"The Reason Why remains the classic study of the intriguing and sadly ludicrous episode in military history known as the Charge of the Light Brigade. The author, coming from an Army family and relying heavily on the writings of officers, largely neglects the experience of the private soldier and concentrates on the main characters in the drama. The story is dominated by these extraordinary personalities, serving as a reminder that war is an inherently human drama. On a second level, it is a criticism of the privilege system of the British Army of the mid-nineteenth century. In retrospect, one is hard pressed to believe such a purchase system could have ever won a victory at Waterloo. Intolerant aristocrats with no experience in battle, paltry leadership skills, and maddening unconcern for the soldiers under their command, bought their commissions. The Charge of the Light Brigade illuminated all of the faults of the system and proved that bravery alone was insufficient for victory. While human blunders led to the debacle that was the Charge of the Light Brigade, the British military system was intrinsically to blame." HAVING BEEN TO THE CRIMEA AND TO THE SITE OF THE CHARGE I FOUND THE BOOK RATHER GOOD-PLB

charge of the Light Brigade--outstanding, reads like a novel

from Amazon.com: Woodham-Smith has taken a specific event from a rather obscure military campaign and created a classic historical work. Her flair for presenting the quaint, courageous and maddeningly obtuse character of the British military aristocracy from this period has no master. As a female historian writing within the traditionally male genre Woodham-Smith compares with the giants like Antonia Fraser and Elizabeth Longford. I re-read this book after several decades had passed and find that it is timeless, as moving today as when it was first published. ( )

an excellent book on the historical background behind the charge of the light brigade ( )

An unusually readable history book. I first read it for a class I took more than 30 years ago, and it was definitely the best thing about that class.