Crimean Quagmire

Tolstoy, Russell and the Birth of Modern Warfare

By: Gregory Carleton

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Hardcover | 5 September 2024

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Hardcover
264 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 2.5

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The Crimean War was the greatest international crisis of the Victorian era. And during this conflict, two embedded writers--the young Russian officer Lev Tolstoy, and William Howard Russell, an Irish correspondent for The Times--brought the horrors of modern combat home to the public for the first time.

Long recognised for introducing new technologies like the rifle, railroad and telegraph, the Crimean War also irrevocably changed how we understand warfare. Stripping away the romanticism of the Napoleonic era, Tolstoy and Russell exposed how their governments were using lies and coverups to propel their nations into the first quagmire of our age. Their writing shocked readers, demonstrating that their loved ones were dying needlessly--a revelation confirmed by soldiers' letters and diaries. Never before had the world witnessed such a showdown between the voices of private individuals and those of their governments. Tolstoy and Russell confronted the politically powerful and paid dearly for their honesty, but their legacy remains almost unparalleled.

Crimean Quagmire is the first book to tell the full story of both writers and their impact on modern warfare and reporting. As quagmires have increasingly come to define contemporary conflict, the Crimean War has never been more relevant.

Industry Reviews

'Carleton eloquently sets out the legacy of Tolstoy and Russell. Their on-the-spot writings demonstrated that the importance of the Crimean War lies not in accounts of muskets versus rifles, but in the appalling suffering and lives lost on both sides of the conflict.'

-- Barbara Emerson, author of The First Cold War

?'A masterful exploration of the Crimean War as a harbinger of modern quagmires, told in a way that both echoes Homer's Troy and foreshadows the follies of Vietnam and Afghanistan. Recommended for anyone interested in humanity's search for meaning amidst the backdrop of war.'

-- Jonathan Brunstedt, Associate Professor of History, Texas A&M University

'Insightful and beautifully written, tracing how the Crimean War changed the relationship between the front and the home front. This will also appeal to those interested in Tolstoy's early work and in the development of modern war journalism.'

-- Adrienne Harris, Associate Professor of Russian, Baylor University

'An engagingly written history. With pointed comparisons between the two empires at war, Carleton creates a narrative of a new kind of warfare, where reporting is almost as relevant as territorial gain, and he thus sheds new light also on other war stories.'

-- Birgit Beumers, Research Associate, University of Passau

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