Declarations of War

“Written with economy and grace . . . often exciting, sometimes eerie, always sad.”—Evening Standard

Len Deighton’s only collection of short fiction explores the devastating experiences of soldiers across twenty-three centuries of warfare, from Hannibal’s march on Rome to the jungles of Vietnam.

Across these sharp, unsparing stories, Deighton’s deep compassion for the ordinary soldier is matched only by his hatred for war and the ways it makes machines of men. His heroes are ordinary people caught in circumstances not of their choosing: a jaded commander of a firing squad sweltering in the heat of the Punjab, a fighter pilot who finds himself flying on the wrong side of history in the skies above France, a belittled Civil War general failing to rally his men against the Confederates.

With its twists, shifts in perspective and sudden moral reversals, these stories reveal a master craftsman at work—essential reading for long-time fans, and a perfect introduction for newcomers to Deighton’s fiction.