fine press editions of military classics?

I am curious about fine press and quality editions of military classics, including history, strategy, biography, and memoir.

Some examples of what I am thinking about include:

• The Influence of Sea Power upon History, by Mahan


• On War, by Clausewitz


• Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant


• The Campaigns of Napoleon, by Chandler

Bonus points for English translations of non-Western works beyond Sun Tzu.

For Ancient Greek and Latin texts that touch on these topics, such as works by Xenophon, Thucydides, Julius Caesar, and so forth, I am aware of many options published by the LEC and various “great books” type collections, such as by Franklin Library. But pointers to more obscure editions in this domain would also be welcome.

For works outside this domain, there seem to be fewer obvious candidates. The Library of America publishes the memoirs of Grant and Sherman.

In this context, I am not looking for war novels, even good ones (so not All Quiet on the Western Front). I am also not interested in anything published by Easton Press. (No shade intended; EP is just not for me.)

Any suggestions?

>1 abysswalker: Not fine press but the Folio Society did a very nice three volume set of The Campaigns of Napoleon (originally published in 2002 with a 2nd printing in 2009).

Again, not fine press but Ballantine has a fairly nice series of the Classics of Ancient China (not all of the series is military) including:
The Art of Warfare (1993)- the first English translation incorporating the Yin-Ch'Ueh-Shan texts
Sun Pin: The Art of Warfare (1996) - includes the 16 chapters and fragments of the Yin-ch'ueh-shan text recovered in 1972

Like you, I rely on the Library of America for the memoirs of Grant and Sherman.

>2 kdweber:
And the Folio Society have done On War!

>1 abysswalker:
Presumably you’re aware that the LEC also published Creasey’s ”The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World”.

>1 abysswalker:

There's this: http://extraordinaryeditions.com/our-books/waterloo-1815-3/

Not a specific classic, but looks pretty impressive.

>1 abysswalker:
I know you aren’t interested in Easton Press, but this list might point you to some available translations of the non-western works you are looking for (e.g., #28 and #34):
http://www.eastonfranklinbooks.com/easton-press-series/ep-military

>5 jroger1: thanks; that list does have some good pointers to use in further title searches.

Somewhat strange curation overall—American Sniper and Machiavelli in the same series!

>6 abysswalker:
“Military history” is indeed a broad topic. King Arthur and Robin Hood could be considered leaders of paramilitary organizations or militia in today’s jargon.

The Ashendene Press has done a version of Thucydides.

https://fineandfinereditions.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/thucydides-history-pelopon...

>2 kdweber: "Folio Society did a very nice three volume set of The Campaigns of Napoleon"

By any chance do you have this/can you speak to the integration with details such as battle maps?

>8 Stephan68: that is indeed a beautiful book:





(Images sourced from that link for ease browsing.)

The LEC did several military history books:

1. Moncreiff(tr) - The Song of Roland (1938)
2. Diaz del Castillo - The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico 1517-1521 (1942)
3. Prescott - History of the Conquest of Peru 1524-1550 (1957)
4. Southey - The Chronicle of the Cid (1958)
5. Creasy - The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1969)
6. Thucydides - The Peloponnesian War (1974)
7. Xenophon - The Anabasis (1969)
8. Oviedo - The Conquest and Settlement of Puerto Rico (1975)
9. Hersey - Hiroshima (1983)

LEC books that include a great deal of, but are not exclusively Miltary History:
1. Plutarch - Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (1941)
2. Gibbon - Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1946)

I woud also throw in:
Homer - The Iliad - (1931)
Herodotus - Histories (1958)

Not necessarily a military classic, but I guess Ambrose Bierce's memoires would theoretically fall into the bracket you specified. The Shakespeare Head Press did a wonderful production of Battle Sketches for the First Edition Club in 1930, in which the author describes his experiences during the American Civil War. The book is illustrated with wood engravings by Thomas Derrick. It includes the following works:

- On a Mountain
- What I Saw of Shiloh
- A Little of Chickamauga
- The Crime at Pickett's Mill
- What Occurred at Franklin
- Four Days in Dixie

However, as Bierce states at the beginning of A Little of Chickamauga: "The history of that awful struggle is well known - I have not the intention to record it here, but only to relate some part of what I saw of it; my purpose not instruction, but entertainment." Thus, I am not sure if this is really the subject matter that you are looking for. Still, this memoir of a soldier is in my opinion a beautiful fine press production and an interesting read.

>12 teppi2: you’re right it’s not exactly what I was imagining, but it is loosely related, and quite welcome in any case, as I also independently appreciate Bierce. So thanks!

https://booksandvines.com/2011/11/10/one-of-the-missing-by-ambrose-bierce-yolla-...