Tag: books

Dmitar Tasic interview about his WWI and 1920s military history book “Paramilitarism in the Balkans” (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Dmitar Tasic interview about his WWI and 1920s military history book “Paramilitarism in the Balkans”

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

Interview Timeline

Dmitar Tasic studies and teaches Balkan history. He’s recently published a book on his studies of the paramilitary groups that existed in Yugoslavia and surrounding regions during WWI and into the 1920s. We spoke about the subject and the book.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:45- Dmitar explains how he got interested in paramilitarism in the Balkans.

2:27 – Dmitar explains why the book covers 1917 to 1924.

6:01 – Dmitar defines paramilitary in this situation.

9:00 – Dmitar talks about the gear of paramilitary forces.

13:17 – Dmitar talks about the type of men who became paramilitaries.

16:04 – Dmitar talks about the organization of these groups and casualty numbers.

21:18 – Dmitar discusses how much democracy there was in these paramilitary organization.

25:42 – Dmitar talks about how Ottoman rule affected the development of these paramilitary forces.

31:00 – Dmitar talks about Ottoman reprisals against [the] uprisings.

33:17 – Dmitar talks how these groups were provided weapons and gear.

36:21 – Dmitar talks about what resources he used for his research.

38:07 – Dmitar talks about some of the research difficulties he had in his research because of the communist regimes.

42:24 – Dmitar talks about reading police reports about paramilitary events. He also discusses how these organizations were able to accommodate themselves with state support.

50:05 – Dmitar talks about the social activities of these groups.

54:55 – Dmitar talks about being impressed by their physical and mental strength.

1:04:33 – Dmitar can be found on academia.edu.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/paramilitarism-in-the-balkans-9780198858324?cc=us&lang=en&

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar and on Instagram @crisalvarezwarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Dmitar Tasic

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, academic, podcast, Oxford University Press, Modern War, 

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Military History Inside Out banner

Geoffrey Plank interview about his 15th to 19th centuries military history book “Atlantic Wars” (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Geoffrey Plan military historyGeoffrey Plank interview about his 15th to 19th centuries military history book “Atlantic Wars”

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3j22eMb

Interview Summary

Geoffrey Plank has been a historian for many years focusing on Nova Scotia, Quakers, and now military history. He’s written an expansive review of warfare across the Atlantic from the 15th to 19th centuries. We talked about this period, the book, and the immense impact the slave trade had on the formation of the nations along the Atlantic seaboard and on warfare.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:40 – Geoffrey explains how he ended up writing an expansive book on Atlantic Wars.

2:02 – Geoffrey explains how he organized the book since it covers so much time and countries.

3:16 – Geoffrey talks about warfare at sea.

5:24 – Geoffrey addresses the idea of democracy and piracy.

7:14 – Geoffrey explains why he started the book in the 15th century.

8:53 – Geoffrey explains why he ended the book at the Age of Revolution.

11:37 – Geoffrey addresses the North Africans raiding Europe.

13:17 – Geoffrey talks about the shift to larger sailing vessels.

16:18 – Geoffrey talks about indigenous populations involvement in the Atlantic war at sea.

18:32 – Geoffrey talks about the war on land around the Atlantic basin and the involvement of indigenous populations.

21:27 – Geoffrey talks about the West African coast.

23:11 – Geoffrey talks about military forces in West Africa.

24:11 – Geoffrey talks about the North and South Atlantic.

26:09 – Geoffrey talks about the development of racism in this period.

30:24 – Geoffrey talks about how often whole colonies were evacuated from the New World to the Old. He also addresses the connection between the slave trade and military operations.

34:40 – Geoffrey talks about the meeting between African slaves and indigenous Americans.

36:38 – Geoffrey talks about a millenarian religious movement.

38:40 – Geoffrey talks about how he did his research.

43:09 – Geoffrey talks about including all of North America within the Atlantic World.

45:20 – Geoffrey talks about the importance of military history in the Atlantic World.

47:46 – Geoffrey talks about galleys being used to block forts in the Caribbean.

50:17 – Geoffrey talks about how rough the lives of sailors were in this period.

54:40 – Geoffrey talks about the role of Central and Eastern Europe in the Atlantic World.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3j22eMb

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/atlantic-wars-9780190860455?cc=us&lang=en&

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar and on Instagram @crisalvarezwarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Geoffrey Plank

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, academic, podcast, Oxford University Press, age of sail, American history,  General military history, 19th century war, 18th century war, Renaissance warfare, Naval Warfare, Slavery history, native american, indigenous peoples,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3j22eMb

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Military History Inside Out banner

Alexander Mikaberidze interview about Napoleonic military history book “The Napoleonic Wars” (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Alexander Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars interview
Alexander Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars

Alex Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars Interview

Interview Summary

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/308FVxH

Alex Mikaberidze has been studying and writing on the Napoleonic Wars and Middle Eastern history for many years. He recently completed a ten year project writing on the global impact of the Napoleonic wars. We spoke about the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon, the War of 1812, and the process of writing the book.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:43 – Alex talks about how he became interested in the Napoleonic Wars.

2:32 – Alex talks about the languages he knows and its applications to this research.

3:33 – Alex talks about how his history of the Napoleonic Wars is different from other books on the subject.

9:07 – Alex talks about the various impacts of the Napoleonic Wars.

12:45 – Alex talks about the economics of the Napoleonic Wars.

16:58 – Alex talks about the importance of Napoleon in everything that happened in this period.

20:45 – Alex talks about why Napoleon made himself Emperor and what effects that had.

25:56 – Alex talks about how some Russians were happy that Napoleon made himself an Emperor.

27:06 – Alex talks about Napoleon not being a warmonger and his immense intellectual curiosity.

29:38 – Alex talks about Napoleon being a micro-manager.

32:46 – Alex talks about why the Russians did not surrender to Napoleon when he took Moscow.

38:41 – Alex discusses what might have happened if Napoleon had abolished serfdom in Russia.

39:31 – Alex talks about the military changes engendered by the Napoleonic Wars.

41:24 – Alex talks about changes in the Ottoman military.

43:22 – Alex talks about changes in the Iranian military.

45: – Alex talks about the political changes caused by the Napoleonic Wars especially with Spain and its colonies.

49:16 – Alex talks about what countries gained the most and lost the most from the Napoleonic Wars.

51:49 – Alex talks about British wins in India and Africa due to the wars. He discusses the rise of Russian power after the Napoleonic Wars.

54:58 – Alex talks about how badly France, Spain, and Portugal ended up after the wars.

56:49 – Alex talks about how he did his research and the main archives her used.

58:20 – Alex talks about the places he visited for his research.

1:01:00 – Alex talks about the tug of war between modernization and tradition during the Napoleonic Wars.

1:03:28 – Alex talks about Napoleon’s refusal to make a compromise deal in 1813.

1:05:51 – Alex about the writing and publishing process.

1:09:57 – Alex talks about research into the Louisiana Purchase and American and Russian competition in western North America.

1:14:33 – Alex can be found on facebook and on the Louisiana State University Shreveport website.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/308FVxH

https://www.lsus.edu/alexander-mikaberidze

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Alexander Mikaberidze

Host: Cris Alvarez

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/308FVxH

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Military History Inside Out banner