The Shortest History Of War

War has changed, but we have not. From our hunter-gatherer ancestors to the rival nuclear powers of today, whenever resources have been contested, we’ve gone to battle. Acclaimed historian Gwynne ­Dyer illuminates our many martial clashes in this brisk account, tracing warfare from prehistory to the world’s first cities — and on to the thousand-year “classical age” of combat, which ended when the firearm changed everything. He examines the brief interlude of “limited war” before eighteenth-century revolution ushered in “total war”— and how the devastation was halted by the nuclear shock of Hiroshima. Then came the Cold War and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which punctured the longest stretch of peace between major powers since World War II. For all our advanced technology and hyperconnected global society, we find ourselves once again on the brink as climate change heightens competition for resources and superpowers stand ready with atomic bombs, drones, and futuristic “autonomous” weapons in development. Throughout, Dyer delves into anthropology, psychology, and other relevant fields to unmask the drivers of conflict. The Shortest History of War is for anyone who wants to understand the role of war in the human story — and how we can prevent it from defining our future.

A wonderfully engaging, accessible introduction to war, from ancient times to the present and into the future Throughout history, warfare has transformed social, political, cultural, and religious aspects of our lives. We tell tales of wars—past, present, and future—to create and reinforce a common purpose. In this engaging overview, Jeremy Black examines war as a global phenomenon, looking at the First and Second World Wars as well as those ranging from Han China and Assyria, Imperial Rome, and Napoleonic France to Vietnam and Afghanistan. Black explores too the significance of warfare more broadly and the ways in which cultural understandings of conflict have lasting consequences in societies across the world. Weaponry, Black argues, has had a fundamental impact on modes of war: it created war in the air and transformed it at sea. Today, as twentieth-century weapons are challenged by drones and robotics, Black examines what the future of warfare looks like.

In this concise history of war, Jeremy Black ranges widely, giving due attention to non-western as well as western traditions. The history of war is inextricably bound to the history of the world. Through a detailed exploration of 'world-scale' issues of warfare, presented within a chronological framework that spans human history, Jeremy Black skilfully illustrates this fact whilst providing the reader with other astute insights and compelling interpretations of war. War: A Short History is a dramatic move away from the formulaic, western approach to military history. Too narrow in its focus on wars specific to the west and too simple because of an over-reliance on a technologically-deterministic reading of warfare, this approach has been rejected by Jeremy Black in favour of a global model that takes all factors into account when considering the strengths and weaknesses of a particular military tradition. This is a book that is as important for its relevance to current world issues of conflict as it is for its thorough consideration of a monumentally significant aspect of human history.

War has always been a defining feature of human society. This pacy, lively history explains why we do it - and how we can stop. Acclaimed historian and military expert Gwynne Dyer tells the story of war from its earliest origins up to the present age of atom bombs and algorithms. Gwynne Dyer chronicles the advent of warfare in the first cities; the rise of inequality and tyranny as humans multiply; the 1000-year classical era of combat until the firearm and the Thirty Years' War, which changed everything. He traces how the brief interlude of limited war before the popular revolutions of the eighteenth century ushered in total war - and how the devastation was halted, for now, by the shock of Hiroshima. We are in the longest stretch of peace between major powers in modern history. It marks a precarious balance, as the looming threats of nuclear proliferation, climate change and superpower rivalry threaten our world. This concise, vivid and clear-sighted book is vital reading for anyone who wants to understand the role of war in the long human story - and how we can stop it from dominating our future.

A gripping and informative visual guide to one of the bloodiest conflicts in US and world history Journey through the Vietnam War; exploring detailed accounts of the men and women that were there. Explore their stories of struggle, sacrifice, and bravery through the iconic events that defined this conflict. This visual guide is the perfect read for any military history enthusiast. Inside the pages of this retelling of America’s bloodiest conflict, you’ll discover: • A vivid, moving, and informative read, written in an engaging style • Offers a clear and compelling account of the conflict, in short, self-contained events from the Battle of Ia Drang to the Tet Offensive and The Khmer Rouge • Biography spreads highlight major military and political figures • Features on everyday life in the war offering additional context • Stunning image spreads display weapons, spy gear, and other equipment that defined the war • Maps and feature boxes provide additional information on major events during the conflict A carefully constructed, in-depth guide to Vietnam This definitive history of the Vietnam War was written in conjunction with the Smithsonian. SI A Short History of the Vietnam War showcases every aspect of the fighting and the wider political landscape from both the side of the Viet Cong and the US military. Compelling text, diagrams, and maps show exactly how decisive moments and battles unfolded to help the reader to visualize the conflict. Eyewitness accounts and iconic photographs bring events to life - from the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Operation Passage to Freedom and the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon. From weapons and aircraft to armored vehicles and spy gear, explore the machinery used in the war through breathtaking photography. Lastly, biographical entries give a fuller insight into the minds of key figures and the decisions they made and include Henry Kissinger, President Nixon, Pol Pot, and more. More in the series Combining expert historical insight, eyewitness accounts, and archive photography, A Short History series seeks to summarise key historical events and provide a wider context to what was happening around these events. Titles include SI A Short History of World War II, SI A Short History of the American Civil War, and SI A Short History of Flying and are the perfect addition to any history enthusiast’s library.

A new and revised edition of Dyer's classic book, widely regarded as one of the most compelling analyses of the history of armed conflict. ""War is part of our history, but it is not in at all the same sense part of our prehistory. It is one of the innovations that occurred between nine and eleven thousand years ago when the first civilized societies were coming into being. What has been invented can be changed; war is not in our genes." With this provocative statement, Gwynne Dyer launches his brilliant discussion of the history and nature of war. He traces the growth of organized warfare through history, showing conclusively that the basic tenet has remained unchanged -- war is an act of mass violence applied against an enemy so that he will do what you want him to do. The only real change has been technological, permitting us to make war on a mass scale. At the height of the Cold War, just such a global conflagration seemed almost inevitable. But the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the ensuing political changes have forced a re-examination of the accepted fundamentals of history. Will open access to the channels of mass communication create enough shared values that we can move beyond mass warfare? Is the threat of terrorism a red herring designed to preserve the military status quo? Are our traditional military and administrative hierarchical structures still relevant? Now, more than ever in our post-September 11 world, we need Gwynne Dyer's expertise to understand the greatest and most human drama -- the act of war. Excerpt from "War "The Siamese twins, army and state, have never been separated since they were born some eight or nine thousand years ago --and most of the time the state is the stronger of the twins. Armies exist to serve the interests of the state that owns them and their legitimacy comes solely from the fact that they belong to states; similar groups of armed men, if self-employed, are generally known as rebels or bandits. This is the context in which warfare, as opposed to casual and illegitimate violence, must be seen: it is something states do, and have always done, because they believe it serves their interest. "From the Hardcover edition.

How the most powerful country in the UK was forged by invasion and conquest, and is fractured by its north-south divide. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. England—begetter of parliaments and globe-spanning empires, star of beloved period dramas, and home of the House of Windsor—is not quite the stalwart island fortress that many of us imagine. Riven by an ancient fault line that predates even the Romans, its fate has ever been bound up with that of its neighbors; and for the past millennia, it has harbored a class system like nowhere else on Earth. This bracing tour of the most powerful country in the United Kingdom reveals an England repeatedly invaded and constantly reinvented—yet always fractured by its very own Mason-Dixon Line. It carries us swiftly through centuries of conflict between Crown and Parliament (starring the Magna Carta), America’s War of Independence, the rise and fall of empire, two World Wars, and England’s break from the EU. We discover: why the American colonists of 1776 believed that they were the true Anglo-Saxons how the British Empire was undermined from within why Winston Churchill said the UK could only be saved by splitting up England itself and how populism spawned Brexit and its “new elite.” The Shortest History of England brings all this and more to prescient life—offering the most direct, compelling route to understanding the country behind today’s headlines.

Discover the cultural and political riches of Greece across 3,000 years, from classical might to modern rebirth. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. Philosophy, art, democracy, language, even computers—the glories of Greek civilization have shaped our world even more profoundly than we realize. Pericles and the Parthenon may be familiar, but what of Epaminondas, the Theban general who saved the Greek world from Spartan tyranny? Alexander the Great’s fame has rolled down the centuries, but the golden Hellenistic Age that followed is largely forgotten. “Byzantine” conjures decadence and deadly intrigue, yet the thousand-year empire that ruled from Constantinople and saved Europe twice from invasion was, in fact, Greek. Greece’s modern chapter, too, tells of triumph and calamity—from liberation and expansion to schism, homegrown dictatorship, Nazi occupation, and civil war. Today’s nation is battered by austerity, encroaching climate change, and a refugee crisis—yet unwavering in its ancient values. James Heneage captures the full Grecian drama in this riveting, short history, revealing Greece as the wellspring of Western civilization—and a model that may yet save modern democracy.