History of the complex evolution of power, armor, mobility, organization and institution.
Brilliant. 0521794315 A very helpful overview of military history from ancient times through the 1990s 0521794315 Loved reading about the different ways of war! 0521794315
Geoffrey Parker Ç 6 read & download
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare provides a unique account of Western warfare from antiquity to the present. The book treats all aspects of the subject from the Greeks to the nuclear age: the development of warfare on land, sea and air; weapons and technology; strategy and defense; discipline and intelligence. Throughout, there is an emphasis on the socio-economic aspects of war: who pays for it, how can its returns be measured, and to what extent does it explain the rise of the West to global dominance over two millennia? Geoffrey Parker is one of the world's leading authorities on military history and is the editor of The Times Atlas of World History (1993) and the author of The Military Revolution (Cambridge,1988). The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare: The Triumph of the West
Read it for military school 0521794315 Overall is a your standard history reference book on warfare. Used it in my War and Civilization class and found it useful when writing papers during the course. Its a fairly detailed book and has great illustrations in this version that makes it a whole lot more fun to read. 0521794315 Starting with the infantry of the ancient Greeks, this book endeavors to explain the social, political and military tactics that enabled the West to dominate everyone they came in contact with. Both brief and detailed this book is dense, the pictures and diagrams help to keep the reader on track.
Why I started this book: It was one of my goals for this year, and I knew that I would need time to make my way through it.
Why I finished it: I did a big push at the end, I wanted to stop hauling with large book around. Plus I am more familiar with the wars of the last century. It was a good introduction and I was surprised with the authors candor about the necessity and costs of war. Most surprising was the comparison between Hitler and George W.; both started costly wars despite the protests of millions. 0521794315 First a pet peeve - why is it necessary to make a book glossy from cover to cover forcing the reader to heft over 3 pounds every time he or she reads it? I have never had my arm muscles ache as much as with this 400 page book!
Ok, on to content.
Warfare is a comprehensive look at the way men have gone to battle since the rise of the West in ancient Greece. Using detailed diagrams when necessary, the reader can see how manpower was deployed and how weapons were used.
Particularly interesting to me were the diagrams of the Greek phalanx and the Roman centuries, examples of the discipline and technique that along with technology helped the West to defeat opponents. Did you know that a major factor in the success of Alexander the Great was the ability of his troops to carry all they needed thus avoiding a long supply line and crowd of camp followers?
This book is filled with insightful commentary on why armed conflicts turned out the way they did. Why was the huge Spanish Armada defeated by the relatively insignificant (at the time) English Navy? What was the Needlegun and why did it give the Prussians an advantage? How did Cortez with just a few hundred Spaniards defeat tens of thousands of Aztecs?
The tide of battle can be turned by weather, by leadership or the lack thereof, by technology and other factors. You will find yourself on an informative march through over 2000 years of conflict up to the 1991 war in Iraq. On finishing this book, I wondered how the Bush directed war of choice in 2003 would be seen by such a history as this.
As one would expect, more recent wars are treated in more detail with excellent accounts of WW1 and WW2. Happily, the book doesn't get bogged down in detailed maps of tactical movements of armies on the field unless it aids in making the reader aware of some new battlefield technique. Likewise, there are no long discussions of particular weapons. The goal is always to ask - how did things change and why?
Provided you work out at the gym to build up your biceps for this brick of a book, I think you will be rewarded by the fact packed, concise writing supported with excellent illustrations. In war, victory or defeat can happen as a result of unpredictable factors but, over time, superior practices and technologies have a telling effect. The persistent rise of the West was no accident. Read this book to find out how it happened. 0521794315 This was a mandatory read on the list for United States Army Command & General Staff College. We were assigned passages from the book rather than being required to read it cover to cover. I am interested in History and this was one of the few enjoyable blocks in the Army course. However, I graduated from the American public school system several years ago and I was not immediately invested in reading mandatory material. This book provided an insightful and thoroughly engaging history of warfare! 0521794315