The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars have been Won and Lost

author: Cathal J. Nolan
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/28
date added: 2017/08/28
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars have been Won and Lost' by Cathal J. Nolan is a book that has captivated me for the last couple months as I read, then put it down to think about it.

The premise is that warfare, as viewed by history and scholars, has glorified specific leaders, like Marlborough, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte, is flawed thinking. Many of these leaders may have had good ideas, or breakthrough technologies, but often times their victories are not viewed with the true cost. It's one thing to make an academic study, but to make the mistake of short victories is costly. So it trying to mimic other's failures in the hopes of having success.

The book is not anti-war, but it is against the idea of glorification of war. The book covers some ancient war all the way up until the end of World War II. It's primarily European focused, but it's excellently presented, incredibly readable and very thought-provoking. It's the best history book I've read in quite a while.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Oxford University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/2wEHcyA