A brilliant survey of the history of warfare …the best yet produced anywhere. –B. H. Lidell-Hart From the Renaissance to the Cold War, the definitive survey of the social, political, military, and technological aspects of modern warfare returns to print in a new paperback edition. Topics include land and sea warfare from the Renaissance to the neoclassical age; the Anglo-American military tradition; the French Revolution and Napoleon; the Industrial Revolution and war; and the First and Second World Wars and their aftermath.
Outstanding and penetrating outline of the processes of war and the means of fighting from 1415 onward. –Chicago Tribune
Far and away the best of the histories of military affairs. –American Political Science Review
Leaves the reader astonished by its combinations of brevity, clarity, and accuracy. –Times Literary Supplement
Surpasses any other general history of the subject. –Library Journal
The narrative flows easily, is illuminated by flashes of colorful detail, and relates the development of warfare to the political, technological, and economic changes of the modern era …Especially stimulating and helpful is Mr. Ropp’s system of bibliographic footnotes. These are found on almost every page, directing the reader to a well-selected choice of historical and military writings which will provide more light and wider vistas whenever his interest is further stirred by what he is reading …This reviewer …has never seen anything quite as calculated to guide the beginner in further exploration of the subject or to serve as a quick reference index for the experienced analyst. –New York Herald Tribune
A substantial and scholarly history of modern warfare from the age of the ‘great captains’ through the innovations of the industrial revolution, to our age of unlimited violence. –Foreign Affairs
