Antony Beevor

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Sir
Antony Beevor
FRSL
Antony Beevor 01.JPG
Antony Beevor in Gothenburg in 2015
Born Antony James Beevor
(1946-12-14) 14 December 1946 (age 77)
Kensington, London, England
Occupation Author, historian
Language English
Nationality British
Education Abberley Hall School
Winchester College
Alma mater Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Subject Modern history
Notable awards Samuel Johnson Prize
Spouse Artemis Cooper
Children 2
Relatives John Julius Norwich, father-in-law
Military career
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 1966–1970
Rank Lieutenant
Service number 483855
Unit 11th Hussars
Website
www.antonybeevor.com

Sir Antony James Beevor, FRSL (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular histories on the Second World War and other wars during the 20th century.

Early life

Born in Kensington,[1] Beevor was educated at two independent schools; Abberley Hall School in Worcestershire, followed by Winchester College in Hampshire. He then went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he studied under the military historian John Keegan before receiving a commission in the 11th Hussars on 28 July 1967.[2] Beevor served in England and Germany and was promoted to lieutenant on 28 January 1969 before resigning his commission on 5 August 1970.[3][4]

Career

Beevor has been a visiting professor at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London and at the University of Kent.[5]

His best-known works, the best-selling Stalingrad and Berlin - The Downfall 1945, recount the World War II battles between the Soviet Union and Germany. They have been praised for their vivid, compelling style, their treatment of the ordinary lives of combatants and civilians and the use of newly disclosed documents from Soviet archives.[6][7][8]

His The Spanish Civil War (1982) was later re-written as The Battle for Spain (2006), keeping the structure and some content from the earlier work, but using the updated narrative style of his Stalingrad book and also adding characters and new archival research from German and Russian sources.[9]

Beevor's book The Second World War is notable for its focus on the conditions and grief faced by women and civilians and for its coverage of the war in East Asia, which has been called "masterful".[10][11] Beevor's expertise has been the subject of some commentary; his publications have been praised as revitalizing interest in World War II topics[12] and have allowed readers to reevaluate events such as D-Day from a new perspective.[13] He has also appeared as an expert in television documentaries related to World War II.[14][15]

Overall, his works have been translated into over 30 languages with over 6 million copies sold.[16]

In August 2015, Russia's Yekaterinburg region considered the banning of Beevor's books, accusing him of Nazi sympathies, citing his lack of Russian sources when writing about Russia, and claiming he had promoted false stereotypes introduced by Nazi Germany during World War II.[17][18][19] Beevor responded by calling the banning "a government trying to impose its own version of history", comparing it to other "attempts to dictate a truth", such as denial of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.

In January 2018, Beevor's book about the Battle of Stalingrad was banned in Ukraine. Beevor told RFE/RL: "I must say, this sounds absolutely astonishing. There's certainly nothing inherently anti-Ukrainian in the book at all."[20]

Personal life

Beevor is descended from a long line of writers, being a son of Kinta Beevor (born Janet Carinthia Waterfield,[21] 22 December 1911 – 29 August 1995), who was the daughter of Lina Waterfield, an author and foreign correspondent for The Observer and a descendant of Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon (author of a travelogue on Egypt). Kinta Beevor wrote A Tuscan Childhood. Antony Beevor is married to biographer Artemis Cooper; they have two children, Nella and Adam.[22]

Honours

Beevor was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2017 New Year Honours for "services in support of Armed Forces Professional Development".[23]

He is a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,[24] a member of Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana and a commander of the Order of the Crown.[5]

Beevor was elected an honorary Fellow of King's College London in July 2016.[25] He was also awarded an Honorary D.Litt. from the University of Bath in 2010,[24][26] and an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent, awarded in 2004.[5][27]

His book Crete: The Battle and the Resistance won the Runciman Prize, administered by the Anglo-Hellenic League for stimulating interest in Greek history and culture.[28]

Beevor has been recognized with the 2014 Pritzker Military Museum & Library's Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. Tim O'Brien, the 2013 recipient, made the announcement on behalf of the selection committee.[22][29][30] The award carried a purse of $US 100,000.[31]

In July 2016, he was awarded the Medlicott Medal for services to history by the UK based Historical Association.[32]

Beevor also sits on the Council of the Society of Authors.[33]

Awards

Published works

He has written thirteen books, novels and non-fiction.

Book Year Type Published Other
Violent Brink 1975 Novel First published by John Murray, London
For Reasons of State 1980 Novel Jonathan Cape, London
The Spanish Civil War 1982 Non-fiction First published Orbis, London ISBN 9780141001487
The Faustian Pact 1983 Novel Jonathan Cape, London
The Enchantment of Christina von Retzen 1989 Novel Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London
Inside the British Army 1990 Non-fiction Chatto and Windus, London
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance 1991 Non-fiction John Murray, London ISBN 9780140167870
Paris After the Liberation, 1944–1949 1994 Non-fiction Co-authored with his wife, Artemis Cooper. Revised edition 2004
Stalingrad 1998 Non-fiction Viking Press, London, later by Penguin, London Translated into 26 other languages. ISBN 9780670870950
Berlin: The Downfall 1945 2002 Non-fiction Penguin, London Published as The Fall of Berlin 1945 in the US ISBN 9780670030415
The Mystery of Olga Chekhova 2004 Non-fiction (See Olga Chekhova) ISBN 9780670033409
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 2006 Non-fiction ISBN 9780143037651 Spanish edition published in 2005. ISBN 9780143037651
D-Day: The Battle for Normandy 2009 Non-fiction Penguin Books, London ISBN 9780670021192
The Second World War 2012 Non-fiction W&N ISBN 9780316023740
Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble 2015 Non-fiction Viking ISBN 9780670918645
Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944 2018 Non-fiction Viking ISBN 9780241326763

Antony Beevor has been the editor of books such as the following:

He has also contributed to several other books, including:

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44435. p. . 20 October 1967.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44774. p. . 24 January 1969.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45168. p. . 7 August 1970.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Walker, Shaun. 2015. Russian Region Bans British Historians' Books from Schools. The Guardian (5 August).
  19. ↑ Spiro, Zachary. 2015. Russia Bans Books on Nazi Defeat by British Historians. The Times (6 August).
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61803. p. . 31 December 2016.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Honorary Graduates. University of Bath, 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Honorary Graduates 1989 to present. University of Bath, 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  27. ↑ Antony Beevor Archived 20 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Penguin Books Ltd., 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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