A History of WarfareIn this ... book, [the author] demolishes the famous dictum that war is the continuation of policy by other means. On Easter Island, for example, rival factions exterminated one another in a ceaseless competition for the egg of a sooty tern. The Aztecs seem to have fought for nothing more than the captives that they slaughtered by the thousands. And what policy could possibly have informed the Gulf War, in which the United States and its allies destroyed the army of Saddam Hussein, only to leave Saddam himself securely in power? Analyzing centuries of conflict ... [he] unveils the deepest motives behind humanity's penchant for mass bloodshed. -Back cover. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abbasid Adrianople aggression Arab armour arms army artillery Asia Assyrian attack Aztec barbarian battle battlefield became British brought caliphate campaign cannon cavalry century BC chariot China Chinese Christian civilisation Clausewitz combat command composite bow conquest Cossacks Crusaders culture defeat defended dominance East Easter Island effect Egypt Egyptian emperor empire enemy Europe European eventually fight firearms fleet force fortification fought French frontier Genghis German Greek gunpowder Hadrian's Wall historian hoplite horse human Huns Hyskos imperial infantry Islam Italy killed kingdoms kings land legions London Mamelukes mercenary Mesopotamia miles military millennium modern Mongols musketeers Muslim nevertheless nomads northern numbers organisation Ottoman Peloponnese Persian phalanx political population primitive rasputitsa recognised recruited regiments revolution ritual River Roman Rome rulers Russian siege slaves society soldiers Sparta spear steppe Stone Age success Sumer supply tactics territory Turks victory walls warfare warmaking warrior wars weapons Western Yanomamö Zulus