Product Description

Which was the most brilliant of Hannibal's three crushing defeats of Roman armies? What tactics did Julius Caesar employ to defeat Pompey at Pharsalus? How was Alexander the Great able to command sufficient loyalty from his troops to lead them across half of the Asian landmass in search of new territories to conquer? What qualities made Attila the Hun a strategist of genius? How did Henry V of England achieve victory at Agincourt for the loss of a few hundred of his men, when the mounted French knights suffered casualties in the thousands? The answers to these and a myriad other fascinating questions can be found in "The Art of War", a sumptuous chronological survey of the 50 greatest commanders of the ancient and medieval worlds. Compiled by an distinguished team of historians (including such names as Robin Lane Fox, Tom Holland, John Julius Norwich, Jonathan Sumption and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto) working under the general editorship of the Andrew Roberts, "The Art of War" is an authoritative and beautifully illustrated account of the lives and careers of the 50 greatest military commanders of the period, from Julius Caesar to Judas Maccabeus, from Belisarius to Bohemond, and from Trajan to Tamerlane. Every commander is profiled in a concise and informative 3000-word article which not only brings its subject vividly to life via a lively, fact-driven narrative, but also analyses and assesses his tactical and strategic gifts. Each biography is accompanied by a 'battle feature' or 'campaign feature' - embellished by a full-colour battle plan or campaign map - focusing on the commander's greatest battlefield achievement. As accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, "The Art of War" is the perfect introduction to its subject for the layperson - but also a stimulating and thought-provoking read for those with greater knowledge of military history. With its companion volume "Born to Command", it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals the world has seen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1717 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Review
Andrew Roberts has assembled an interesting group of authors and contributes a pertinent introduction; a wealth of apposite illustrations and useful battlefield maps complete an excellent volume - Military Illustrated.

From the Inside Flap
Which was the most brilliant of Hannibal's three crushing defeats of Roman armies? What tactics did Julius Caesar employ to defeat Pompey at Pharsalus? How was Alexander the Great able to command sufficient loyalty from his troops to lead them across half of the Asian landmass in search of new territories to conquer? What qualities made Attila the Hun a strategist of genius? How did Henry V of England achieve victory at Agincourt for such small losses to his own forces, when the mounted French knights suffered casualties in their thousands?
The answers to these and a myriad other questions can be found in this lavish chronological survey of the greatest commanders of the ancient and medieval worlds. Compiled by a distinguished team of historians (including Robin Lane Fox, Tom Holland, Adrian Goldsworthy, John Julius Norwich, Jonathan Sumption and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto) working under the general editorship of Andrew Roberts, The Art of War is an authoritative account of the lives and careers of the greatest military commanders of the period 1500 BC - AD 1600, from Alcibiades to Attila, from Hannibal to Henry V, and from Trajan to Tamerlane. Each commander is profiled in a concise and informative 3000-word article which not only brings its subject vividly to life in a lively, fact-driven narrative, but also analyses and assesses his tactical and strategic gifts. These biographies are accompanied by "battle features" or "campaign features" - embellished by full-colour battle plans or campaign maps - focusing on the commanders' greatest battlefield achievements.
Accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World is the perfect introduction to its subject for the general reader, but also a stimulating and thought-provoking survey for those with deeper knowledge of military history. With its companion volume The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Modern World, it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals that history has known.

From the Back Cover
Thutmose III - Joyce Tyldesley.
Ramesses II - Joyce Tyldesley.
Joshua - Martin van Creveld.
King David - Martin van Creveld.
Tiglath-Pileser III - Doyne Dawson.
Sun Tzu - Jonathan Fenby.
Cyrus the Great - Tom Holland.
Leonidas - Ben Dupre.
Themistocles - Robin Waterfield.
Thucydides - Andrew Roberts.
Alcibiades - Robin Waterfield.
Xenophon - Robin Waterfield.
Philip II of Macedon - Robin Lane Fox.
Alexander the Great - Robin Lane Fox.
Hannibal - Tom Holland.
Scipio Africanus - Adrian Goldsworthy.
Judah Maccabeus - Martin van Creveld.
Pompey - Adrian Goldsworthy.
Julius Caesar - Adrian Goldsworthy.
Arminius - Adrian Murdoch.
Trajan - Adrian Goldsworthy.
Zhuge Liang - Jonathan Fenby.
Alaric I - John Haywood.
Aetius - John Haywood.
Attila - John Haywood.
Theodoric - John Haywood.
Clovis - John Haywood.
Belisarius - John Julius Norwich.
Muhammad - Efraim Karsh.
Charlemagne - John Haywood.
Alfred the Great - Justin Pollard.
Hastein - John Haywood.
William the Conqueror - John Gillingham.
Bohemond I - Jonathan Phillips.
Frederick Barbarossa - Jonathan Phillips.
Genghis Khan - Justin Marozzi.
Kublai Khan - Justin Marozzi.
Alexander Nevsky - Isabel de Madariaga.
Baibars - Jonathan Phillips.
Tamerlane - Justin Marozzi.
The Black Prince - Jonathan Sumption.
Henry V - Robert Hardy.
Joan of Arc - Anne Curry.
Sultan Mehmet II - John Julius Norwich.
Hernan Cortes - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto.
Suleyman the Magnificent - John Julius Norwich.
Gonzalo de Cordoba - Niccolo Capponi.
Akbar the Great - Francis Robinson.
Oda Nobunaga - Stephen Turnbull.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Book
This book is a must, it has a wealth of information , is printed to highest quality, good battle maps ,and lots of battles, look forward to volume 2

No weak links in this chain of command (updated 3 December 2009)
This volume, together with its companion dealing with the ancient and medieval period, provides an exceptionally informative and handsome overview of the history of warfare, as epitomised by the careers of some of its most significant practitioners.

Editor Andrew Roberts, himself no slouch as a military historian, has assembled a top team of writers, many of them leading authorities on their subjects. For example, in Volume One Scipio Africanus is tackled by Adrian Goldsworthy and Hannibal by Tom Holland, while Jonathan Sumption looks at the Black Prince and John Julius Norwich surveys Sultan Mehmet II. The line-up for Volume Two is equally impressive with, for example, Saul David on Shaka Zulu, John A. Barnes on Robert E. Lee, Michael Burleigh on Erich Von Manstein and Carlo D'Este on Douglas MacArthur. In consequence of this level of author expertise, the essays do not simply summarise what is already known, but in many cases they actually challenge the accepted wisdom, or present fresh evidence. With eight pages per commander, there is also space to add analysis to the core narrative, and to examine weapons and tactics, while a box exploring a particular battle or campaign gives further depth.

The choice of commanders in both volumes is also refreshingly broad. The big names are all there to be sure, but so are some lesser known, yet equally interesting, figures. In addition, the book's scope embraces key military writers and theorists, from Thucydides to Clausewitz (both assessed by Roberts). The geographical range is likewise wide, embracing Asia, Africa and South America as well as the more familiar battlefields of Europe and North America.

The production values of these chunky hardbacks are extremely high, with a well-designed layout, clear maps and an inspired collection of illustrations. Here, images really do complement the text. Although written to be accessible to the general reader, there is also much here that will interest the specialist. Currently being sold at a hefty discount, both books are worth more, and should not be confused with much of the hack-written and hackneyed military picture books that fill the shelves of the cut-price stores.