This expansive book surveys the history of warfare from ancient Mesopotamia to the Gulf War in search of a deeper understanding of the origins of Western warfare and the reasons for its eminence today. Historian John France explores the experience of war around the globe, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. His bold conclusions cast doubt on well-entrenched attitudes about the development of military strength, the impact of culture on warfare, the future of Western dominance, and much more. Taking into account wars waged by virtually all civilizations since the beginning of recorded history, France finds that despite enormous cultural differences, war was conducted in distinctly similar ways right up to the Military Revolution and the pursuit of technological warfare in the nineteenth century. Since then, European and American culture has shaped warfare, but only because we have achieved a sense of distance from it, France argues. He warns that the present eminence of U. S. power is much more precarious and accidental than commonly believed. The notion that war is a distant phenomenon is only an illusion, and our cultural attitudes must change accordingly.
About the Author
John France is professor emeritus, Department of History and Classics, Swansea University. He is author of "The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom", among numerous other books and articles. He lives in Swansea.
Reviews
"This is a powerful book, opinionated but crisply argued, and packed with information... It's hard to think of a more impressive single-volume history of the not-only Western way of war" – Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
"This book deserves attention" – Jeremy Black, BBC History Magazine
"An ambitious book, written with vigour and assertiveness" – Hew Strachan, Oxford University
"In this magnificent work, one of the great military historians of our time surveys the conduct of warfare from antiquity to the present. John France is as much at home among the hoplites of Greece as he is on the modern battlefields of Afghanistan. With a potent mixture of erudition, wisdom, and wit, this book applies the lessons of our past to the real challenges of our troubled present. It shines a bright ray of light on the history of warfare, letting us see clearly what it is and, just as importantly, what it is not" – Thomas F. Madden
"Ambitious in its scope and themes, John France's 'Perilous Glory' is far more than a survey of the development of warfare in the West and its rise to dominance. By examining the history of war as a whole, and in a global context, France evokes the disquieting thought that the present eminence of American power is more precarious and accidental than one might like to believe" – Richard Abels
"This is an outstanding work – the best response to date to Victor Davis Hanson's 'Carnage and Culture'. Offering a global perspective and tour de force juxtapositions of different military cultures through the ages, France's concluding analysis of the 'new age of war' that has emerged since 1945 is eloquent and perceptive in warning that there are no opt-outs, technological or ideological. War finds its way, and has its way" – Dennis Showalter
"A splendidly sweeping account of warfare from the Stone Age to cyberspace... What makes France's book so enjoyable is that he is forever questioning received wisdom... in one of his most arresting observations, he contends that technology has rarely been as important as we think. Early firearms, for example, were lighter and easier to use than bows and arrows, but they made little difference to the European reliance on close-quarter combat" – Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times
"An absorbing account of the history of warfare that does not shy away from challenging the reader's preconceptions. It would be a worthy addition to any military history collection" – Jonathan Eaton, Military Times
