"World War I snapped the social and political bonds that held together the prewar world of the nineteenth century. Like the Reformation and the French Revolution, the war unleashed dynamic forces of change whose repercussions are still shaping the world of our time. THE MEANING OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR provides a concise narrative of the war itself and of the era it brought to a close. Reviewing …
This history looks at the drama and excitement of Napoleon's costly campaign in the Peninsula between 1807 and 1814.
Presenting a significant new interpretation of Napoleonic warfare, Robert M. Epstein argues persuasively that the true origins of modern war can be found in the Franco-Austrian War of 1809. Epstein contends that the 1809 war -- with its massive and evenly matched armies, multiple theaters of operation, new command-and-control schemes, increased firepower, frequent stalemates, and large-scale sl…
Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens an Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim that his writing was designed to last forever. Thucydides himself (c-460-400 B.C.) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied…
Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "a possession for all time," and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years. The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical w…