- Paperback: 96 pages
- Publisher: Osprey Publishing (18 Sep 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841763616
- ISBN-13: 978-1841763613
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 0.7 x 24.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
198,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #94 in Books > History > World History > 1751-1900
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"I am most favorably impressed by the Essential Histories series on the American Civil War. Written by four of the best historians of the military course of the war, these volumes provide a lucid and concise narrative of the campaigns in both the Eastern and Western theaters as well as penetrating analyses of strategies and leadership. Ideal for classroom use or fireside reading."
Product Description
Campaigns fought by Louis XIV, the Sun King, shaped the borders of European states, the destinies of royal dynasties, and even the patterns of absolutist government. This book presents the most authoritative yet accessible and succinct account of these all-important struggles available today, covering every aspect of the wars from decisions made by the king at his palace at Versailles to the life of the troops encamped in the field. Focusing on the French army, the greatest military force of the age, this tale of violence, victory, and victims balances siege and battle in a way that tells us much that is new about the Sun King and his adversaries.
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First Sentence
The Sun King naturally embraced warfare as a means of international policy, but that is hardly a surprising attitude for a monarch of his day. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The Sun King naturally embraced warfare as a means of international policy, but that is hardly a surprising attitude for a monarch of his day. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As with many titles in this series of 'Essential Histories', this is a good summary introduction to the subject. Professor John Lynn is one of the most emminent American specialists in the history of Louis XIV's reign. For the student who wants to dig deeper into the subject matter, the bibliography in this volume offers an excellent starting point. There are only two drawbacks to this volume. First, there are some inexcusable typographical and editing errors, including outright misnomers. Osprey should have another knowledgeable person review the book and correct these. Second, the lack of maps for each of the wars and campaigns would have added to the geographical perspective essential to understanding this period. I highly recommend keeping an atlas handy to follow the text.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book forced me to question everything I thought I knew about history. I was not aware that the Spanish had Australian cousins, let alone that Louis XIV had fought them. Now I have to imagine kings of Spain with Aboriginal blood, and French armies crossing the Indian Ocean. But seriously, this cannot just be carelessness. Someone at Osprey is doing it deliberately.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
War as Process, the Short Version
4 Oct 2002
Format:Paperback
The French Wars is essentially a condensed and summarized version of Professor John Lynn's earlier work, The Wars of Louis XIV. As usual, Lynn's writing and research are impeccable and this volume is a fine short history of its subject.
After short sections covering the background to Louis' wars, Lynn addresses the various opposing sides in a 15-page section that concludes with his "war-as-process" depiction of 17th Century warfare. A four-page section on the outbreak of the war is odd because it covers the initiation of all five of Louis' wars in one felt swoop; this section makes little sense as a stand-alone summary and should have been inserted into the campaign narrative. The actual summary of the five wars is 35 pages long. Of particular interest is French atrocities along the Rhine River Valley: the mortar bombardment of Koblenz in 1688 being analogous to modern-day bomber attacks, and the scorched earth tactics used to devastate the Palatinate in 1688. For those readers who believe that the Germans are the sole perpetrators of political violence in Europe, these incidents - with Germans as victims - may seek to illuminate where some of the roots of later German militarism. Another interesting point that Lynn makes is the value of defensive fortifications in the 17th Century; both forts and defensive lines were expensive but acted to control the tempo of warfare. The final sections cover the portrait of a soldier (which focuses on a woman serving in disguise), a short section on the nature of predatory armies, portrait of a civilian, and a section on how the wars ended ("peace by exhaustion").
There are a total of nine maps in this volume: Europe in 1661, the Rhineland, the Battles of Blenheim, Fleurus, Ramillies, Malplaquet, Provençe and Northern Italy, Turenne's campaigns of 1674-1675, and the Spanish Low Countries. Actually, the maps are the only disappointment in this volume, and they reflect the same weakness as in Lynn's larger work on the subject. Other than the one map of Turenne's campaign, the large-scale maps do not reflect specific campaigns or wars, so it is difficult for the reader to appreciate the specific operations in each of the five wars. Nor are there any maps that depict territorial acquisitions or losses as a result of the wars.
Lynn's conclusions about the wars of Louis XIV are interesting. First, he states that, "the relative power of France decreased as a consequence of Louis' wars.." but that, "Louis' war-as-process achieved lasting gains." Louis "operated within the international system of his day, respecting its methods and moderation." Lynn contrasts the wars of Louis XIV with Napoleon, who viewed war as an event and who disregarded international norms. However the greatest consequence of the wars of Louis XIV was the fatal damage done to French state finances; Louis refused to reform a tax system that endowed the nobility and clergy with exemptions and instead relied on ruinous short-term loans. Ultimately, Louis' wars bankrupted France for generations and his successors faced the same problem whenever they opted to use war as a solution to international problems.
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Good for young school kids
18 Mar 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another reviewer said that John Lynn's research is impeccable, that may be but the proof-reader for this book was second rate.
on page 16
"...Louis XIV now enjoyed the upper hand and squared off against the Spanish and eventually, their Australian cousins."
In case you haven't picked it, he meant to say 'Austrian' not 'Australian'.
Other formatting problems occur, such as a map for the Battle of Blenheim on p26 nowhere near the narrative for that battle.
A picture of Louvois on p29 has this caption
"An engraving by Hainzelman c. the mid-1680s. Louvois, the imperious war minister of Louis XIV, reached the zenith of his powers in the 1680s, as he appears in this engraving by Hainzelman. Louvois's ample flesh belies his hard-handed and brutal policies'.
They've stated twice it's an engraving by Hainzelman. Two pages later is another depiction of the same Louvois, again described as "the imperious war minister of Louis XIV." The only difference being the latter is a portrait. There's simply no reason to have near back to back pictures that shed no new light on the subject.
on page 16
"...Louis XIV now enjoyed the upper hand and squared off against the Spanish and eventually, their Australian cousins."
In case you haven't picked it, he meant to say 'Austrian' not 'Australian'.
Other formatting problems occur, such as a map for the Battle of Blenheim on p26 nowhere near the narrative for that battle.
A picture of Louvois on p29 has this caption
"An engraving by Hainzelman c. the mid-1680s. Louvois, the imperious war minister of Louis XIV, reached the zenith of his powers in the 1680s, as he appears in this engraving by Hainzelman. Louvois's ample flesh belies his hard-handed and brutal policies'.
They've stated twice it's an engraving by Hainzelman. Two pages later is another depiction of the same Louvois, again described as "the imperious war minister of Louis XIV." The only difference being the latter is a portrait. There's simply no reason to have near back to back pictures that shed no new light on the subject.
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