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A History of Warfare (Paperback)

by John Keegan (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Pimlico; New edition edition (1 Sep 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0712698507
  • ISBN-13: 978-0712698504
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 24,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #3 in  Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Keegan, John
    #41 in  Books > History > Military History > Strategy, Tactics & Military Science

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Product Description

Product Description

In this book, winner of the Duff Cooper prize, the author, a military historian, provides not merely a history of warfare but an analysis of world history, and the role that man's impulse to war has played in it. This book is the result of 30 years of reading, research, teaching and commenting on military affairs. It brings together in a single volume the themes explored in the author's earlier books and adds to them the insights gained in his visits to many of the world's major battlefields, a lifetime's friendship with soldiers of different armies and his more recent experience as a war correspondent in the Lebanon and the Gulf.


About the Author

John Keegan is the Defence Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Britain's foremost military historian. The Reith Lecturer in 1998, he is the author of many bestselling books including The Face of Battle, Six Armies in Normandy, Battle at Sea, The Second World War, The Mask of Command, Warpaths, The Battle for History, The First World War, and most recently, Intelligence in War. For many years John Keegan was the Senior Lecturer in Military History at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and he has been a Fellow of Princeton University and Delmas Distinguished Professor of History at Vassar. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He received the OBE in the Gulf War honours list, and was knighted in the Millennium honours list in 1999.

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A History of Warfare 3.8 out of 5 stars (11)
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, wide-ranging and thought provoking, 18 Aug 2001
By A Customer
The book is structured around an examination of the Clausewitzian definition of war. Keegan compares forms of warfare from other cultures and across history in order to test the definition's validity.

We are treated to a wide-ranging and intelligent discussion of various forms of warfare written in an engaging and accessibl;e academic style (so no... it's not populist). I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it's a must for most students of warfare.

HOWEVER, Keegan, by trying to be accesible relies enormously on secondary texts which are often swiftly dealt with in passing. For serious academics this might be dissapointing but I am sure that the comments he makes on secondary sources are valid and insightful.

So it's a superb book but experts might find it a little light.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars History of Warfare, 15 Dec 2007
By Spider Monkey (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
This is an interesting look at warfare throughout human history. It looks at the various developments from primitive ritualised warfare, the use of horses and chariots, the growth of iron weapons, the building and development of forts and the discovery and implementation of gunpowder and more besides. It is fascinating to read, but fairly dry in places (hence the 4 stars). It takes some perseverance, but the dividends from sticking with it are worth the extra work. Overall a good read with some interesting information to give you a deeper insight into human society and the development of warfare.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive academic text that should interest anybody, 4 Feb 2000
By H. Callaghan "Alice in Wonderland" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Extremely literate, well-constructed consideration of the history of warfare, which advances the argument that contrary to von Clausewitz's mis-quote, "War is the continuation of policy by other means", that war is actually culturally determined, often irrational, and the subsuming of it as an almost legal means of the advancement of global policy is not only undesirable but potentially terrifying.

Also fascinating were the insights into Oriental idioms of warfare, the role of technology in battle, and the consideration of the anthropology of war amongst so-called "primitive" peoples. Keegan speaks about "primitive" war without really examining the ideology behind calling the peoples involved "primitive", which is probably my single quibble.

In all respects, however, the scholarship has the vast breadth that a history of world warfare requires and the style is readable while being eminently authoritative.

I think any thoughtful person would find this book interesting.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Gross misinterpretation of Clausewitz
Keegan sets out on a bold crusade to discredit Carl von Clausewitz and fails - miserably. Two major problems:

1) Keegan is oblivious of the fact that Clausewitz's... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Bjorn Hansson

1.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Keegans best works
Although i enjoyed reading 'A History of Warfare' i was somewhat dissapointed with certain aspects of his book. Read more
Published on 30 April 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Wholely innacurate
This book while being an interesting read, has its faults. For the normal lay person it is quite a good introduction to the subject to warfare but to anyone who wants to be told... Read more
Published on 30 April 2002 by kalessini@hotmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, wide-ranging and thought provoking
The book is structured around an examination of the Clausewitzian definition of war. Keegan compares forms of warfare from other cultures and across history in order to test the... Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2001 by mr_analytical

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Fantastic
This was an absolutely fantastic book. One you will continually refer to in the future but fantastically readable.
Published on 4 Sep 2000 by Stuart Kinnear

5.0 out of 5 stars This is why Keegan is THE foremost Military Historian.
Not your typical "yanks and tanks" book, this is what happens when a first class intellectual ponders warfare. Just brilliant.
Published on 12 Aug 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book
I can only echo the praise of the reviewer above. Keegan's history is by some distance the best single work of military history for the general reader. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars An enquiry and revelation of unsurpassed scope
The History of Warfare contains immensely more than it's simple title portends. The world's foremost military historian takes us on a stunning mental adventure in which the... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 1998

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