Here, There, Everywhere

Book launch week at War and Peace

I am so grateful to all who have ordered The Horrible Peace. Thank you also for reading this humble blog. I was really hoping that this, my last planned post, would come with a picture of the physical book, but alas, it has not yet arrived. I’m expecting it any day now!

If you haven’t ordered yet, here’s the link once more, for old time’s sake:

The Publisher's Website

The promotional code MAS073 should get you 30% off the paperback, and MAS080 should get you free international shipping.

If you prefer, here are links to third-party sellers:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Bookshop

What’s Next

I am going to slow the pace of posts for a while. (I realize that one post per week isn’t exactly a sprint, but …) Going forward, I hope to use this space to talk about other parts of my research. Some projects are pretty narrowly focused on eighteenth-century questions, while others might have broader relevance. For example, Paul Kennedy and I are editing a book tentatively entitled Best Laid Plans: Naval Strategy in Great Power Competitions. I may have more to say about that in the next few months. I start teaching again in the fall, so I might have a few posts related to my class. But honestly, I’m not quite sure how I’ll use this space. I welcome suggestions! I plan to take a few weeks to figure it out, so don’t expect an email next Monday.

The conference on which the book Best Laid Plans is based.

More Cowbell!

In the meantime, if you just can’t get enough Horrible Peace content, here are some other places where you can hear me talk about it.

I was on The Napoleonic Wars Podcast with Zack White on May 7:

Zack has also kindly invited me back to talk about Waterloo and its aftermath. It will take the form of a roundtable with the excellent Beatrice de Graaf, Luke Reynolds, and Graeme Callister. We’re recording this week, so I expect the episode will be available on or about the Waterloo anniversary on June 18.

I was on the Military Historians are People, Too! Podcast with Bill Allison and Brian Feltman. That episode should be out in the next few weeks.

I gave a Zoom book talk to the Naval Order of the United States on May 17.

I’m giving a book talk to the Napoleonic and Revolutionary War Graves Charity on July 19, and this fall I’ll be speaking to the Society for Nautical Research and the Society for Army Historical Research.

Sounds Other Than Cowbell

I have two upcoming public events that (you’ll be delighted to learn) have nothing to do with The Horrible Peace. On September 7, I’ll be lecturing about Oliver Hazard Perry as part of a speaker series honoring the 300th anniversary of the founding of South Kingstown, RI. (OHP was born in South Kingstown.) The lecture will take place at 7pm in the South Kingstown High School auditorium, and then it’ll appear on this YouTube channel.

In October, I’ve been invited on the Generals and Napoleon Podcast to talk about … Nelson, who was famously not a general. Gotta keep those army guys honest.

Reading Recommendations

If you’re looking for other Substacks to tide you over while you wait for my next post (with bated breath, I’m sure), here are two possibilities. Both are currently focused on the Russo-Ukraine War. I’m sure many readers know them already since they have readerships many multiples of mine. But just in case:

Phillips Payson O’Brien is a historian of the Second World War. He’s interested in the sinews of military power—how they are maintained, defended, and attacked.

At Comment is Freed, the father-son duo Sam and Lawrence Freedman post on their respective areas of expertise: strategy and British politics. Lawrence’s posts on Ukraine are usually free; Sam’s posts on British politics are usually paywalled:

Till next time!