Sir Michael Howard, who was "the most influential British military historian of his generation" and "left a mark on public and professional debate in Britain and internationally," died November 30, the Guardian reported. He was 97. Howard "enjoyed a unique combination of beliefs, skills and, as he freely admitted, luck. The unifying theme of all his work was the placing of military history and strategic thought in the broadest social and political context."
Describing him as "the epitome of respectability, even grandeur," the Guardian wrote that Howard was a Guards officer, member of the Athenaeum, regius professor, author of official histories of the Second World War, and recipient of honors including the Military Cross, a knighthood (1986), CH (2002) and OM (2005). "Yet he also had a non-conformist streak, reflected in his support throughout the cold war years for tempering nuclear deterrence with moderation and for practical measures of arms control. Nonconformism also infused other aspects of his life."
Howard's many books include The Franco-Prussian War (1961), The Coldstream Guards 1920-1946 (1951, co-authored with John Sparrow), Disengagement in Europe (1958); an authoritative translation of Carl von Clausewitz's On War (with Peter Paret, 1976), War in European History (1976), War and the Liberal Conscience (1978), The Lessons of History (1991) and Strategic Deception (1990), a volume of the official history of British Intelligence in World War II.
After his "retirement" in 1993, Howard "continued to be intellectually active," the Guardian noted. "He produced a short book, The Invention of Peace (2000), full of pithy scepticism about propositions that history had ended," as well as his memoir Captain Professor (2006), "a frank account of his full, productive and fortunate life."