Short History of War
£7.60£14.20 (-46%)
Throughout history, warfare has transformed social, political, cultural, and religious aspects of our lives. We tell tales of wars—past, present, and future—to create and reinforce a common purpose.
In this engaging overview, Jeremy Black examines war as a global phenomenon, looking at the First and Second World Wars as well as those ranging from Han China and Assyria, Imperial Rome, and Napoleonic France to Vietnam and Afghanistan. Black explores too the significance of warfare more broadly and the ways in which cultural understandings of conflict have lasting consequences in societies across the world. Weaponry, Black argues, has had a fundamental impact on modes of war: it created war in the air and transformed it at sea. Today, as twentieth-century weapons are challenged by drones and robotics, Black examines what the future of warfare looks like.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Yale University Press (28 Sept. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0300256515 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0300256512 |
| Dimensions | 14.61 x 3.18 x 22.23 cm |
by John Chandos
Far too thin for seasoned readers of military history, yet too esoteric for newcomers to the subject. Suits neither demographic. It also conflates a history of ‘war’ with a history of ‘warfare’, and, again, meets neither objective.
The author, sanctimoniously, claims to incorporate non-western perspectives in contrast to the established literary canon, but does so exceptionally superficially, so, once again, does not meet the book’s stated objective.
by Jonathan
Jeremy Black covers an enormous area in this new history of warfare from prehistoric times to the 21st century, and, breaking with the eurocentric approaches of his predecessors, ensures that all parts of the world are given their fair share of attention. He is excellent on the technology of warfare and on the evolution of strategy, but never lets us forget that war is about people – those who fight and those who suffer the consequences. The book is full of fascinating insights and I recommend it highly.