Robert B. Asprey
Encyclopedia
Robert Brown Asprey was an American military historian and author, noted for twelve books on military history published from 1967 through 2001.
Asprey was born in Sioux City, Iowa; his parents were Gladys Brown Asprey and Peter Asprey Jr.
He had an older brother and sister, actinide and fluorine chemist Larned B. Asprey
(1919–2005), a signer of the Szilárd petition
, and mathematician
and computer scientist
Winifred Asprey
(1917–2007), founder of Vassar College
's computer science department.
Asprey received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1949, after serving in World War II. He also studied at New College, Oxford, at the University of Vienna, and at the University of Nice.
In World War II, Asprey was a member of the secret Marine Beach Jumper Unit, then joined the 5th Marine Division. In the 1950s he served in U.S. Army Intelligence in Austria before returning to the U.S. Marine Corps in the Korean War with the rank of captain. He received a Purple Heart
and a Presidential Unit Citation for his service.
and the other guerrilla wars of the Twentieth Century, including the underground actions that took place during conventional wars, from T.E. Lawrence of Arabia in the Great War to Mao Tse-tung before, during, and after the Second World War.
Originally released in two volumes in 1975, the book has been revised (and possibly abridged) at least once. Chapters were added later covering the end of the Vietnam War
and other guerrilla conflicts since the book's original version. There is at least one version in a single volume, possibly abridged.
Asprey was born in Sioux City, Iowa; his parents were Gladys Brown Asprey and Peter Asprey Jr.
He had an older brother and sister, actinide and fluorine chemist Larned B. Asprey
Larned B. Asprey
Larned "Larry" Brown Asprey was an American chemist noted for his work on actinide and rare earth and fluoride chemistry, and for his contributions to nuclear chemistry on the Manhattan project and later....
(1919–2005), a signer of the Szilárd petition
Szilárd petition
The Szilárd petition, drafted by scientist Leó Szilárd, was signed by 155 scientists working on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois. It was circulated in July 1945 and asked President Harry S. Truman to consider an observed...
, and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
Winifred Asprey
Winifred Asprey
Winifred "Tim" Alice Asprey was an American mathematician and computer scientist. She was one of only around 200 women to earn PhDs in mathematics from American universities during the 1940s, a period of women's underrepresentation in mathematics at this level.She was involved in developing the...
(1917–2007), founder of Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
's computer science department.
Asprey received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1949, after serving in World War II. He also studied at New College, Oxford, at the University of Vienna, and at the University of Nice.
In World War II, Asprey was a member of the secret Marine Beach Jumper Unit, then joined the 5th Marine Division. In the 1950s he served in U.S. Army Intelligence in Austria before returning to the U.S. Marine Corps in the Korean War with the rank of captain. He received a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and a Presidential Unit Citation for his service.
War in the Shadows: The Guerrilla in History
Perhaps Asprey's most famous book is the monumental War in the Shadows: The Guerrilla in History, a sweeping 2500-year survey on the subject, with particular emphasis on the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and the other guerrilla wars of the Twentieth Century, including the underground actions that took place during conventional wars, from T.E. Lawrence of Arabia in the Great War to Mao Tse-tung before, during, and after the Second World War.
Originally released in two volumes in 1975, the book has been revised (and possibly abridged) at least once. Chapters were added later covering the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and other guerrilla conflicts since the book's original version. There is at least one version in a single volume, possibly abridged.
External links
- War in the Shadows: The Guerrilla in History (PDF of the original 1975 version uploaded by the author at Archive.org)