First edition Gainesville, Florida, 1969

Chatto and Windus London 1970

Southern Illinois University Press 1978

J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd London 1985

Uitgeverij Kadmos Houten, 1987

Harper & Row New York 1987

Rowohlt Hamburg, 1988

Brassey's Washington 1996

Harashobo Tokyo, 2005

Thanh Do, Ho Chi Minh, 2009

Vessel of Sadness



"...a masterpiece"

--The Irish Times, Dublin


"An outstanding piece of writing in which a thread of poetic vision runs through the stark realism of remembered experience in the Anzio beach-head. No one who reads it can fail to feel its impact and to be moved afresh by the senseless horrors of modern warfare."

--Blackwoods Magazine




Abacus London 2004



"A remarkable book indeed, bringing us close to the huge face of war ... a splendid reading experience."

--J.B Priestley



"A picture of courage and futility of courage that somehow goes beyond courage and futility. To seize this in words makes the book a tour de force. Reading it is a memorable experience.

--Arthur Wilson, Dartmouth College



"It is a superb book and a horrifying one. There is no contradiction in putting it that way ... this is a book from the master mold ... A noble book."
--C.A.B. Eastern Daily Press




"Vessel of Sadness goes beyond sensation. It is an accusation."
Richard Church, The Guardian



______________________

(From the cover of the 1985 J. M. Dent & Sons edition)

"One of the most original, convincing and powerful stories about man and war that has ever been written.

Here, distilled from the experiences and observations of one who fought with them in a British infantry unit, is the mood of those who landed, fought and died at Anzio in the Second World War.

There are no heroes, no victories in the story, for this is faceless, nameless, fragmented war.

Vessel of Sadness is poignant, frightening and perceptive – its theme is universal.

It helps us to understand the nature of man in a world where there is as yet no alternative to the desolations of war."






photograph © Helga Woodruff
The author in 1944

Major Books

History
A Concise History of the Modern World
1500 to the Present

The primary aim of this wide-ranging analysis of past events is to offer meaning rather than minutiae.
Autobiography
The Road to Nab End:
A Lancashire Childhood
A fabulous portrait of working class life of the period - widely praised and reviewed.
Beyond Nab End
The sequel to the No. 1 bestselling The Road to Nab End
Fiction
Shadows of Glory
A wonderful, strongly autobiographical war novel: engaging, evocative and grippingly readable.
Vessel of Sadness
"One of the most sensitive and moving books of the war, both authentic and poetic" A.L.Rowse, Times Literary Supplement
Allegory
Paradise Galore
A whimsical quest for a Happy Land.

___________
Quick Links

e-mail
_________________
Authors Guild
Find Authors