A History of Warfare 1st Edition

by John Keegan (Author)

107 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0394588018

ISBN-10: 0394588010

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The acclaimed author of The Face of Battle examines centures of conflict in a variety of diverse societies and cultures. "Keegan is at once the most readable and the most original of living military historians . . . A History of Warfare is perhaps the most remarkable study of warfare that has yet been written."--The New York Times Book Review.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his sweeping new study, Keegan ( The Face of Battle ) examines the origins and nature of warfare, the ethos of the primitive and modern warrior and the development of weapons and defenses from the battle of Megiddo (1469 B.C.) into the nuclear age. Keegan offers a refreshingly original and challenging perspective. He characterizes warriors as the protectors of civilization rather than as its enemy and maintains that warfare is "entirely a masculine activity." Though warfare has become an ingrained practice over the course of 4000 years, he argues, its manifestation in the primitive world was circumscribed by ritual and ceremony that often embodied restraint, diplomacy and negotiation. Peacekeepers, he suggests, would benefit from studying primitive warmaking--especially now, "a time when the war of all against all already confronts us." A masterwork. Photos. 40,000 first printing; History Book Club main selection; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-Keegan begins his comprehensive but concise survey by debunking the classical tenet that war is an inevitable result of politics. In a well-developed and relatively easy-to-follow argument, he reexamines this previously inviolate theory. By following the progress of war and warriors from primitive societies to the post-Cold War era, and by detailing the concurrent development of weapons technology, he allows readers to see that warfare need not be an all-or-nothing event. He includes many interesting details in his survey, e.g., vivid descriptions of torture, of the development of horse-warriors and charioteers, and of the arrival and consequences of the atom bomb. While leading readers to the conclusion and hope that man is not necessarily a warrior, he canvasses the spread of "civilization" and the making of nation-states as we know them today. The book includes prints, diagrams, and photographs. This title will challenge interested readers and prove useful for research papers, philosophical discussions, debates, and anthropology and sociology classes. Even dedicated militarists will find food for thought in Keegan's theories and historical perspective.
Susan H. Woodcock, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Hardcover: 472 pages
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1st edition (October 19, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0394588010
ISBN-13: 978-0394588018
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
Average Customer Review: 107 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #171 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military
- #176 in Books > History > Ancient Civilizations > Rome
- #2991 in Books > History > Military

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Jaroslav Tuček

Excellent

September 23, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Well-researched and skillfully delivered, A History of Warfare follows humanity's warmaking tendencies from the tribal times up to the nuclear-weapons realities of the Cold War. Keegan picks representative civilizations in each era and shows how their culture/environment shaped their concept of war and the way it was carried out (eg. the mobile cavalry of ancient steppe-nomads or the tight formations and the pitched battle to death of the classical Greeks).

The approach has the downside of not offering a truly comprehensive history - for example, of all the post-ancient African civilizations, the book covers the Zulus of Shaka only. However, it succeeds in demonstrating well the author's thesis that war is the natural extension of human culture. I wish however that Keegan had focused more on developing this thesis rather than on frequently attacking von Clausewitz (~war as the extension of politics), which got a bit tiring toward the end.

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Jason S. Taylor

Very good, but...

September 20, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The main fault of this book is it's obsession with disproving Clausewitz' statement that war is an extension of politics. Unfortunately the author seems to be redefining politics in a manner which is rather esoteric and not explaining the meaning. Almost all wars between or within cultures past the "pre-state" level(which requires a definition of state; certainly Ancient Mesopotamian, Persian, and Chinese rulers had networks of professional administrators which can be called states and would be recognizably similar to those of the eighteenth century)begin for reasons involving the contest for authority over other humans. Many wars among "pre-state" cultures do as well as well as those between "pre-state" and "post-state" cultures. As said contest for authority is in fact a common definition of "politics" it is enough to say that war almost always involves politics and from the point of view of politicians it is in fact often an extension of politics. The best one can say about that point is that the counterpoint that the original political reason often gets lost in the excitement of war and war becomes it's own purpose; or is it perhaps better said that the politics can change in the midst of a war? In any case this question is not the most important or interesting part of the book.

What makes this book great is not it's theme which is in fact rather dull. It is the exploration of the many means of different cultures for making war. It is an encyclopedic exploration of war as it relates to different human cultures including the most obscure and it's descriptions are fascinating. The things we learn about humanity are amazing. The argument against Clausewitz unimportant.

This is why I in fact consider this book worth five stars. Not because of it's "Clausewitz was wrong" theme which was rather boring and ill-argued anyway. It is because of what we learn about warriors all around the world and the author would have been better concentrating on that. Keegan is like a lawyer whose plea is fascinating but whose client is absolutely dull. For this reason I have wanted this book on Kindle for ages and it is indeed worth what I paid.

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T. Rowe

War: The Big Picture

July 9, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book tries to cover a lot of territory from ancient tribal warfare to the nuclear bomb and post colonial rebellions. The book looks at social and technological aspects of warfare. Its long chapters with titles such as Stone, Flesh, Iron, and Fire loosely center around those topics. It is nearly impossible to separate them from one another.

The big takeaway from the book for me is how limited war really is. We put social limits on war such as not allowing women and children to participate. (Yes, there are exceptions.) There are technological limits such as how accurate a firearm can be. And there are logistical limits based on how can an army keep its fighters supplied with food, water, and munitions.

Of particular interest to me were the social and logistical limits. In primitive societies, it seems war is very ritualized and limited as to when, where, and how it is fought. Thus large scale death is avoided. Logistical limits seemed to limit the size of any fast growing, large scale empire such as the Huns or Alexander the Greats movement. It was also interesting to see how these limits can be somewhat thwarted, at least for a time, by the willingness of combatants to fight such as the Confederacy holding out against the United States in the American Civil War.

The only problem I had with the book was largely my own expectations. I would expect it go to go one way, and it would go another. Therefore, I was struggling with the text. I normally embrace this kind of challenge to my thinking, but for some reason, it just irritated me. I think I felt as if I was missing some important information. This book could have easily been twice the length and still not have been comprehensive enough for me. Maybe that was the real challenge I had with the book.

If you are interested in learning more about war, I would recommend this book.

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Steven M. Mondul

Tour de Force by Keegan

January 14, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is a tour de force by a distinguished historian and author. Keegan weaves threads of various war activities into a comprehensive theory of the evolution of warfare. Thoughtful and well written. Highly recommended.

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