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The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge Illustrated Histories)x$10.00
  (8 reviews)
Best Price: $36.99 $10.00
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).
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Customer Reviews
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Excellent Summary On The Evolution of Western Warfare
By A1QQPIUXWD4G0Z on 2005-03-16
As with its political and economic systems, Western Europe came to develop very unique military institutions that had evolved from Greco-Roman military doctrines applying war as a science and as a precise instrument towards defined political ends: emphasizing on uniform training and equipment as well as strict discipline. This book studies the evolution of Western military institutions from antiquity to modern times and demonstrates how these progressive changes contributed to the modern doctrines of Western warfare that are used today by every nation-state.
Geoffrey Parker did an excellent job in this work. Although many illustrative books are just that, this book has very detailed explanations in addition to very useful illustrations such as photos, maps, and diagrams. The book covers all of the important aspects of Western military evolution. For example, it will start by explaining how the early Greek phallanx comprised of citizen farmers was a significant factor to developing the citizen armies of the Roman legions to the later nation-state armies of 18th century Europe. The book looks at the impact of important military/political thinkers such as Thucydides, Caesar, Machiavelli, and Clausewitz, in the evolution of military doctrine. The book of course makes sure to cover how advances in science and engineering such as siege engines, firearms, and explosives changed the conduct of warfare and how armies adapted to such changes.
This is nothing short of an excellent book that has the right balance between text and illustrations. Unlike other illustrative texts that are mostly pictures with little substance, this book is extremely thorough and detailed as to the main factors responsible towards the unique evolution of western military institutions and their impact on the world. I strongly recommend it.
An excellent introductory overview of military history
By on 1997-08-20
Geoffrey Parker has assembled some of the best working military historians for this volume, so that each chapter is up-to-date, well written, and reliable. Unlike many illustrated histories, this one gives at least some endnote references, and includes excellent short bibliographies for each chapter. The illustrations are also outstanding. About as good a history of warfare as could be produced within its word limits.
--Professor Clifford J. Rogers
Amazing!
By A9998RE3AEA95 on 1999-11-28
The book accomplishes its goal amazingly well with clear graphics, lucid text, and wonderful accuracy . Easily the best in its field, the book gives you a profound understanding and knowledge of the european wars. The chapters are well written and up-to-date. The bibliographies are clearly stated to give the reader further information on a given topic. This is history of war at its finest.
Exactly the overview for which I was searching
By ANZLPO68QD9TS on 2007-03-19
This book offers an excellent overview of warfare throughout the ages, from the Assyrians to the present day, and covering the personalities, weapons, strategies, tactics and technologies used. It should be noted that it covers only warfare as it has impacted and been fought in the Western culture, with no reference at all to important forces like the Mongols and only very brief interludes relating to the likes of China and Japan (except insofar as their wars involved Western opponents as in the Russo-Japanese War or World War II).
It is not a work for experts, in my opinion, but a terrific primer for those who are new to the subject and looking to ground themselves in the subject before moving on to more focussed and analytical works.
One very helpful feature of the book is that it contains diagrams of several key battles, showing troop deployments and movements. Many other overview texts on the history of warfare which I have seen merely describe the battles, and I found the diagrams particularly useful in clarifying how these fights developed. My one criticism of the book is that might have used more such diagrams, but that is a quibble.
Good Jumping Off Point
By A2JQGLUWM5OGN2 on 2002-12-18
As a student I found this book to be helpful and articulate. It has a lot of ground to cover--Ancient Greece to the present day--and does a remarkable job of conveying what happened and why. Though it is occasionally dry, I found myself engaged throughout. My only complaint is that it maybe could have benefited from being a bit longer. Brevity is certainly a virtue, but when your topic is as large as this one, I think a longer book is justified. It's definately nice to have around as a reference book too.
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