Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World

by Edward Shepherd Creasy and Sir Edward S. Creasy

Book Overview

Ranging from Marathon to Waterloo, this classic of military history chronicles battles that changed the course of history. Originally published in 1851, at the zenith of British imperial power, it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0880291486
• ISBN13: 9780880291484
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Dorset Press
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World

The book was in good condition (as I ordered) it arrived in a timely manner and the price was excellent. I would recommend it to future buyers.

Great introduction to warfare and history

In context of it's time it's 5 star but it is somewhat dated, therefore 4 stars. The commentaries against this book seem to be divided between: 1) People who can't stand the thought that they might be members of a country/ people who won an empire and 2) People who can't stand the thought that they might NOT be members of a country/people who won an empire. Anyone who castigates the author for being "jingoistic" has obviously either never actually read any Chinese, Russian, German, French. . .etc. history (and thus has some base line to determine 'jingoism") or is Noam Chomsky. For a book that is about 130 years old (pub. 1879?) you've got to expect that at least a few new facts would emerge that conflict with the author. (It's astounding how little overall difference this actually makes) With that in mind, when you buy this book you get a wealth of primary sources and a very readable and evocative text. Is this a perfect history of warfare? No. Is this a perfect telling of history? No. Are the "Decisive Battles" incontestable? No again. However it is a very balanced, engaging and well researched (though 130 years dated) introduction to warfare and history. Keep in mind that this book is an introduction to battles the author considers decisive and is NOT meant to be an exhaustive commentary on any single battle. As an introduction the astute reader will use this as a springboard to more detailed works on any individual battle. For example, after reading the essay on "Waterloo" you might try: Feeding Nelson's Navy by Janet MacDonald Steering to Glory: A Day in the Life of a Ship of the Line by Nicholas Blake Fiddlers And Whores: The Candid Memoirs of a Surgeon in Nelson's Fleet by James Lowry The Battle of Waterloo: Containing the Accounts Published by Authority, British and Foreign, and Other Relative Documents by Booth and Egerton The Autobiography of Sir Harry Smith 1787-1819 by Philip J. Haythornthwaite

"From Marathon to Waterloo in Order Categorical"

As evidenced by the fact that its sub-title finds its way int the "Major General's Song" from Pirates of Penzance, Creasy's Decisive Battles is one of the most influential works of non-scholarly history that ever has been published. It has always been, and remains, a hugely enjoyable work, with sharply drawn characters, lucid descriptions of each party's strategies, useful introductions that explain the general contexts in which each war was fought, and priceless link passages - called "synopses of events" - that describe historical events between the major encounters. It is, however, highly dated; not least because, by modern standards, it is ludicrously Anglo-Centric. I mean, heavens, a THIRD of the battles (Hastings, Orleans, Blenheim, Saratoga, Waterloo) involve the British, and for one other - the Teutoberg Forest - Creasy tries to persuade us that the victor, Arminius, is a genetic ancestor of the British by virtue of his "Saxon" blood. Nevertheless, even these six battles can be argued to be "decisive"; it is just that there are many more decisive battles that he left out (case in point: even in 1851, the date of publication, Creasy could have appreciated Simon Bolivar's victory at Boyacá). Quibbling aside, Creasy's conferring of "Decisive" status on his chosen 15 is now almost official, meaning that engagements such as Marathon, the Metaurus, Chalons and Poltava have a cachet that non-"Decisive" battles like Salamis, Issus, Adrianople and Lutzen do not. Nevertheless, for the sheer joy of disagreeing with him, or proposing alternative lists of decisive encounters (see previous sentence), Creasy remains a joy to read.

A Classic Book; Insightful Analysis; Revealing Period Study

Edward Creasy's "Fifteen Decisive Battles" is a win-win for the reader, and should be required reading for military historians as well as students of Western Civ. and the British Empire. Not only does the text offer some lucid and entertaining analysis of key moments in history, it offers an insight into the mind of one of the leading (and representative) thinkers of the British Empire. The selection of fifteen military conflicts as "decisive" for the course of western civilizataion is a classicly British effort -- many educated "elite" Brits of the mid-19th century considered their empire the axle on which the remainder of the "civilized" world turned. Accordingly, Creasy selected fifteen battles that dicated the course of "civilization" as he saw it, which essentially was Western Europe. By his selection of battles, we learn about how he and other British thinkers viewed their world. One should always resist the temptation to indict period historians as myopic (or worse) because they view their world through the prism of their times. We view our history through our own prisms, and readers 50 years hence will probably consider us equally limited -- a disservice to our current writers. Creasy, while undoubtedly biased in favor of Occidental cultures over Oriental, nevertheless offers a relatively objective analysis of the events covered in his book. He also provides excellent support for his designation of these battles as "decisive." All his analysis is expressed in that classic high-brow British style, where sentences are meant to be parsed over, savored, and appreciated as an expression of style as well as historical analysis. An entertaining, educational read that has been an influential book for over a century . . . what's not to enjoy?

Queasy on Creasy?

No less an authority than John Keegan has given this book his blessing, so don't be mislead by negative reviews. This book is a classic in the field of military history. No history is unbiased. History is an art not a science. And it is a great art. It can move and inspire as well as instruct us about human nature. Historical writers who can weave myth and symbolism in to their writing carry forward important ideas and concepts for the collective. This is precisely what Creasy has done in his book, organizing his material around the idea that war is productive of something. He influenced every writer of military history who followed. That in itself is enough to promote the book. "15 Decisive Battles" is an excellent introduction to general military history, a perspective often missing in college history courses. I read it many years ago and have since read many different treatments of these basic 15 battles. Ultimately one picks one's preferred viewpoint. Creasy is a generalist but for that very reason, this a good book to start with. Incidentally, I challenge the reviewer who questions the description of the Battle of Teutoburger Wald. I have read the Latin version in Latin and the German version in German and they are absolutely consistent with this British version. I was quite amazed, so try it and see for yourself. I love this book and I really want to recommend it to you. I give it 5 stars and no, I am not queasy on Creasy.