Product Description

The Illustrated Military History of the World from Ancient Civilization to the 21st Century. The most ambitious study of warfare ever published: from the Ancient World to the present day, The Times History of War reveals how warfare has been shaped by social, political, technological, agricultural and even climatic changes. It investigates how warfare has, in turn, been agent of political and social change. Lavish maps chart the campaigns and battles that have changed the course of military history. Diagrams and line drawings show how new weapons and equipment worked. From small unit tactics to grand strategy, The Times History of War is the most thorough analysis of warfare ever published.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #646868 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
Lavishly illustrated this comprehensive and ambitious study of warfare covers the art of war from the Ancient World up to the present day. This volume reveals how warfare has been shaped by political, social, agricultural, technological and even climatic changes and, in turn, how warfare has affected politics and society. A fascinating work. (Kirkus UK)

From the Author
A comprehensive overview of war throughout the ages
From the first wars of civilization - the chariot lords sweeping through ancient Mesopotamia and Homer's warriors on the plains of windy Troy - to today's darker threats of terrorism and biological weapons proliferation; The Times History of War provides and overview of how this most important human activity developed. The text - written by a team of specialists and experienced military historians (myself included) - is accompanied by extensive illustrations. The maps are the heart of the book, which serves as an atlas of military history, and presents the accuracy, comprehensiveness and clarity readers have come to expect from The Times series of historical atlases. For a reference atlas as well as an illustrated survey of military history, this book should be of interest to the general reader and specialists alike.

About the Author
David C.Isby, Richard Brooks, Jan Honig, Richard H. Berg and Mark Herman are published authors of military history titles ranging from the classical world to post-Cold War defence policy.

Customer Reviews

Intelligent guide, but limited by its vast scope
The Times History of War proves that this is a complex subject, influenced by and intimately bound up with politics, economics, social change, religion, culture, technology ... and even meteorology. Warfare is also an evolving art, science and discipline - it's often said that general always re-fight the last war, only to be caught on the hop because a new enemy emerges, or an old enemy does something new and unexpected, or a new weapon suddenly appears. The machinegun and the tank were shocking newcomers in their day ... but anyone reading this review will vividly remember 9/11!

There is an immediate pitfall in any work of this scope - the reader quickly begins to spot what has been missed rather than appreciate what is there. This is a taster, an introduction to history, so it must inevitably leave you feeling dissatisfied, in need of a more substantial meal. It does, however, put warfare into perspective: it has to be understood not as simply a series of different battles, but as an expression of social and historical change.

The Times History notes that the boundaries between periods of history have always proved contentious. Trying to pigeonhole warfare can be fraught with imprecision and abstraction. Mechanisation and tank warfare seems to create a clear historical division ... yet urban warfare and guerrilla warfare hark back to more primitive ways of killing one another.

Lavishly illustrated, full colour, with an abundance of maps and battle diagrams, this is a concise and analytical volume. It asks what worked, what went wrong, what were the outcomes. It is akin to a guidebook or roadmap, identifying the main points of interest in the history of warfare. It is up to the traveller to stop and explore at greater length and depth.

Enthusiasts will not find uniform detail, weapon facts, or organisational information here. This is a vast subject, so all that can reasonably be expected is that the authors offer an intelligent overview. They do this by looking at the evolution of tactics and strategies, following the major personalities and great war leaders, major battles, and changing technology. It is Western European in its outlook - there's no room for the Zulus, Incas, Aztecs, no Conquistadores, no General Giap ... even Scotland warrants only one passing mention!

Overall, an engaging and enlightening analysis, but its major failing - given the breadth of the subject matter it attempts to cover - is the absence of a decent bibliography to point you on the road to further exploration. A good coffee table book for those with limited knowledge of the history of warfare, but perhaps of little use for the enthusiast or historian.

Brilliant but flawed
This book is comprehensive, handsome and admirably researched, but the sheer extent of its coverage is its downfall: huge swathes of history are reduced to a mere two pages, often leaving the reader bewildered and in need of more detail.

Attempts to cover dozens of campaigns from several forces using just one map reduces their legibility and causes confusion. Likewise, a single caption often fails to capture much of the subtleties of events.

Diagrams of individual battles suffer the same fate: really, what's needed are a number of separate diagrams with more in-depth explanations. Certainly some of the earlier diagrams are rendered nonsensical to anyone unfamiliar with events on the battlefield.

My final compaint is the level of production: almost every spread contains a typographic or grammatical error of some sort, which soon starts to annoy (shame on you, The Times). A second edition would benefit from a really close subbing.

Despite these criticisms, The Times History of War still manages to inform and leaves the reader eager to learn more. For anyone interested in history, battlefied tactics, or mankind's ridiculously large appetite for self-destruction, will be suitably amazed by what's on offer.

the times history of war
very readable covering a vast subject concisely
a great stating point to look up a war
could call it a great bluffs guide
superb reference book