Fiction
'Saul David has already shown himself to be a first rate historian, now he proves to be a masterly story-teller...'
About Saul
Saul David is an historian, broadcaster and the author of several critically-acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction.
His books include The Indian Mutiny: 1857 (shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature), Zulu: the Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year) and, most recently, the novels Zulu Hart and Hart of Empire. His latest work of history - All The King's Men: The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo - was published by Penguin on 2 February 2012. 'Those wishing to immerse themselves in this golden age of British military success will relish David's fine piece of history.' (Sunday Times)
News & Events
Latest news and planned events from Saul.
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15.02.2012
The Sunday Times chose this Thursday’s episode 3 of Bullets, Boots and Bandages as a Critics’ choice: ‘Professor Saul David’s excellent series on military logistics turns to the “story of kit”, which gives him the opportunity to prance about wearing camouflaged body armour and “ballistic underwear” designed to protect the soldiers’ crown jewels from IEDs.’
The Radio Times added: ‘Saul David gets to grip with the latest kit in his excellent series about the nuts and bolts of warfare. This final instalment starts with a longbow and we then get a brisk jog through the industrialisation of warfare. But its also full of offbeat information – the Bank of England was set up to borrow money to finance wars; and schoolchildren collected conkers to make cordite in the First World War. Give this man another series, and quickly.’
AA Gill, also in the Sunday Times, put the boot in: ‘Bullets, Boots and Bandages did for war what Moneball does for sport: extract the romance. Saul David is the latest eager young military historian who has gone up the line to death, walking and talking and holding up bits of murderous kit as if they were vibrators found in hotel drawers.’ Shame he didn’t watch episode one (food and health) where the murderous kit was conspicuous by its absence.
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13.02.2012
Saul’s next talk about his new book All the King’s Men is at Topping’s Bookshop in Bath at 7.30 pm on Thursday 16 February. Click here for more details
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10.02.2012
Saul’s new e-book ‘Great Military Commanders: Marlborough, Wellington and Slim’ is now available to download from Amazon Click here
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9.02.2012
Today’s Daily Mail includes a two-page feature (‘Heroes Treated Like Scum) on Saul’s new book All the King’s Men. Click here to read
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8.02.2012
Saul is giving a talk this evening on ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ at the National Army Museum Click here for details
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6.02.2012
BBC Five Live’s Richard Bacon tweets that Saul’s new series Boots, Bullets and Bandages is ‘bloody good’ Click here for link
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6.02.2012
Saul’s new 3-part series on BBC4 continues to garner critical acclaim: Metro wrote: ‘How much does it take to feed an army of 80,000 men? Three hundred cattle a day, roughly. That’s the kind of minute detail that makes this account so fascinating… Energetic and engaging military history professor Saul David is the man leading us into battle.’
The Evening Standard described Saul as ‘ineffably dashing’ and the series as ‘a fascinating glimpse into the humbler side of warfare’.
The Sunday Times chose episode 2 as its ‘Pick of the day’ and Saul as ‘an engaging and enthusiastic presenter’, while the Radio Times added: ‘Historian Saul David tells fascinating stories of how generals stole a march on the enemy in his second instalment about military logistics. But the great thing is that the real detail comes from other experts, including a farrier… It’s superb stuff, taking in the jerrycan and D-Day’s Mulberry harbour, through the difficulties of the Falklands right up to the present day.’
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5.02.2012
Saul’s new book All the King’s Men was praised in two national newspapers today. The Sunday Times wrote: ‘The real strength of this book lies in the eloquent exposition of the battles themselves, and the generals who fought them… Those wishing to immerse themselves in the golden age of British military success will relish David’s fine piece of history.’ The Sunday Telegraph added: ‘Compelling history… The book takes us grippingly through three separate but linked global conflicts with France… David keeps the narrative going at a brisk canter.’ Click here for link
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30.01.2012
There was advance praise for ‘Bullets, Boots and Bandages’, Saul’s new 3-part TV series on the history of military logistics, which starts on BBC4 at 9pm on Thursday 2 February. It was pick of the day in Times (‘a riveting new series’), Sunday Times (‘fascinating series’), Radio Times (said the story was ‘delivered in crisp and manly style by a historian who should attract a following of his own’), and the Mail on Sunday (a ‘thrilling range of examples’ and ‘a fascinating new perspective on familiar history’).
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20.01.2012
Broadcasting
An experienced TV and radio broadcaster.
Saul has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV channels and is a regular on Radio 4. Visit the Broadcasting page for a full list of credits. His 3 x 1 hour series on the history of military logistics - Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How Wars are Really Won - has just been shown on BBC4. The Times described the series as 'riveting', the Sunday Times thought it was 'excellent', and the Radio Times wrote: 'Give this man another series, and quickly.'