Atlas of 20th Century Warfare

by Richard Natkiel

Atlas of 20th Century Warfare [Hardcover] This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B000KNCKVY
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Bison Books

Customer Reviews

Interesting and informative (up to 1982)

This large and attractive book is a quick overview of wars throughout the 20th century. Well, OK, having been published in 1982, it gives a quick overview of wars from the beginning of the 20th century through to about that time. The book begins with the Boer War, and ends with the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982. (OK, that wasn't really a war, the last war covered was the early stages of the Iran-Iraq Gulf War of 1980-1988.) Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. Admittedly, due to its nature, no subject is given more than a cursory examination. However, it does cover many interesting military conflicts that are not well known to most readers, including the Russo-Japanese War, the creation of Bangladesh in 1970, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979. Along the way, the reader is treated to a plethora of black-and-white pictures, and colorful maps. I found this to be an interesting and informative book, and don't hesitate to recommend it.

Survey of major battles with maps and photo's.

This is a straightforward look at major 20th century battles as of its 1982 publication complete with photo's and military maps. This book doesn't provide the type of in-depth historical reading desired by many, but it is an interesting survey look at major wars and battles. Due to some superb battle maps, this book makes a useful compliment for military history buffs.

From The Inside Flap:

The Twentieth Century has been one of the most turbulent eras in world history. In 1900 the world was dominated by a handful of European powers and there were less than 40 independent states in the world. By 1919 the picture had altered considerably; colonies throughout the world had changed hands; the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been destroyed and two new great powers, the United States and Japan, had emerged on the scene. By the end of World War II the map of Europe had been transformed again; there were two super-powers and the colonial empires were breaking up. There are now over 160 independent countries in the world and although the US-Soviet rivalry continues, new groupings like OPEC have emerged as powers on the world stage. Many of these changes have come about in war, whether in lesser-known struggles like the Russo-Japanese War or the more recent wars of revolution and liberation in Africa and Asia or in the two devastating world conflicts. ATLAS OF 20TH CENTURY WARFARE charts the progress of war and diplomacy in these and many other struggles as well as providing up-to-date coverage of the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa and showing the influence on the modern world of power blocks like NATO and the Warsaw Pact. This book features more than 200 maps all prepared by Richard Natkiel, chief cartographer of The Economist, renowned for its expert coverage of political and military affairs. Each map is complemented by an authoritative explanatory text and many are also illustrated by carefully selected historical photographs.

Should be called: "Atlas of warfare: 1900-1982"

It doesn't seem appropriate to me that a book published in 1982 can have a title which is inclusive of the entire century. However, the book covers 1900-1982 very well. Major land, sea, and air battles are all presented here with pictures and maps to support the concise dscriptions. I highly recommend this book, but wish a newer edition would come along to pick up the last twenty years!