Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

by Harry Sidebottom (Author)
Key Phrases: hoplite phalanx, Asia Minor, Persian Wars, Cassius Dio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
`I am addicted to this series of pocket-portable introductory lectures. Harry Sidebottom fairly presumes that you wouldn't know a hoplite if one thrust a spear at you, and that you grasped legionary tactics from watching the DVD of Gladiator. The book manages to cover practical fighting from the Iliad to Islam's challenge to Byzantium; war as personal and state metaphor in Greece and Rome; strategy and motivation on sea and land; and then nips briskly on to historians' re-evaluations of the above - in 128 neat pages plus extra reading list and a wicked chronology. Got that? Right, then. Fall in.' Guardian Review

Product Description
Greek and Roman warfare was unlike that of any other culture before or since. The key difference is often held to be that the Greeks and Romans practiced a "Western Way of War," in which the aim is an open, decisive battle--won by courage instilled, in part, by discipline. Here, Harry Sidebottom looks at how this Western Way of War was constructed and maintained by the Greeks and Romans and why this concept is so prevalent today. All aspects of ancient warfare are thoroughly examined--from philosophy and strategy to the technical skills needed to fight. Sidebottom examines war in the wider context, showing how wars were able to shape classical society, and how an individual's identity was sometimes constructed by war, as in the case of the Christian soldier fighting in God's name. He also explores the ways in which ancient society thought about conflict: Can a war be just? Why was siege warfare particularly bloody? What role did divine intervention play in the outcome of a battle? Taking fascinating examples from the iliad, Tacitus, and the Persian Wars, Sidebottom uses arresting anecdotes and striking visual images to show that any understanding of ancient war is an ongoing process of interpretation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192804707
• ISBN-13: 978-0192804709
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #594,746 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Victor Davis Hanson: A Very Short Rebuttal, August 16, 2006

By	George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Victor Davis Hanson has written several books, "The Western Way of War," "Carnage & Culture," "An Autumn of War," and others, positing a specific mindset and a historical tradition for a "Western Way of War." Sidebottom doesn't agree, and without ever mentioning Hanson's name, engages in an extended rebuttal of Hanson which both misses the point and spends a lot of time giving highly subjective "art critic" style descriptions of ancient artwork depicting warfare. Hanson sets forth a constellation of factors which he says makes up the "Western Way of War." Sidebottom deals only with the factors of heavy infantry and decisive battle. You can't refute a complex theory by rebutting only one or two components of that theory. You should at least try to deal with all of the components.

Ever since reading about the Battle of Thermopylae as a child, I have had an interest in antiquity, and I bought this book to learn a little about ancient warfare. I learned a little about ancient warfare and a lot about the author's preconceptions. If you want to learn more about the nuts and bolts of ancient warfare, there are much better books out there (Hanson's "The Western Way of War," for example, or F.E. Adcock's "The Greek and Macedonian Art of War"). If you want a book with a theory-to-fact ration of 3 to 1, this is the book for your.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Warfare, April 16, 2007

By	K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

'Very Short Introduction' is a very good name for this series. This book looks at 'ancient' (almost entirely Classical and especially Roman) warfare from a number of points of view, including the roles of gender, religion, and the individual in war. I bought this book shortly after I first took an interest in ancient military history about two years ago, and it suited its purpose as an introduction very well.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Essay, June 22, 2007

By	R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is not a conventional military history. Readers interested in detailed accounts of military techniques, major campaigns, and battles will be disappointed. Sidebottom provides a broad discussion of the role of war in Classical Greece and Rome, how war was conceived by the Greeks and Romans, the experience of war, and even some historiography. Sidebottom draws also on a broad variety of sources, including the traditional literary sources, epigraphy, and artistic depictions of warfare. Well written and illustrated, this is a good introduction to warfare as a part of classical history as opposed to the classical world as part of military history. There is an excellent bibliography.
As a prior reviewer comments, Sidebottom does deal with the concept of the "Western Way of War" though more with how the Greeks and Romans thought of their way of making war than Victor Hansen Davis' theory. There is some appropriate criticism of Hansen Davis' ideas though readers interested in a thorough critique of Hansen Davis' theory should read John Lynn's very good book Battle.