A decent premise -- talking about 100 battles and how they influenced the world, as distinct from how wars or other conflicts influenced the world -- but unfortunately less than ideal execution. The author is essentially a historian, not a military commander, and didn't seem to really understand or explain the details of the salient tactics or technological innovations (and due to format/length, no real chance to put them in context anyway). He did a decent job of describing events and some minimal context for the conflicts the battles were part of. ( )

First of all, I'd like to thank Oxford University Press for my ARC via NetGalley.

Military history is fascinating, that much is certain, especially when related in a vivid, engaging way that appeals to the well-initiated and to the novice alike.

One of the greatest advantages of this volume is the division of the selected battles into six themes according to the factor considered to contribute to victory the most: leadership, courage in the face of fire, deception, innovation etc. Along with the introductions to each theme and an outline detailing the ways in which the factor in question can secure victory for one side, this arrangement allows for room to reflect on some universal truths related to the psychology of battle. This, in turn, provides a solid background and ensures understanding that battles are fought by people, and that analysis of these people's behaviour is tantamount to comprehending the reasons for fighting, the course of the battle, as well as the outcome.
Naturally, it is not the case that a single aspect of warfare was sufficient to win the battle (e.g. only the aptitude of the leader or the innovative strategy or weaponry alone), but the focus on those points facilitates, nay, encourages the recognition of those aspects and the role they play in every battle, so that understanding and critical appreciation of events come subtly and beautifully.

All of this perfectly justifies the choice of such a layout over the expected uninterrupted chronology (which naturally exists within the chapters). Starting from the earliest battle in the chapter and moving on to the most recent, and then doing so over and over again makes for a certain smoothness and flow in the reading process, so that the reader is refreshed each time and attention never wavers. Furthermore, the arrangement also highlights the core similarities and differences, the things that have changed and the things that have stayed the same in the 4000 years of conflict in recorded history that are covered in this book.

The choice of the battles included is another aspect that has evidently been decided on with a lot of care. Geographically and chronologically, the span of the sample is unbelievably high: it covers almost all continents from the first recorded battle at Kadesh in 1285 BC, to Operation Desert Storm just over two decades ago. So then, we encounter not only names of battles we have been familiar with since our earliest history classes at school, but such conflicts that are to this day immersed in controversy and seldom studied.

The writing itself is very pleasant and as objective as possible (even though the author does not hesitate to point out misconceptions, misattributions, the mistakes of certain commanders that led to their downfall, and instances of politics interfering with what really happened). The background and aftermath to each conflict is described as briefly, but as efficiently as possible, so that hardly any previous knowledge is required in order to follow the course of events with sufficient understanding. Facts and numbers are always included, even when their accuracy is a matter of speculation, but they are, of course, essential to grasping the magnitude of the conflict, imagining the battlefield, and, of necessity, judge the scope of human (and often animal) life lost.
Another very commendable thing is the effort to include at least one photograph for every battle detailed, the merit of which is obvious.

All in all, this is a valuable reference for anybody interested in military history for any reason and on any level. ( )

Mr. Overy has sifted and sorted and chosen 100 important battles from various points in world history and grouped them according to the various tactical, strategic, leadership, or lucky conditions that governed the outcomes. This is an interesting approach but the book is curiously bland. There are no maps or battle graphics to help make the battle more real. The book is full of reproductions of famous battle artwork, but these add nothing to our understanding.

It is the lack of emotion that is the real problem. Mr. Overy describes each battle on a page. Each battle is historically correct but without the space to add context or interpretation, he might as well have given us lists of each of his groupings and we could read the Wikipedia entries by ourselves.

I received a review copy of "A History of War in 100 Battles" by Richard Overy (Oxford University Press) through NetGalley.com. ( )

A good idea but very poorly executed in terms of choice of battles as well as solid research. ( )