War in Human Civilization [Paperback]

Azar Gat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0199236631 | ISBN-13: 978-0199236633

Why do people go to war? Is it rooted in human nature or is it a late cultural invention? How does war relate to the other fundamental developments in the history of human civilization? And what of war today--is it a declining phenomenon or simply changing its shape?

In this sweeping study of war and civilization, Azar Gat sets out to find definitive answers to these questions in an attempt to unravel the riddle of war throughout human history, from the early hunter-gatherers right through to the unconventional terrorism of the twenty-first century. In the process, the book generates an astonishing wealth of original and fascinating insights on all major aspects of humankind's remarkable journey through the ages, engaging a wide range of disciplines, from anthropology and evolutionary psychology to sociology and political science. Written with remarkable verve and clarity and wholly free from jargon, it will be of interest to anyone who has ever pondered the puzzle of war.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"War in Human Civilization is indeed the ambitious, sweeping book that the author set out to write. Both its scope and scale are impressive as is the wide range of sources and disciplines whose theories and methods are brought to bear on the 'riddle' of war.... The coverage and the deft weaving together of so many central theories on human behavior make this a book worth examining."--Michael S. Neilberg, Journal of Social History

"A work of extraordinary scope and formidable erudition.... Gat definitively unravels the riddle of civilization and war."--Professor Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University

"Gat's book is a rich undertaking definitely well worth reading and pondering."--William R. Thompson, The International History Review

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "An immensely ambitious work covering not only history but archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, demography and economics, to name but a few... its weight of learning is borne aloft by the author's enthusiasm for his subject and takes his readers with it. If only there were more scholars like this!"--Michael Howard, TLS Books of the Year

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "There's any amount of fascinating insight to be found in this big and enormously ambitious interdisciplinary study."--The Scotsman

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A book of extraordinary ambition, erudition and range... Every student of war will be obliged to engage with this remarkable piece of scholarship."--Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, King's College, London

"A work of extraordinary scope and formidable erudition.... Gat definitively unravels the riddle of civilization and war."--Professor Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A towering and triumphant achievement... acute, scholarly, and wide-ranging: it is certainly one of the most important works on the subject written since 1945. Gat is at the top of his brilliant form, linking a variety of disciplines in a rich and comprehensive study of this most pertinent of issues."--Professor Richard Holmes

"The scope and sweep of Gat's work is certainly unmatched in modern world history writings...Gat's work will be a springboard for debate, refutation, support and development for some time to come." --World History Bulletin

About the Author

Azar Gat is Ezer Weitzman Professor of National Security in the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University. He has published widely in the field of military strategy and thought, including A History of Military Thought: From the Enlightenment to the Cold War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 848 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199236631
• ISBN-13: 978-0199236633
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb and comprehensive January 4, 2007

By K. Kehler

Format:Hardcover

I had a bit of time over the holidays so I read two new massive tomes on warfare, Gat's and one by Max Boot. Gat's stunningly comprehensive work is so good that it manages to make other 500+ page books seem positively lightweight and journalistic in comparison. This treatment of the history of war and warfare, or 'human belligerency' as Gat puts it, would overwhelm the non-specialist (it clocks in at about 820 pages), if it weren't for the author's ability to synthesize material, sum up scholarship and, last but not least, write some of the clearest and most lucid prose I've seen in the social sciences in ages. He makes forays into evolutionary theory, state formation, antiquity, technology and the rise of science, prehistory, the transition to agriculture, democratic peace theory, etc. The chapter on tribal warfare (in Agraria and Pastoralia, as Gat puts it) is -- as the saying has it -- worth the price of admission alone. His careful demolition of radical Rousseauist idealism is equally fascinating, but he is no simplistic, knee-jerk Hobbesian.

Gat is philosophically astute as well as deep; he knows history as well as theory; and he even treats, if briefly, the question of the causes of war. Above all, the book is animated by his personality: one can surmise that, yes, he's quite intellectual, but his is a mind that is always probing, curious and interesting. (There's a picture of the author on the back flap. He is youngish but he has bags under his eyes. He must read and write around the clock. I for one am grateful.) This is my book of the year.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Way beyond 5 Stars ! The one book that senior career Military Professionals should read ! December 6, 2006

By i-Palikar

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is truly a "shock and awe" book! Once again, Azar Gat will stun and amaze you with 800 pages of pure intellect to the Nth degree! I was always very impressed by his other books on war. Yet, with 28+ years of active duty military service and a personal library of 1000+ books on various military subjects - I have NEVER been more impressed by such a comprehensive interdisciplinary treatment on the "enigma of Warre". This book seamlessly blends psychology, sociology, archeology, anthropology, and history, along with a myriad of other relevant disciplines to provide the most extensive examination on the general theme of war that I have ever experienced. I am now totally convinced that all senior military officers should only study the broad scope of war from such a well-informed interdisciplinary approach {long before they delve into any details with the devil). This book is anything but a `same-old-same-old' standard perspective of war. This book will force a truly open-minded reader to reassess every facet of war - and every predisposition encountered about war. I believe that this book is "the" seminal document to begin a reeducation and reassessment of our all of our so-called `modern-day' beliefs, motives, policies, strategies, operations and tactics about war. This book should be a mandatory read for all senior officials at the Whitehouse, DOD, DoS,DNI, NSA, CIA, FBI, and ALL intelligence agencies. This book should be a mandatory read at every service staff college and war college. Get it - read it - read it again and again - and you will ponder new perspectives about the riddle of war for years to come.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT light bedtime reading! December 14, 2006

By Paladin

Format:Hardcover

This book actually contains all of the complete details necessary for a comprehesive 2-semester interdiciplinary course on war - at the graduate level. And even if you are a "war college" graduate from any military service - you've never read about war the way Azar Gat presents War. Reading Azar Gat requires one to study and reflect upon the massive amount of supporting comprehesive details that he so skillfully presents -as well as the overall perspective he supports. In this particular case, Gat presents a very detailed perspective of War based upon a cogent argument of complex bio-cultural interaction. He starts at the very beginning of primitive wars (primates/Homo Erectus), and works all the way on up to modern war as we know it. (And don't be fooled - because it's not Darwin's brand of evolutionary theory anymore either.) It is a very complex in presentation - but necessarily so in order to professionally justify a rather basic argument built upon well documented facts, propensities, predispositions and trends of human nature/nuture as they affect the phenomenon of war. It is an argument that is anything but mere opinion. This is an excellent 'insightful' book for mandatory reading at the highest levels of government or military - in any government or military. Surprisingly despite the complexities, it is quite understandable, for you often walk away with many thoughts like - "Well that's what I suspected all along." The price is a mere pittance vis-a-vis the facinating and illuminating content of this book. Anyone who reads "War in Civilization" will never look at War the same way again - including the current wars that are going on right now. You WILL have to read this book at least twice! It's a Keeper!