World History of Warfare (Tactics & Strategies)
Archer, John Ferris, Holger Herwig, and Timothy Travers (all professors of history at Univ. of Calgary) have designed this work as a text for introductory college courses in military history. It is divided into specific time periods: the ancient empires; the classical West; migration and invasions; the age of chivalry; the Eastern style of warfare; gunpowder and sail; industrial warfare; and modern Third World wars. In each era certain themes are emphasized: society and the idea of war; the impact of technology; organization of armies; and the experience of war from the soldiers' perspective. Finally, for each era there is a case study of a specific battle. These authors follow the trend among some younger military historians (e.g., Bevin Alexander, Victor Davis Hanson) by describing not only the raw detail of battle but sprinkling it with some philosophic insight, emotion, and the impact of war on society as a whole. Not a complete, detailed military history of the world, this is a broad history of man at war, the effect of technology on approaches to battle, and the consequences of war for future epochs. Equal weight is given to Middle Eastern and Asian battles; the case studies presented are battles that one usually finds in standard military histories. Each chapter has a slightly dated bibliography that nevertheless includes the important references. The maps of battles are sparse and simplistic a fault of many such histories. This thoughtful, philosophical, multicultural work is recommended for most libraries. Richard Nowicki, formerly with Emerson Vocational H.S., Buffalo, NYCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.