Warfare in the Eighteenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare) by Jeremy Black

Warfare in the Eighteenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare) Reviews

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  Erikhart Hart

  Another excellent read pulled from the discount shelves of a Harvard sidewalk bookstore. An interesting dissection of worldwide tactics, organization, and geographic factors that influence battlefields between 1680-1800. Compact, well written, and a pleasure to read. This book is also beautifully illustrated with period painting.s
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  Piker7977

  A quick, dry overview of warfare, geopolitics, and battles from the 18th century. The book does a fine job of creating a larger perspective of how European and non-European forces interacted and fought. A great deal of emphasis is placed on the development of strong, centralized nation-states that allowed for the beginnings of military-industrial complexes, advancements in logistics, and strong navies. There were strong innovations outside of Europe. In order of the big empires of the age to be successful, they discovered that they had to win the "hearts and minds" of others in order to sustain their hegemony.
  
  Graphics and illustrations were helpful.
• 
  Anton

  Black hurtles through the eighteenth century at breakneck speed trying to cram as much into his 200-odd pages as possible, and yet manages to paint a detailed and nuanced picture of the global state and evolution of warfare in the period. A tightly structured masterwork.
  
  One thing I really enjoy about Jeremy Black is how he's so often including the military endeavours of non-European countries in his work without being obnoxious and post-modern about it. It's simply delightful to read about eskimo guerillas, massed Ottoman armies, New England minutemen, and how they all relate to each other.
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  Gerry

  The author tells us he will attempt to cover warfare in the 18th Century worldwide; that is, he will not just concentrate on European Wars. He kept his promise. Even the North American and Hawaiian peoples get their mention. Trouble is, there is little detail; much of it is just wars and battles, which is just about all one can squeeze into a small volume of just over two hundred pages. Any given power seems to lose as many battles as it wins, or wins as many battles as it loses. Just read the last chapter, "Conclusion: The World Picture" to get the "so what." The century was significant in many of its political results.
• 
  Walt

  Good overview of warfare in that century. Not too much information about naval warfare...
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  Sean Chick

  Excellent introduction to the era. I liked the attention paid to non-European armies.
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  Garion Bracken

  I've always found it hard to read history. And don't get me wrong this book is verging on typical history book in format. But he does get into some interesting stuff. It's just worth reading. Especially given it's a time when the West we know was shaped. Loved it.
• 
  Steven

  Good coverage on an international scope as to the events taking place in this favorite era of mine. Good issue in this series by the renown Smithsonian.
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  SpyroNinja

  "The major problem with the literature on the period is its Eurocentricity." Thankfully that seems to be the author's most pressing concern with presenting the information here.