100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present

by Paul K. Davis

Book Overview

From the ancient Egyptian battle at Megiddo in 1469 BC to the recent military actions in Iraq, great battles have had an enormous impact on the shaping of history. Now, in this fully illustrated book, one hundred of the world's most important military confrontations are described in detail. 100 Decisive Battles gives us the facts about the battle and also explains where it fits in to the scope of world history.

In each entry we are given the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195143663
• ISBN13: 9780195143669
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Informative reference.

Informative, nice abstract of important battles.

The Best of Both Worlds...

There are basically two types of non-fiction military history books: general and specific. General books might offer an overview of Viet Nam, while a specific book would address the Tet Offensive or tunnel rats. If you're an avid historian, general books are usually too...well...general! They provide a gloss-over in order to cram the entire subject into the confines of the book. Specific books, on the other hand, can bore you with an overkill of details. They are also limited in their focus to the subject of the book, often not addressing outside contributing factors. I initially began reading this book because I figured it would be something light I could skim over when I had 10-15 minutes of time here and there. I didn't expect much; after all, if a book trying to cover WWII in it's entirety was too general, how could the author hope to cover 100 different battles, over thousands of years, with any justice? Davis found just the right combination. The battles are covered concisely, but still offer important details (such as the French's mindset towards warfare...independent barons each seeking their own glory and not having the discipline to unite before attacking...being their downfall at Crece). Even if you're well-read, you will learn from this book. To top it off, the battles are presented in chronological order, so you can see similarities in strategies, intended by the leaders or not. My only ding on the book is that there are a few battles the author could have omitted for more-decisive ones. But hey, put 100 different historians in a room, and everyone's top 100 would probably be different! Check this book out. It's a great read.

Great book

This book provides, for 100 definitive battles in history, the historical setting, the battle including a short description of it and a diagram or map showing the where the armies were positioned, and the result, the result including the effect on history and what would have happened if the battle had been won by the other side. It is an excellent reference as well as a good summary of history with all the battles placed in date sequence. It is fun to read. I found myself picking out may favorite battles and then reading the battles before and after. Finally, I found I had read the whole book. When I read a book which refers to a battle, I grab this book for a broad historical perspective. I only wish I had acquired it years ago.

Excellent, Informative Resource

"100 Decisive Battles" provides detailed information about 100 of the most important battles in the history of the world. With an average of 4 or 5 pages per battle, the book not only provides the reader with an excellent resource, but informative, in- depth passages as well. Every entry includes the name and date of the battle, as well as information about the opposing commanders, the size of the forces involved, and casualties. Also, the campaign and historical setting surrounding the battle are analyzed and explained. Many maps, pictures, and 'sidebars' with information about topics related to the battle are included. Unlike many similar books, "100 Decisive Battles" is unbiased in its account of the battles, and also gives equal coverage to battles in all parts of the world, including regions often given insufficient coverage by other sources, such as the Middle East and Central America. A table of contents, a preface explaining how the battles are selected, and an easy to use index are included. Here is a list of all the battles listed in "100 Decisive Battles": Megiddo, Thymbra, Marathon, Salamis, Leuctra, Syracuse, Chaeronea, Gaugamela, Ipsus, Metaurus River, kai-hsia, Zama, Pydna, Alesia, Pharsalus, Actium, Teutoburg Forest, Beth-horon, Milvian Bridge, Adrianople, Chalons, Tricameron, Badr, Constantinople, Tours, Pavia, Lechfeld, Hastings, Manzikert, Jerusalem, Hattin, Second Battle of Taraori, Bouvines, Ain Jalut, Hsiang-yang, Hakata Bay, Brusa, Crecy, Orleans, Constantinople, Grenada, Tenochtitlan, Panipat, Vienna, Cajamarca, Lepanto, Spanish Armada, Sekigahara, Breitenfeld, Shanhaikuan, Naseby, Battle of the Dunes, Blenheim, Poltava, Culloden, Plassey, Quebec, Trenton, Saratoga, Yorktown, Valmy, Rivoli, Aboukir Bay (Battle of the Nile), Trafalgar, Jena?Auerstadt, Tippecanoe, Borodino, Leipzig, Waterloo, Ayacucho San Jacinto, Mexico City, Antietam (Sharpsburg), Gettysburg, Atlanta, Sedan, Tel el Kebir, Manila Bay, Mukden, Tsushima, First Battle of the Marne, Verdun, Brusilov Offensive, Second Battle of the Marne, Warsaw, Poland, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Moscow, Pearl Harbor, Singapore, Midway, Normandy (D-Day), Okinawa, Isreal's War of Independence, Huai Hai (Suchow), Inchon, Dien Bien Phu, Tet Offensive, Desert Storm. Overall, this book is essential to the library of anyone interested in history or warfare.

Best Military History Book Ive Read

I frequently read military history books of all kinds and this is the best one ive found yet. It describes 100 battles that shaped the world and the choices are sound ones. While everyones favorites may not be in there such as the Battle of Cannae, you can understand why they could not be included. I agree with other reviewers in that the illustrations and maps arent so great but I disagree in that I think he does an excellent job of explaining the battle as it happens, given the limited information avaiable on the older battles. Each battle is set up nicely, explained thouroughly, and the effects of it are explained fully. There are also small side sections on some of the battles that further explain interesting topics such as the military career of Belisarius or the life of Joan of Arc. I don't think theres too much of a bias towards western culture because there are Chinese and Japanese battles included because of their importance. The book spans an incredible amount of history and I do think it slowly gets boring simply because ancient and medieval warfare is so much more interesting than modern. With the advancement of technology tactics are relied on less but that cant be helped. Overall this book gets 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and/or warfare.

Great concise book.

This book provides a concise look at Davis's choice of 100 Decisive Battles. To many people 100 battles may seem little, but Davis's choices are by far the most important battles that shaped history. Many historians may argue with his choices but overall the most decisive ones are described in the book with justifiable reasons. One slight flaw to the book is that Davis does not balance geographically the battles. As a result, we have less-important European battles included and more-important Other battles excluded. The format is easy to follow. Davis takes each battle and writes out the chronology of the battle in the following sections: Forces Engaged, Importance, Historical Setting, The Battle and Results. Each battle doesn't take more than 5 pages. Due to its conciseness, some steps of the battle are left out, but Davis conveys his idea of why the battle is important. One small suggestion to the author would be to include more maps and troop movements for many times the location of troops has tremendous impact on the outcome of the battle. Another small suggestion would be to talk more about the strategies employed. Overall, this book is a great introduction to extensive studying of military history.