Dr John A Lynn, Professor of History at the University of Illinois, has written or edited six books, including ‘ Giant of the Grand Siecle: The French Army, 1610-1715’ (Cambridge University Press, 1997) and ‘ The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714’ (Longman, 1999). He is currently working on ‘ The Mind of War: A History of Combat and Culture’ for Westview Press.