War: A Short History

ISBN-13: 9781441155412 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 192 str.

Jeremy Black

Opis

In this concise history of war, Jeremy Black ranges widely, giving due attention to non-western as well as western traditions. The history of war is inextricably bound to the history of the world. Through a detailed exploration of 'world-scale' issues of warfare, presented within a chronological framework that spans human history, Jeremy Black skilfully illustrates this fact whilst providing the reader with other astute insights and compelling interpretations of war.War: A Short History is a dramatic move away from the formulaic, western approach to military history. Too narrow in its focus on wars specific to the west and too simple because of an over-reliance on a technologically-deterministic reading of warfare, this approach has been rejected by Jeremy Black in favour of a global model that takes all factors into account when considering the strengths and weaknesses of a particular military tradition. This is a book that is as important for its relevance to current world issues of conflict as it is for its thorough consideration of a monumentally significant aspect of human history.

Spis treści

Preface Introduction 1. Until the 'Barbarian' Invasion 2. From the Creation of the Islamic World to the Start of European Transoceanic Expansion, 630-1490 3. The Gunpowder Empires of the Early-Modern World, 1490-1630 4. From the Mid-Seventeenth Century Crisis to the Age of Revolutions, 1630-1800 5. The World of the European Empires, 1800-1950 6. To the Present, 1950- 7. Conclusions: Assessing War Selected Further Reading Index