War Horse

An e-book edition of War Horse with movie stills, behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards, and more! In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

With a name like Bunny, the long-eared horse doesn’t seem like an obvious choice to ship off to war. But through burning gas attacks, miserable weather and ever-present cross fire, Bunny proves himself invaluable, especially to the men who ride him. This is a heartwarming story of a World War I war horse who was as brave and strong as any soldier. Important historical context is provided in the end matter, and all historical details have been vetted for accuracy by expert reviewers.

Chronicles the history of the thoroughbred war horse Warrior and his owner General Jack Seely and shares the adventures that they had during the infamous Western Front.

New York Times Bestseller! She wasn't a horse—she was a Marine. She might not have been much to look at—a small "Mongolian mare," they called her—but she came from racing stock, and had the blood of a champion. Much more than that, Reckless became a war hero—in fact, she became a combat Marine, earning staff sergeant's stripes before her retirement to Camp Pendleton. This once famous horse, recognized as late as 1997 by Life Magazine as one of America's greatest heroes—the greatest war horse in American history, in fact—has unfortunately now been largely forgotten. But author Robin Hutton is set to change all that. Not only has she been the force behind recognizing Reckless with a monument at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and at Camp Pendleton, but she has now recorded the full story of this four-legged war hero who hauled ammunition to embattled Marines and inspired them with her relentless, and reckless, courage.

Brimming with more than 140 dramatic images, this is the stunning, visual companion to Steven Spielberg's epic adventure, set in rural England and Europe, about a young man and his horse and their separate journeys through the battlefields of the First World War. One of the great stories of friendship and war, the successful novel War Horse not only inspired the award-winning stage play, but also inspired one of the great directors in film history to commit his talent, vision, and resources to make this extraordinary movie, which was shot in the countryside of England. "I first fell in love with the story of War Horse because I was moved by the relationship between a boy and an animal in Michael Morpurgo's novel and the screenplay by Richard Curtis and Lee Hall," writes Steven Spielberg in his foreword. "But, ultimately, I made it because of what the book and the screenplay say about courage. I t is about the courage of the horse Joey and what he endures to survive, and the courage of Albert in his attempt to find his best friend in a time of war. With every frame of this film, it was my hope to issue a call for courage in our daily lives. A call to ‘be brave.'" Additional forewords by producer Kathleen Kennedy, novelist Michael Morpurgo, and co-screenwriter Richard Curtis reveal their feelings about the story and the process of moving it from page to screen. The main body of the book is divided into three sections: Part 1: Joey's Journey—A visual retelling, along with script excerpts and filmmakers' comments, of the journey taken by Joey, the horse trained by his beloved Albert, from the striking verdant countryside of Dartmoor, Devon, to training in the British cavalry, to trench warfare in France. Part 2: The Making of War Horse—An insider's glimpse of the movie-making process highlighted with fascinating insights from the international cast and the crew about the casting, locations, costumes, horse training, and much more. Part 3: The History of War Horses—An illuminating section on the role of horses in battle, illustrated with iconic images from history, vivid drawings, paintings and photographs. This beautiful book is a testament to what can be done when people become impassioned about a goal. As producer Kathleen Kennedy expresses in her foreword: "War Horse was one of those unusual productions that comes together in an incredibly short time, and for all the right reasons. Everyone involved understood the film's potential, the richness of the characters, the depth of emotion, and the strength of the story's message."

This book analyses the success and adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse to stage, radio, live events, and feature film, in different cultures, on tours, and in translation. In under a decade, War Horse has gone from obscure children’s novel to arguably one of the world’s most recognisable theatrical brands, thanks to innovative puppet designs from South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company in an acclaimed stage production from the National Theatre of Great Britain. With emphasis on embodied spectatorship, collaborative meaning-making, and imaginative ‘play,’ this book generates fresh insights into the enduring popularity of the franchise’s eponymous protagonist, Joey, offering the most in-depth study of War Horse to date.

For more than four thousand years, the horse and rider have been an integral part of warfare. Armed with weapons and accessories ranging from a simple javelin to the hand-held laser designator, the horse and rider have fought from the steppes of central Asia to the plains of North America. Understanding the employment of the military horse is key to understanding the successes and the limitations of military operations and campaigns throughout history. Over the centuries, horses have been used to pull chariots, support armor-laden knights, move scouts rapidly over harsh terrain, and carry waves of tightly formed cavalry. In War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider, Louis A. DiMarco discusses all of the uses of horses in battle, including the Greek, Persian, and Roman cavalry, the medieval knight and his mount, the horse warriors-Huns, Mongols, Arabs, and Cossacks-the mounted formations of Frederick the Great and Napoleon, and mounted unconventional fighters, such as American Indians, the Boers, and partisans during World War II. The book also covers the weapons and forces which were developed to oppose horsemen, including longbowmen, pike armies, cannon, muskets, and machine guns. The development of organizations and tactics are addressed beginning with those of the chariot armies and traced through the evolution of cavalry formations from Alexander the Great to the Red Army of World War II. In addition, the author examines the training and equipping of the rider and details the types of horses used as military mounts at different points in history, the breeding systems that produced those horses, and the techniques used to train and control them. Finally, the book reviews the importance of the horse and rider to battle and military operations throughout history, and concludes with a survey of the current military use of horses. War Horse is a comprehensive look at this oldest and most important aspect of military history, the relationship between human and animal, a weapons system that has been central to warfare longer than any other.