Dictionary of Wars

Rating:
Summary: Very handy reference.
Review: Covers more than 1,700 "global conflicts, civil wars,mutinies, punitive expeditions, undeclared wars,rebellions, and revolutions".
The great and famous wars are treated in admirably concise and readable style, but the main interest is the smaller and more obscure conflicts, for which you would need a shelf of books otherwise.
From the tangled and confusing animosities of the Balkans, to the many Turko-Persian Wars, numerous Roman Civil Wars, and Canadian Rebellions, to our own Vietnam War (interestingly treated as another, if larger, installment in fighting going back over a thousand years), every significant war is covered, briefly but comprehensively, with the political aspects covered and main players given their due (or blame).
This book will find use by the general reader of military history, as well as militaria collectors and other interested in sorting out the conflicts.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

Rating:
Summary: Dictionary of Wars
Review: The information concerning dates of wars are in question. Due to the inefficiency of the work relating to dates, this publication can be costly to a researcher.

Rating:
Summary: Dictionary of Wars
Review: The information concerning dates of wars are in question. Due to the inefficiency of the work relating to dates, this publication can be costly to a researcher.

Rating:
Summary: The best history book
Review: This is a fantastic book. Practically every war of any kind is included (within the limits of historical information). Since most of the history of the world changes due to wars, it's basically the history of the world in one volume. Re the comment on dates by Mr. Clark: come on, no researcher worth his or her salt is going to use a book like this for a reference. This is for the layperson who wants a concise history, and it delivers very well.