"One of the most interesting, important, and ambitious books about the conduct, and perhaps the ultimate futility, of war." --Gunther E. Rothenberg " A] highly scholarly and wonderfully absorbing study." --John Bayley, The London Review of Books "What Russell F. Weigley writes, the rest of us read. The Age of Battles is a persuasive reminder that even in the age of 'rational' warfare, one can honestly wonder why war seemed an unavoidable policy choice." --Allan R. Millett, The Journal of American History

This book studies the battles of Gustavus, Charles II, Louis XIV, Marlborough, Nelson, Napoleon and Wellington during the period between 1631 and 1815.

Filled with historic photographs, maps, and short, powerful chapters, "Great Battles for Boys" captures the attention of even reluctant readers. History leaps off the page through the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of soldiers fighting America's earliest battles, from Bunker Hill and San Juan Hill to The Alamo and The Lost Battalion of WWI.

A look at what world history might have been like if not for the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a fascinating exploration of how the history of Europe, and indeed the world, might have been different if the Western Roman Empire had survived the crises that pulled it apart in the fourth and fifth centuries. The author starts by showing how that survival and recovery might plausibly have happened if several relatively minor things had been different. He then moves on to discuss a series of scenarios which might have altered the course of subsequent history dramatically. Would the survival of a strong Western Empire have assisted the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire in halting the expansion of Islam in the Middle East and North Africa? How would the Western Roman Empire have handled the Viking threat? Could they even have exploited the Viking discovery of America and established successful colonies there? While necessarily speculative, all the scenarios are discussed within the framework of a deep understanding of the major driving forces, tensions, and trends that shaped European history and help to shed light upon them. In so doing they help us understand why things panned out as they did, as well as what might have been.

Empires have fallen, and the land is broken. The great oathmarks that once stood as testaments to the allegiances and might of nations have crumbled into ruin. In this lost age, fealty and loyalty are as valuable as gold and as deadly as cold iron, and war is ever-present. Created by Joseph A. McCullough, designer of Frostgrave and Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago, Oathmark is a mass-battle fantasy wargame that puts you in command of the fantasy army you've always wanted, whether a company of stalwart dwarves or a mixed force with proud elves, noble men, and wild goblins standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the battle-line. Fight through an integrated campaign system and develop your realms from battle to battle, adding new territories, recruiting new troop types, and growing to eclipse your rivals... or lose what you fought so hard to gain and fall as so many would-be emperors before you.

Provides an information packed, highly illustrated guide to 20 battles of the medieval period, including Hastings, Hattin, Leignitz, Lake Peipus, Bannockburn, Crecy, Agincourt, Constantinople, and many more. Includes full-color tactical maps for each battle, showing the reader the dispositions and movements of the opposing armies at a glance.

John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle -- a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger." Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme. The Face of Battle is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Mask of Command: together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.