Book picks similar to
The Changing Face of War: Lessons of Combat, from the Marne to Iraq by Martin van Creveld
history
military
war
non-fiction
The Myth of the Great War: A New Military History of World War I
John Mosier - 2001
Based on previously unused French and German sources, this challenging and controversial new analysis of the war on the Western front from 1914 to 1918 reveals how and why the Germans won the major battles with one-half to one-third fewer casualties than the Allies, and how American troops in 1918 saved the Allies from defeat and a negotiated peace with the Germans.
The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle
J. Glenn Gray - 1959
Glenn Gray entered the army as a private in May 1941, having been drafted on the same day he was informed of his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University. He was discharged as a second lieutenant in October 1945, having been awarded a battlefield commission during fighting in France. Gray saw service in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany in a counter-espionage unit. Fourteen years after his discharge, Gray began to reread his war journals and letters in an attempt to find some meaning in his wartime experiences. The result is The Warriors, a philosophical meditation on what warfare does to us and an examination of the reasons soldiers act as they do. Gray explains the attractions of battle—the adrenaline rush, the esprit de corps—and analyzes the many rationalizations made by combat troops to justify their actions. In the end, Gray notes, “War reveals dimensions of human nature both above and below the acceptable standards for humanity.”
Arms and Influence
Thomas C. Schelling - 1967
Schelling considers the ways in which military capabilities—real or imagined—are used as bargaining power. This edition contains a new foreword by the author where he considers the book’s relevance over forty years after its first publication. Included as an afterword is the text of Professor Schelling’s Nobel acceptance speech in which he reflects upon the global taboo that has emerged against nuclear weapons since Hiroshima."This is a brilliant and hardheaded book. It will frighten those who prefer not to dwell on the unthinkable and infuriate those who have taken refuge in stereotypes and moral attitudinizing."—Gordon A. Craig, New York Times Book ReviewThomas C. Schelling is Distinguished University Professor, Department of Economics and School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland and Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus, Harvard University. He is co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics. The Henry L. Stimson Lectures Series
Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-the Building of the Panama Canal
Matthew Parker - 2007
A tale of exploration, conquest, money, politics, and medicine, Panama Fever charts the challenges that marked the long, labyrinthine road to the building of the canal. Drawing on a wealth of new materials and sources, Matthew Parker brings to life the men who recognized the impact a canal would have on global politics and economics, and adds new depth to the familiar story of Teddy Roosevelt's remarkable triumph in making the waterway a reality.As thousands of workers succumbed to dysentery, yellow fever, and malaria, scientists raced to stop the deadly epidemics so that work could continue. The treatments they developed changed the course of medical history. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 spelled the end of the Victorian Age and the beginning of the "American Century." Panama Fever brilliantly captures the innovative thinking and backbreaking labor, as well as the commercial and political interests, that helped make America a global power.
Cannae
Adrian Goldsworthy - 2002
In one of the bloodiest battles ever, his outnumbered mercenaries massacred the greater part of Rome's large army. For the Romans, Cannae became the yardstick against which all other defeats were measured; for generals centuries after, it became a perfectly executed model to draw on. Using primary sources and brilliant images, Goldsworthy tells the story of this epic confrontation and its devastating tactics.