Age of Battles: Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo

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Format: Hardcover
Pages: 579
Edition: 1st
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 01 May 1991
ISBN 10: 0253363802
ISBN 13: 9780253363800
Book Overview: OThis is an important book by a major military historian. No one who seeks to understand the military history of the United States can do so without consulting the works of Russell F. Weigley ... OENJohn Keegan, The New York Times Book Review O ... a truly remarkable volume of military history, which undoubtedly deserves the description of classic... It is a comprehensive, elegantly written military history of Europe ... Perhaps the greatest merit of the book is that it does not approach its fascinating subject from any particular national point of view. It is truly objective, based on the authority of meticulous scholarship.O NField Marshal Lord Carver, The Sunday Telegraph (London) O ... highly scholarly and wonderfully absorbing ... OENThe London Review of Books Russell F. Weigley brings the strongest possible credentials to his detailed, sophisticated, and innovative account of the conduct of war from the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 to Waterloo in 1815. NGunther E. Rothenberg OAnalyzing some hundreds of battles, Mr. Weigley makes a compelling case that great battles rarely made much difference.O NWall Street Journal Weigley, an authority on the U.S. military experience, has written a superb study of the age of 'decisive battles' ... Weigley's broad scholarship and lively style make this book indispensable for any collection dealing with the subject or the period. NLibrary Journal In this first-class study of the battles of Gustavus, Charles II, Louis XIV, Marlborough, Nelson, Napoleon and Wellington, Weigley ... brings into sharp focus the irony that warfare throughout the period was most often a matter of prolonged, indecisive struggle that expressed a bankruptcy of national policy. NPublishers Weekly OWhat Russell F. Weigley writes, the rest of us read ... a persuasive reminder that even in the age of 'rational' warfare, one can honestly wonder why war seemed an unavoidable policy choice.O NThe Journal of American History Here is narrative history in the grand manner, deeply and passionately informed by a wide understanding of every aspect of the topic: the historical circumstances and political conditions of the contending adversaries, the strategic thinking and the personalities of the military commanders, the tactical maneuvering on the field of battle, the role of armaments and technology, and the performance of the soldiers.