The Great Battles of Antiquity: A Strategic and Tactical Guide to Great Battles That Shaped the Development of War [Hardcover]

The chapters are nicely set up in that they first give you an overview of the societies and personalities involved. They then go into a detailed discussion of the weapons, armor and tactics, followed by a detailed examination of the battles themselves. Following this, the discussion has to do with lessons learned, one of which and perhaps the most important is that in order to win a war, an army must have the unqualified support of its citizens. No matter how great the general, no matter how powerful the army, it is destined to ultimately lose unless it can count on its citizens and its government.

It is a great book, but the question is, is it worth the price? Look above. Does the almost exorbitant amount of money they're asking for this seem like a typo? Well it's not. That is the price. But why? When I bought it, I assumed that the book would be oversized, with glossy paper perhaps, and with colored illustrations. Perhaps I would hang onto it for a few years, then present it as a gift to some precocious teenager to pique his interest in ancient warfare. But no. The book is standard sized, about 700 pages, with stock paper, and with black and white lined drawings and maps. Nothing more.

So, again, is it worth it? You want my answer? Well, here it is: no.

Each chapter covers a separate battle or related series of battles. It begins by describing the societies that went to war, their politics, economy, organization, and weapons. Then, the authors describe the strategic situation that led to war between the antagonists, the goals of both sides, and the value of victory and cost of defeat. Once strategy is out of the way, they deal in great depth with the tactics used in each battle, with an emphasis on the major developments of a given era, whether technical, tactical, or operational. Finally, they give a list of "lessons" from each battle.

Overall, the book is excellent for students of both ancient and modern military thought. I especially enjoyed the first chapter, which gave a chronology of weapons, armor, supply, and typical casualties. It really changes your view from the typical Hollywood picture of ancient warfare. Who knew that most were not injured in the battle, only to be slaughtered once their side broke to flee?

One negative is the "lessons" section of each chapter. Rather than draw direct parallels with contemporary policy, the authors give a laundry list of ideas and principles. These are generally informative in the context of the specific battle, but are too vague to work as a textbook for modern practitioners of conflict. The real value is in drawing these parallels for yourself, which the superb organization of the rest of the text makes quite easy.