Customer Reviews

The Evolution Of Weapons And Warfare (Da Capo Paperback)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Attention Publisher: Cover Photo is not an M-1 Abrams tank, it is an M-60. Although this error may distract from the book, we will not judge its contents by the cover. Reccomended for novices and experts of military history alike. An interdisciplinary work to provide a coherent framework to the technological evolution of warfare.

I was quite disappointed with this book. There are a number of errors that I have found in the materials that I am most familiar with which causes me to doubt most of what is said about the things I am unfamiliar with. Dupuy seems in most cases to merely be parroting back popular American conceptions of history, which often have little to do with what really happened. The mis-labeled cover photo (it's an M-60 not an M-1) is definitely a warning sign that should be heeded.

Before reading this book, I suggest one read Edwin Tunis's book "Weapons: A Pictorial History" which focuses on the development of weapons per se. Dupuy's book takes it a step further, focusing on the integration of new weapons into the art of warfare. It is a comprehensive study of the effect of new weapons and technology on the logistics, tactics, and strategy of warfare.

This is a good book. It is well written, easy to read, and gives one a good background into its subject matter. This book was written in 1980, during the cold war, so his predictions of the future are inaccurate. I am going to read this book again. So I gave it five stars.

Additionally, I doubt if Dupuy was consulted about the cover of this 1990 reprint and probably knew one tank from another.