The Ancient World at War
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Philip de SouzaEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN: 050025138X
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Book Reviews of The Ancient World at War
Book Review: A Good Overview
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Ancient World At War" is a large-format book that consists of 18 short chapters, each written by a different author, about warfare in different parts of the ancient world. There are 10-20 pages per chapter, including artwork. Coverage ranges from Prehistory and Ancient Egypt through the Mediterranean, Ancient Near East, Central Asia, Far East, and the Americas. The 7th century AD is a predetermined cut-off date, except that Mesoamerica and the Andes are taken up to the European conquest. Islamic warfare, say, or the samurai warriors of Japan, are outside the scope of the book.
In terms of coverage, not surprisingly, the Mediterranean world is best-represented, with several chapters each on Greece, Rome, etc. The Far East is covered thinly with only three chapters: India through the Guptas, China before the Tang, and Korea/Japan through the Silla unification.
Given that so much territory has to be covered in so little space, there isn't as much room for details as one would like, and due to the multi-author format a great opportunity was lost for cross-cultural comparison and generalization. These lacks are compensated by the high quality of many of the individual chapters, which provide good overviews to those who are interested either in ancient warfare, or in the ancient world in general. The book is superbly illustrated, with two-page battle diagrams and large color spreads of some great works of ancient art that illuminate the military theme. Thames & Hudson deserve praise for assembling such a well-produced volume, and it is a great bargain at the current reduced price.
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