A History of Warfare (Vintage) [Paperback]

 

 

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What is War? John Keegan asks. "War is NOT the continuation of policy by other means". (pg. 3) Keegan's starting point is von Clausewitz, "...a Prussian veteran of the Napoleonic Wars who used his years of retirement to compose what was destined to become the most famous book on war--called ON WAR--ever written, actually wrote that war is the continuation 'of political intercourse' (des politischen Verkehrs) 'with the intermixing of other means' (mit Einmisching anderer Mittel)." (pg. 3) For Keegan, then:

"...War embraces much more than politics: that it is always an expression of culture, often a determinant of cultural forms, in some societies the culture itself." (pg. 12).

Von Clausewitz was a product of HIS culture of the Western way of warfare, the Enlightenment and the Napoleonic era. The Napoleonic Wars were politically motivated, but, Keegan argues, the von Clausewitz conception is too limiting and narrow in its focus. Politics is not the only motivation nor is it the sole determinant of how war has been fought throughout history.

The book proceeds from this jumping off point to encompass an examination of the culture of warfare from the Stone Age to the Present.

One criticism I have read in the reviews is that Keegan's anthropological analysis of the warfare is amateurish. The criticism is fair, but is more appropriately aimed at the professional anthropologists who have been loath to study the culture of warfare; instead they have deluded themselves to believing their primitive cultures have created peaceful societies in direct contrast to our society's violent 20th Century. This blind spot has resulted in a minimum of literature for Keegan to draw upon. One would think the two world wars would merit anthropological investigation, but the Cultural Determinists of the 20's and 30's (Ruth Benedict, Margaret Meade, and Sir James Frazer et. al.) and the post-WWII Structural Functionalists (Bronislaw Malinowski and Claude Levi-Strausse et.al.) refused to apply themselves to it. The first to focus on the issue was Harry Turney-High, an American anthropologist, and he published PRIMITIVE WARFARE in 1949. Since he did so deliberately to cause 'intellectual offence' by rubbing the noses of his fellow anthropologists in the fact that primitive man has a lot of blood on his hands, it is not surprising that it has been ignored (basically what all 'intellectuals' do when confronted with inconvenient truths--ignore it and hope it goes away). Keegan provides a brief over view of this important oversight at the start of Chapter 2. Please read it carefully. It is important.

So Keegan must navigate through this mine field essentially without much help from the professional anthropologists who refuse to do their job regarding this topic. Therefore, to cover this gross dereliction of duty, it is left to the enterprising historian to fill the breach and he does so quite well. I give him full marks for his effort.

The book is full details of how and why a plethora of societies and states conduct war and how integral it has been in human society. The historical narrative is entertaining, thoughtful and broad in perspective. It is a great piece of military history and I believe this is a must for anyone interested in war and warfare.

I found this book to be about the evolution of warfare. Keegan starts off by describing primitive warfare from the days of the stone age. He explains how different methods of warfare reflect the culture of the groups in battle. As the time line moves forward, one can identify the changes that have taken place. War seems to be an essential part of the human experience. The history of warfare is as fascinating, as any other aspect of human history. This book was a great over view of military history.

Others down there made a point I want to make better than I feel I could, so I'll just reiterate it briefly, as an extra witness, so to say. This book is choke-full of historical information, and that is its strong point. However, the logical line connecting all sections is something else: an imaginary argument with Clausewitz's "war is extention of politics by other means" idea. I must say I didn't find the argument terribly compelling, and what's more, relevant. On one hand, not being a competent historian, I'm not in a position to criticize this work specifically, but on the other hand, the author's argument doesn't persuade and seems artificial, out of place. Again, it may be me.

Purely historically, this is a great book, and if you ignore the attendant philosophising, you'll find it quite enlightening, entertaining, and well written.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Gross misinterpretation of Clausewitz
Keegan sets out on a bold crusade to discredit Carl von Clausewitz and fails - miserably. Two major problems:

1) Keegan is oblivious of the fact that Clausewitz's... Read more

Published on Feb 5 2008 by Bjorn Hansson

3.0 out of 5 stars Keegan goes beyond his Expertise
A History of Warfare by John Keegan is a quality history as far as it goes. Keegan does a fine job describing the ins and outs of warfare as well as its evolutionary process. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2002 by Fred M. Blum

5.0 out of 5 stars Love him or hate him, he'll fascinate you
Keegan seems to be a polarizing author. His central point is about Clauzewitz. But the best reason to read the book is not about larger historical themes. Read more

Published on Jan 24 2002 by Joshua M. Moss

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious lessons re: how warfare is integral to history
A fine retort to those who try to ignore warfare's impact on history and culture.

Whether we like it or not, warfare is clearly integral to history, and to every aspect of... Read more

Published on Jan 2 2002 by samuelgrant

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Cover
The cover is super. I have not read the book. I want to read the book. Mr. Keegan is my idol. I like him. Did he design the cover?

Published on Nov 12 2001 by Bennett

5.0 out of 5 stars Broad and powerful...
This book is a fantastic piece of military history: it is well written and researched, thoughtful, but not overdone. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping in scope, excellent in presentation
The book deserves a place among Keegan's other classics, "The Face of Battle" and "The Mask of Command". Read more

Published on Aug 4 2001 by T. Parry

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but dry
4000 years of warfare compressed to 400 pages. This is the strength and the weakness of the book. Ancient (and prehistoric) warfare is covered in detail, but, as every century... Read more

Published on Mar 14 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great
Keegan's reputation is well-deserved, and this book is a good example why. However, the book seems to serve less as a historical analysis of warfare than a philosophical... Read more

Published on Oct 13 2000 by Michael F. Maddox

2.0 out of 5 stars Here I may tread lightly
This is probably a polarizing work of military history. Either you will love or hate it. I applaud the author for his unique "chronology" of warfare, but his emphasis... Read more

Published on Oct 3 2000 by Bryan Gibby

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