War in European History

London: Oxford University Press, 1989. Later printing. Mass market paperback. x, 165, [1] pages. Occasional footnotes. Notes; Notes for Further Reading; and Index. Cover has some wear and soiling. Includes Foreword, The Wars of the Knights; The Wars of the Mercenaries; The Wars of the Merchants; The Wars of the Professionals; The Wars of the Revolution; The Wars of the Nations; The Wars of the Technologists; Eilogue--The Nuclear Age. Sir Michael Eliot Howard OM CH CBE MC FBA FRHistS (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, and founder of the Department of War Studies, King's College London. In 1958, he co-founded the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Prior to his death, Howard was described in the Financial Times as "Britain's greatest living historian". The Guardian described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict." Howard was best known for expanding military history beyond the traditional campaigns and battles accounts to include wider discussions about the sociological significance of war. In his account of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Howard looked at how the Prussian and French armies reflected the social structure of the two nations. Howard stressed the difference between traditional military history, which seeks to identify applicable lessons for the present and his approach, which stresses the uniqueness of the historical past and the impossibility of deriving such lessons. 'Wars have often determined the character of society. Society in exchange has determined the character of wars. This is the theme of Michael Howard's stimulating book. It is written with all his usual skill and in its small compass is perhaps the most original book he has written. Though he surveys a thousand years of history, he does so without sinking in a slough of facts and draws a broad outline of developments which will delight the general reader.' - A. J. P. Taylor, "Observer". First published in 1976, War in European History is a brilliantly written survey of the changing ways that war has been waged in Europe, from the Norse invasions to the present day. Far more than a simple military history, the book serves as a succinct and enlightening overview of the development of European society as a whole over the last millennium. From the Norsemen and the world of the medieval knights, through to the industrialized mass warfare of the twentieth century, Michael Howard illuminates the way in which warfare has shaped the history of the Continent, its effect on social and political institutions, and the ways in which technological and social change have in turn shaped the way in which wars are fought. Condition: Good [Some page discoloration and edge soiling.].

Keywords: Military History, Mercenaries, Armed Forces, Battlefields, Artillery, Cavalry, Infantry, Knights, Norsemen, Naval Warfare, Napoleon, Prussian Army, Warfare, Weapons

ISBN: 0192890956

[Book #84174]

Price: $27.50

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