by Tracy Tully
Paul was born and raised in San Antonio. He got his bachelor and master’s degrees in history from Southwest Texas State. While there, God provided a series of miracles which led him to a British military campaign in the Middle East after World War I. Looking for a topic for his master’s thesis, this led him to expand on it for his doctorate. Since the material for the research would be in England, he decided he might as well kill two birds with one stone and apply to a university there. This ended up with a Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College, University of London.
Once home in 1981, he began looking for college teaching positions at just the wrong time. The Vietnam war had pretty much killed universities teaching military history, so he taught US and world history at a variety of colleges in San Antonio. While at St. Mary’s University, one professor helped him get his dissertation published and another professor linked him up with a publisher looking for a military history topic. The result was 100 Decisive Battles. It sold well enough that Oxford University Press picked it up for a paperback edition. Ultimately, it was released in five different editions, including one in Italian and a pirated version in Chinese. This was succeeded by Besieged, An Encyclopedia of Invasions and Conquests, An Encyclopedia of Warrior Peoples and Fighting Groups, and finally Masters of the Battlefield, a study of fifteen of the greatest generals in history. The first and last of these books are available at The Boerne Bookshop, where he works since his retirement in early 2022. When not at the shop or doing research, he’s an artist specializing in portraits, sports, and aircraft.
Visit The Boerne Bookshop
153 S. Main St. #120 | Boerne, TX 78006
(830) 249-0000
www.TheBoerneBookshop.com
