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Product Description
Twenty-five centuries of warfare through the eyes of those who witnessed and fought it, in a unique collection from "the best military historian of the world" (Tom Clancy)
From his landmark The Face of Battle through his bestselling The Second World War, John Keegan's acclaimed books of military history are marked by what The New York Times has called his "novelist's eye and cultural anthropologist's sensitivity." Now, in this trail-blazing volume, Keegan marshals a formidable host of war writings, from Thucydides' classic account of ancient Greek phalanx warfare (c. 5th century B.C.) to blow-by-blow descriptions of ground-fighting against Iraqi troops in Kuwait from the Gulf War of 1990.
Beginning with the heroic era of the Greek, Keegan advances through the ages, presenting the face of war in its various guises over the course of more than 2,000 years. Among more than sixty substantial selections, Julius Caesar records the Roman invasion of Britain; Wellington sketches the Battle of Waterloo; Hemingway brings home the horror of World War I; Orwell pays homage to Catalonia in the Spanish Civil War; America's "G.I. journalist" covers the Normandy landing; and many more. A fascinating introduction on military literature and military historiography, and head notes to every piece offer new perspectives written with "the eloquence we have come to expect of John Keegan" (Washington Post Book World). The Book of War is a holiday gift to delight military enthusiasts, history buffs, and all lovers of great writing.
Amazon.com Review
In this eclectic anthology of war writings, military historian John Keegan (author of The Face of Battle and The Second World War) has collected some of the best that has been thought and said about armed conflict over the course of 25 centuries. Keegan is especially interested in how war has evolved over time; his introduction is a brief history of this development, from the heroic age of individual combat to the horrific "total war" of the 20th century. He begins with a pair of 5th-century-B.C. excerpts from Thucydides and concludes with a British soldier's brief description of combat against Iraqi soldiers in the 1991 Gulf War. In between are selections by Julius Caesar, Davy Crockett, Victor Hugo, George Orwell, and many others. If there is a theme to this book, it may be the clash of cultures: what happens when different military traditions collide, such as when the Romans invaded Britain, the Muslim Turks besieged Malta, or General Custer and the 7th Cavalry faced the Sioux in Montana. He understandably gives only cursory attention to several wars--the U.S. Civil War, Korea, and Vietnam--and lingers a bit on his coverage of the First World War (which Keegan views as a key to interpreting the whole 20th century) and the Second World War. The selections themselves are continually exciting, and rarely predictable. There are even a few poems thrown in for good effect. The Book of War may focus on an awful subject ("The history of all forms of warfare is ... essentially inhumane," writes Keegan), but it is also full of awfully good writing. --John J. Miller
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