Dare and to Conquer (Record no. 216473)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 02557nam a22002297a 4500
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20211004095957.0
008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION
fixed length control field 211004b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 0316143847
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Transcribing agency AL
041 ## - LANGUAGE CODE
Language code of text/sound track or separate title eng
082 ## - DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER
Edition number 23
Classification number 356.1609
Item number LEED
100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Derek Leebaert
100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
9 (RLIN) 690
245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Dare and to Conquer
Remainder of title Special Operations and the destiny of Nations from Achilles to Al Qaeda
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Place of publication, distribution, etc. New York
Name of publisher, distributor, etc. Little Brown And Company
Date of publication, distribution, etc. 2006
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent ix,673
Other physical details HB
Dimensions 24x15 cm
365 ## - TRADE PRICE
Price amount $29.95
Currency code $
Unit of pricing $29.95
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Summary, etc. Almost everyone in the Western hemisphere knows the story of the Trojan horse. A small band of fighters hid inside a giant wooden horse left at the gates of Troy while the Greeks pretend to sail away. Once brought inside, the men crawl out of the horse and wreak havoc on the sleeping city. Throughout history, there are many stories of elite groups of soldiers outwitting, outfighting, or outflanking a much larger army. Whether through perfect subterfuge or simply engaging the enemy with better tactics, special operations forces often change the course of a battle, a war, and even history itself. Derek Leebaert’s To Dare and To Conquer is a voluminous catalogue of such forces and how their stories intertwine with both their culture and their history.<br/><br/>There are a lot of histories in this history. At more than 600 pages, Leebaert suffers from a bit of information overkill. After discussing the Trojan War, he moves through Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire then the Middle Ages, Spanish conquistadors, pirate tactics, colonial Revolutionary espionage, the French Revolution, the two world wars, the Bay of Pigs, and missions to the Middle East. Then after all that, there is a discussion of politics and the use of special forces. While the histories themselves are the most interesting part, there are inconsistencies and complacent writing. Most noticeable is the clichéd discussion of the Spanish forces in the Amazon. I’m not entirely sure these can be classified as special forces, but rather an invading brigade. Also, Leebaert tends to be a little overdramatic, wordy, and politically biased (especially when discussing the CIA). However, the bibliography is immense and can point the reader towards more focused sources. It’s a very thick book and requires some gumption to get through, but there are some rewarding historical tidbits if you stick it out.
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Special forces
9 (RLIN) 691
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Destiny of Nations
9 (RLIN) 692
700 ## - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name LEEBAERT (Derek)
9 (RLIN) 693
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Source of classification or shelving scheme Dewey Decimal Classification
Koha item type George Fernandes Collections
Holdings
Withdrawn status Lost status Source of classification or shelving scheme Damaged status Not for loan Collection code Home library Current library Date acquired Cost, normal purchase price Total Checkouts Full call number Barcode Date last seen Cost, replacement price Price effective from Koha item type
    Dewey Decimal Classification     Others St Aloysius Library St Aloysius Library 03/24/2013 0.00   356.1609 LEED GF01574 10/04/2021 0.00 10/04/2021 George Fernandes Collections