other arms is all described and explained.

Particularly of interest are the chapters on 1918, and particularly the Advance to Victory: the responsibility given to relatively junior officers; the ability (by that stage of the war) for battalion commanders to halt attacks and reschedule them; the willingness of brigade commanders to appear with the attacking battalions and discuss small-unit tactics; and, above all, the amazing wealth of resources available were all quite remarkable.

Later chapters contain much about the post-War years;: the creation of old comrades' associations; erection of memorials; links with French towns and villages; and - generally - 'remembering'.

Appendices contain - as far as possible - various statistics (although the author admits that many are conjectural, due to the scarcity of good source material) which attempt to demonstrate the connection with Kent and the South East.

In his Conclusion, Connolley sums up his findings in one sentence: The conflict therefore proved to be both an evolutionary and revolutionary period for the Buffs, driven by empiricism rather than doctrine and dogma.

The book contains much to admire and much to ponder. It is let down by a very poor index (it seems that whoever created the indea lost interest half way through), and - above all - the appalling price. I appreciate this is a specialist publication, but it is one which deserves a wider audience. £55 for 264 pages is ridiculous. I will be for ever grateful to Hampshire Library Service: they appear to have forked-out the money just for me. I imagine that your Library Service will be able to acquire it on inter-library loand from Hampshire.

I hope other members will read this book, but I am afraid it won't be on my Xmas List, deserving though it is.

(PS: I searched the Forum and the LLT and couldn't find this book, so if it's already been reviewed, I apologise).

[Jonathan Saunders]

Mark is Head of History at Canterbury University! An excellent speaker if you ever get the chance and well worth waiting for if he gets the graveyard slot - his enthusiasm and ability to present will certainly wake you up.

I have not bought this book myself yet - mainly because of the price. Mark is himself embarrassed by this and explained it was set by his publisher (with whom I believe he has a contract - this is not his first military history book). I understand the cost is high because it is aimed at the academic fraternity (university and reference librabries pay this sort of price apparently) and not High Street consumers.

Finally, Mick Mills - Michael on the Forum - our resident Buffs expert was involved in the research for this book.

Regards,

Jonathan S

[Steven Broomfield]

Mark is Head of History at Canterbury University!

Well, it says University of Kent on the dustwrapper

I take your point about the price: one thing authors have no control over, sadly. I do wonder about OUP's pricing policy - another of their recent publications, Military Identities by David French is also well-worth having, but idiotically expensive. Steady the Buffs is a book I would very much like to own, as I think it would benefit ftom re-reading, but at £55 I could think of several other books I could obtain.

I wonder if OUP are trying to stop the riff raff owning books? Seriously, I do wonder if their sales would increase were the price to be lowered - they've obviously lost two sales on this one. If you happen to be seeing/speaking to the author, though, tell him I liked it

[Sue Light]

If you price a small volume at £55, I would assume it is done specifically to exclude common man. No reflection on this author, who I'm sure is a good chap, but I wonder if the kudos derived from the writing and publication of a book, and its appearance on library shelves is more important to the academic fraternity than worrying if the general population actually read it.

It's an area that niggles me intensely.

Sue

PS University of Kent is at Canterbury

[Jonathan Saunders]

Well, it says University of Kent on the dustwrapper

PS University of Kent is at Canterbury

It was early and I was in a hurry! I was thinking University of Kent but picturing the campus at Canterbury.

One of the reasons I havent bought this book is because Mark was hoping a paperback version would follow and be made available at a much more reasonable price - although this was a conversation 12 months ago and before the hardback had actually been published. I notice that Amazon have a once prohibitive academics only priced book by Bob Foley now available in paperback at about £20 mark - so fingers crossed ...

Regards,

Jonathan S

[truthergw]

I have purchased a few books from OUP,although not military history. They have a good website and online sales are easy. The hardbacks are generally at the £35 - £50 mark for run of the mill stuff and tend heavenwards for the academic audience. A £35 - £50 hardback will generally be about £18 - £25 for a paperback. Most of the university presses are comparable for access and price.

[Michael]

Mark (who is a military historian) had no control over the price of the book and was as disappointed as the rest of us that it costs £55. One of the aims of the book was to rekindle the memory of the Regiment but it cannot do this until it is repriced to reach the popular market.

I've been meaning to write a review for a while so thanks to Broomers for stepping up.

Mick

[Steven Broomfield]

I apologise for referring to Mark as "not a military historian" - not sure where I dreamt that up.

As for price, as I said, I appreciate he had absolutely no control over it; I still think OUP are daft, but there it is.

Personally, I think it is a book well worthy of a wider audience than it will no doubt receive, which is a damned shame.

Finally, could I be a cheapskate and ask if someone close to the author could keep the Forum (or at least, me) informed of the progress on a paperback version? I would very much like to own a copy of this book, but at 55 notes, I am not going to

[Sue Light]

I was talking to my publishing 'guru' about this [my daughter ] who summed it up thus:

'I have never known an author to get involved with the price of a book, and there is normally a clause in the contract to prevent that kind of thing - a sort of "when you hand the book over to us it is up to us what we do with it" type thing.

Academic books are published in hardback in the £50-60 price range just for the library market. The hardback print-run will normally be fairly small (500 to 1000 would not be unusual), and this is the only way that such a printing will make any money. They also know that the libraries will want the book in hardback, so they don't have any choice really.

That said, normally this would be followed 9 months to a year later by a paperback printing of the same book, for a more reasonable price. It wouldn't be as cheap as a trade paperback, but I guess around £20 (depending on the book). I would be very suprised if a publishing company didn't want to do this, because essentially the overheads are much lower, as the hardback printing bears the costs. The advance has been paid, the editorial and proofing work has been done, the cover artwork has been designed and the book has been typeset. The print run may still not be huge, but it would be at a price that an interested member of the public would be prepared to pay.

If a publisher does not intend to follow on with a paperback printing then it is worth finding out why - although as an author you may not have a say, it will still be in your interest to find out, and to judge whether they are the right publisher. As you say, it could prevent a proportion of the potential readership from accessing the information, and will also have an impact on potential royalties (although for academic books these can be negligible).'

Sue

[Paul Reed]

Sue's daughter is quite correct. This will be a very short run aimed at academic libraries and institutions, and will probably only result in OUP breaking even. While a h/b edition is now £55 I suspect in five years (or less) this will be fetching twice that on the second hand market. Past experience with such books is the release of a pbk edition in due course. Neither author or publisher should be blamed or condemned for this - it is normal practice. A book such as this is never going to result in huge sales, and no commercial publisher would want to run a trade edition in hbk, I suspect.

As far as I was aware Mark Connelly was/is a military historian, having published several volumes especially on WW2.

Just to confuse matters further, there is also Christchurch University in Canterbury, which is not the same as University of Kent. It is the latter that Mark lectures at, however.

[Michael]

I will speak to Mark to see if he knows of any plans for the book to appear in paperback

Mick

[Paul Reed]

There is 30-page free pdf to download extract from the book on the OUP site here:

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199278602

[Jonathan Saunders]

Paul - thanks for the link. Am printing off to read later today.

Jon S

[Michael]

I have spoken to Mark and according to his publisher a paperback is possible depending on the volume of sales of the hardback. He is going to contact them and give me an update

Mick

[Steven Broomfield]

Let me get my head round this.

You price a book at an a pretty pricey £55, then decide on a paperback issue on the basis of sales of the hardback?

It's logic, Jim, but not as I know it.

[Jonathan Saunders]

There is 30-page free pdf to download extract from the book on the OUP site here:

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199278602

Just finished reading the extract - now desperate for the book. Would probably hold more interest for me than two books priced £20, but that might be in part because this book covers my home county (wrong Regiment though).

[Steven Broomfield]

Let's hope any other members of the Saunders family haven't finished their Xmas shopping.

[Charles Fair]

I do hope this one comes out in paperback... Looks like it is well up to the standard of his previous books on Bomber Command and 'We Can Take It' (about WWII in popular memory).

[james_harvey]

does anyone know if it contains any reference to CSM Maxted who was awarded the Military Cross, he was with the 6th Battalion?

If so i would recomend the book to his family.

Regards

James

[Steven Broomfield]

does anyone know if it contains any reference to CSM Maxted who was awarded the Military Cross, he was with the 6th Battalion?

If so i would recomend the book to his family.

Regards

James

Sorry James: had to return it to the Library, so can't check. There's not a huge amount on individuals, I'm afraid - maybe Michael can check?

[Jonathan Saunders]

Let's hope any other members of the Saunders family haven't finished their Xmas shopping.

This is now an addition to the Saunders family Xmas shopping list (in fact I've just ordered it on behalf of family members - taking no chances)

[Charles Fair]

I was pleasantly suprised to find it on the shelves of my local library - for borrowing and not in the local studies collection. Kent Libraries appear to have a number of copies.

[Neil Clark]

Any news with regard to a paperback being published?

Quite honestly £50 for a book is a ridiculous price (unless it's thick like the Holy Bible).... It's a great pity because I was looking forward to getting hold of a copy. I would pay £25 quite happily.

[Michael]

Neil

Unfortunately it doesn't look like there is any possibility of a paperback in the pipeline. It's not a thick book and although it doesn't deal with your 5th Battalion you'll enjoy it. It is widely available for loan in libraries across the County.

Mick