Product Description

War has shaped the international system, prompted social change, and inspired the arts. The ubiquitous and multi-faceted character of war is fully reflected in this new Oxford Reader. It addresses the causes of war, the experience of war, and the moral and strategic principles behind war through a variety of academic viewpoints, and first-hand accounts by generals, soldiers, historians, strategists, and poets.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33185 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Lawrence Freeman is Professor of War Studies, Kings College, London. He is frequently interviewed about war issues and writes regularly for The Times.

Customer Reviews

Vast in scope a superb book
I first read this book when studying for a masters degree 8 years ago and it hasnt dated.It is vast in its scope with the first section covering the experiences of war from the eyes of those in the action from a rating at traflagar to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. This is only the start the book then gathers some of the greatest writers in this field and covers causes of war, ethics , strategy, war and the miliatry establishment, total and limited war. If its about war theres something on it in this book from feminism to Blitzkrieg , from arms dealers to air power. With nearly a hundred authors contributing this is a must have book for the student of war.

War (Oxford Readers)
As an interested amateur in the field, I decided to buy several books that would give me a grounding in the analytical thinking behind War.
I invested in On War by Clausevitz as a matter of course, as well as the title above.
I started reading On War but found it a grammatically torturous and not very revealing read, and so put it down and started reading War (Oxford Readers).
It's a great place to start for a beginner, approaching the subject from many angles, a few of which I hadn't even considered. It's a collection of essays and snippets, many of which are quite old but it's amazing how relevant they are despite the immense changes that have occurred since 1991 (when the edition was released).
Certainly worth a read, and hopefully it will make On War a tad more digestible when I get round to trying to read it again.