Customer Reviews

War: The Definitive Visual Guide

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a large, handsome book that was crafted by many talented historians. Its also an excellent reference and learning tool for an older child or adult. The presentation is visually striking and the prose is concise and easy to understand.
The book is divided into seven chapters or timeframes, starting around 3000 BCE when organized war broke out along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in Mesopotamia and works it way through the Nile Valley, the Crusades, Spanish Conquests, the American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, the World Wars, the Chinese Civil War, and up through the Iraq Wars. Continents included are Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, North and South America. By the time you reach the end, you will see the prominent empires begin, grow and then decline. You will see the geographic and cultural hot spots of each era, the key people that had the greatest impact. And as the years fly by you will see the steady escalation of the destructive power of the new weapons that were currently in vogue.

The chapters are:
War in Ancient World ....................... 3000 BCE - 500 CE
War in the Medieval World ................ 500 - 1500
Early Modern Warfare ............ ......... 1500 - 1750
The Age of Revolution ...................... 1750 - 1830
The Dawn of Mechanized Warfare ...... 1830 - 1914
Era of the World Wars ...................... 1914 - 1945
Conflicts after World War II .............. 1945 - Present

The Table of Contents is excellent and will help the reader quickly find the war or time wanted. There are additional timelines within each chapter to help refine your search. There is also a detailed Directory and Index to further aid your quest.
The narrative for each event is relatively brief but its sufficient for the reader to grasp the significance of the period and to decide if further study is desired. The story usually includes key people, weapons used, tactics, and post war effects. Included with the narrative is a wealth of paintings, photos, artifacts, and maps that also instruct and will help tie everything together. The largest event covered is WWII and it takes up 18 pages while many topics receive only two pages.
DK books are always professionally crafted and this book is among their best. It's a fascinating learning tool and a valued gift that will be appreciated by young adult or senior.

Absolutely great...for the most part.

The book bears much similarity to the DK History Definitive Visual Guide, with usually two pages (occasionally more) dedicated to a certain topic (or subtopic) with a "before and after" section which details what led up to the war/stage of a war/etc and what led from it.

DK History had an occassional set of two pages dedicated to a decisive moment or person, and while there are no individuals who are given full, "two page or more" treatment, the decisive moments typically cover battles (which are interesting sections) or general, history-spanning topics (such as "Helmets" or "Armor").

The true strength of the book, as with all DK books of this nature, is the sheer amount of material covered, and the the fact that the format is logical and the prose is very easy to read. The amount of information kind of overwhelms you, but in a good way, and it makes the experience of reading it seem like you are nearly drowning in the pleasure of reading it. Of course, as it is a book on war, you will naturally (and should) find plenty of room for disgust (and the opening flap in fact does remind the reader, with help of a certain quote by Robert E. Lee, of the simultaneous wonder and horror of war). But it is disgust which helps the reader to kind of grasp the amazing fact that warfare has played such an overwhelming part in humanity's history, which is certainly a fact which must be grappled by all those who strive for peace.

One of my few problems with the book is that there is not really enough attention paid to theoretical concepts, such as Revolutions in Military Affairs (the notion of a true and sudden change which significantly alters the nature of warfare and often plays a key role in deciding the fortunes of battles). These theoretical concepts give us a good idea of the philosophy of war, which is extremely important for those who try to understand the "why" and not just the "what".

Another problem is the fact that they do not profile single individuals, such as Louis XIV or Napoleon. I do realize that these individuals (among others) were given good singular attention in DK History, but why couldn't the writers of this book focused on the military significance of each innovator and brilliant commander in military history? Giving Clausewitz (who did not receive a "single profile" in DK History) such a focus would help to alleviate both of my problems.

The reason I chose 5 stars, however, for my review was simply because this book lives up to the typical high DK standards. If you have any interest in military history (provided you're not a professor of military history who would probably know nearly every fact featured in the book) you will have much fun reading to do with DK's Military Definitive Visual Guide.

Definitely a concise and complete visual guide about world wars.
It's worth as guide to find all important battles of humanity.
Major combats are described in relative detail and minor can be merely listed.

"War" is another of DK Publishing's fine Definitive Visual Guides reference series...very extensive, easy to follow, interesting to read, no matter whether you go through the text and graphics thoroughly or just browse through it.

The book's visuals are eye-catching, and the text delivers what the dust jacket promises -- it surveys the world's military history from Bronze Age battles up to the present era.

I think the "acid" test one can give a coffee table book such as this is to get a professional librarian's opinion, and when I talked to a librarian recently about DK Publishing's Guides, she had nothing but high praise for them. "War" is a good example of the high quality she referred to; I'm pleased to have acquired it.

This book was incredibly descriptive and informative. I used it in homeschooling my child. It was nice because it covered every war since the beginning of time all in one book.

Great book for the history buff, easy to read, loads of imformation, good layout as each pair of facing pages handels a new subject, easy to read a few pages when time permits then come back to a new subject next time.

This was a gift to my dad who loves history. The book has a ton of great information. The pictures are great. Can go through page by page or just pick a random excerpt.

The book was delivered promptly and is every thing I thought it was. Very Happy.

This is definitely the best war encyclopedia. It covers all events. Well ilustrated didatic and enjoyable to read.
I would give 5 stars.
Unfortunately like all war books doesen't give the attention Paraguayan war deserves.
It was the bloodiest and longest conflict in South America ever fought , but as usually depicted in many books there is only few lines about it.