This volume is a showcase of current writing in the field of military history ranging from theories about the origins of warfare to the ways in which the recent Gulf crisis has altered its unwritten (but binding) rules. In many essays, Experience of War recreates the feel of combat, whether it is the panic of Roman soldiers trapped at Cannae, the needless sacrifice of Russian lives on the Stalingrad front, or the impressions of Israeli pilots sweeping down on Egyptian airfields in the surprise strikes of 1967. Popular myths and legends are re-examined: Did the Amazons actually exist? Little-known turning points are set in proper context: By what happy accident did the German naval codes fall into British hands in 1915? Among the distinguished historians and writers included in this anthology are John Keegan, James McPherson, Paul Fussell, Geoffrey C. Ward, Ted Morgan and William McNeil.