Feeding Mars: Logistics In Western Warfare From The Middle Ages To The Present (History & Warfare) [Paperback]

John A Lynn (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813318653 | ISBN-13: 978-0813318653 | Publication Date: July 21, 1994

Mars must be fed. His tools of war demand huge quantities of fodder, fuel, ammunition, and food. All these must be produced, transported, and distributed to contending forces in the field. No one can doubt the importance of feeding Mars in warfare, and it takes no great effort to recognize that logistics has always been a major aspect of large-scale armed struggle. Yet, despite its undeniable importance, surprisingly little has been written about logistics. The literature on warfare is full of the triumphs and tragedies of common soldiers and the brilliance and blundering of generals. But logistics lacks the drama of combat. It can be expressed on balance sheets no more exciting than shopping lists; movement is not measured by the dashing gallop of charging cavalry but by the steady plod of draft horses.Feeding Mars is an important contribution to the study of this essential aspect of warfare as practiced by Western powers from the Middle Ages to the Vietnam War. It deals with logistics across a broader time span than that covered in any other work on the subject and emphasizes the various ways in which the essential materials of war have been produced, acquired, and transported to fighting forces in the field.Feeding Mars makes a major contribution to military history and sheds new light on an important, but too often overlooked, aspect of warfare.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John A. Lynn, an expert on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century warfare professor, is a professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an adjunct professor at Ohio State University. He lives in Champaign, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (July 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813318653
• ISBN-13: 978-0813318653
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very specialized scholarly work; counterpoint to Creveld, October 9, 2000

By 

"ochelotti" (Brasília, Distrito Federal Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feeding Mars: Logistics In Western Warfare From The Middle Ages To The Present (History & Warfare) (Paperback)

"Feeding Mars" is a collection of scholarly essays on the theme of historical logistics. The essays, however, are sometimes very specialized and cover an enormous scope of time, which means, basically, that not all of them are interesting to everybody. The book is interesting, however, in that it tries to offer a counterpoint to Creveld's "Supplying War", qualifying its sometimes sweeping arguments. If you are interested in military logistics, its acquisition is certainly necessary.