Pritzker Military Library Literature Award

On Saturday 27 October 2012 at a dinner and ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Max was presented with the annual literary prize of the Pritzker Military Library, accompanied by a cheque for $100,000, for his contribution to military writing.  In his speech of acceptance and thanks, Max described some of the extraordinary stories and personal experiences he has collected from eye-witnesses of war around the world over the past 45 years, and said: “I have always felt profoundly grateful that my work as a historian has enabled me to meet so many extraordinary people, to hear and record for future generations fragments of their experiences which make people of my generation so profoundly grateful for what almost all of us have been spared”.  He quoted the words of a hero of the World War II Norwegian resistance, Knut Hansen, who said that while warriors deserve our deepest gratitude and respect, and “though wars can bring adventures that stir the heart, the true nature of war is composed of innumerable personal tragedies, of grief, waste and sacrifice, wholly evil and not redeemed by glory”.