Using examples from the last two centuries, this collection of essays discusses the close links between technology and war. In the opening essay, distinguished historian William H. McNeill demonstrates the extent to which military technology has often led to differentiations among people, both within and between societies. The other studies examine various aspects of weapons technology, drawing on the history of the armed forces of Britain, Prussia, and Australia, among others. Some of these illustrate how the adoption of new weaponry frequently depended as much on national pride and...

Conflicts between regular armies and various groups of insurgents, fighting for a range of causes, are some of the most protracted and extensive military crises to have emerged in recent years. The introductin provides a point on which the five major historical examples that follow may be compared and contrasted. Similarities and differences between some of the more important episodes from this century are highlighted; similarities such as the role of intelligence, the value of police work and the necesity of expert political assessment and differences such as the factors of time or...