A History of Warfare
by John Keegan · first published 1993
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Broad, readable survey of warfare across history that links military technique to culture, technology and politics; suits readers wanting a general overview, with a useful bibliography for further reading.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In A History of Warfare, Keegan outlines the development and limitations of warfare from prehistory to the modern era. It looks at various topics, including the use of horses, logistics, and "fire". One key concept put forward is that war is inherently cultural. In the introduction, he rigorously denounces the idiom "war is a continuation of policy by other means", rejecting on its face "Clausewitzian" ideas
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2007–2026Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Recommended by 58 · mentioned by 13558 recommend · 135 mention58 recommend · 13558 recommend
2008–2026Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, Meric Casaubon
Recommended by 184 · mentioned by 251184 recommend · 251 mention184 recommend · 251184 recommend
…question :) Wishlited this last night on amazon: Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power by Victor Davis Hanson Have read these and enjoyed these: General Warfare theory: History of Warfare by Keegan Intel: Intelligence and War by Keegan Counterinsurgency: "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll. For a really enjoyable experience read "The Great Game" by Hopkirk first. The Civil War deserves it's…
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗…provide the broad historical narrative more so than dates and trivia - Peter Watson's A History from Fire to Freud - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ideas-history-Freud-Peter-Watson/dp/... and John Keegan's A History of Warfare - http://www.amazon.com/History-Warfare-John-Keegan/dp/0679730... I don't think either is necessarily the best on the subject, they're just two I've found and found much value from. In addition to allowing…
on “Why Most People Think Memorizing Historical Facts is Useless (and Why It Isn’t)” ↗For an analysis of warfare, progression of technology and its influence on warfare, and war's influence on society, I recommend reading A History of Warfare by John Keegan. It does explore war as an extension of politics and can lead to nice thought exercises about how war does influence the creation and destruction of civilization. 1. Wiki About: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Warfare
on “Computer Simulations Suggest War Drove the Rise of Civilisations (2013)” ↗Space-Time Structure, by Erwin Schrödinger. Great read to understand complex systems, manifolds and tensors. And... A History of Warfare, by John Keegan. Great analysis of various cultures and how they have approached war across history.
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2016?” ↗*A History of Warfare' by John Keegan is a readable introduction to the combined history and anthropology of warfare, with a good bibliography.
on “60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale” ↗…tolerance. In more complex environments, adversarial populations wax and wane chaotically, selection pressure yield evolutionary innovations and arms races that allow breakouts from local minima, and so on. A History of Warfare by John Keegan is a good introduction (with an excellent bibliography) to the anthropology of warfare, and has a particularly good treatment of initially adaptive social mores can end in catastrophe when…
on “NYC Jails Want to Ban Physical Mail, Then Privatize Scanning of Digital Versions” ↗Anyone interested in the military transformation of Europe and really Eurasia should read John Keegan's excellent "History of Warfare." https://www.amazon.com/History-Warfare-John-Keegan/dp/067973...
on “The military transformation of medieval Europe: Stirrups vs. social cohesion” ↗You're right, The Great War and Modern Memory is not only an amazing history but it's also a remarkable bit of writing in its own right. It's one of those exceptional books on war and the history of warfare and up there with the likes of John Keegan's The Face of Battle and others that comprise the main text corpus about warfare. It's an essential read for anyone who's interested in the subject. It's author,…
on “My War (1982)” ↗It was not the norm, but rather a failure mode. This isn't to say it wasn't common, but not the norm. A History of Warfare by John Keegan is a good introduction to military anthrolopogy, with an extensive bibliography.
on “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea” ↗…phalanx and then moves slowly forward through the history of strategy and tactics. You might like the works of John Keegan, another famous military historian who takes a general approach. He's got a History of Warfare that's like a lighter-weight version of Jones -- I might recommend starting with that, actually. His one-volume histories of WWI and WWII are probably decent. Keegan is British, so it wouldn't surprise…
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗