A Military History of the Western World: From the American Civil War to the End of World War II (From the American Civil War to the End of World War II)

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Fuller offers an insightful blend of battlefield detail and the broader causes and effects for each engagement presented. He avoids one of the major shortcomings I have with a lot of other military history authors: bogging the reader down in pedantic minutiae.


Rating:
Summary: Good Basic Book on Western strategy
Review: Good grounding book in strategy.

Rating:
Summary: excellent analysis of western history
Review: I must disagree with the poor review given by a fellow Amazon customer who described the book as a "British feel-good book" that focused only on British military victories. First of all, any book describing Western military history during the given time period must examine British military history. Britain was a major player, for better or for worse, in Western (and global) economic, political and military activity. Ignoring Britain's role during this time period would make for poor history.

It should also be noted that for a career British soldier the author was remarkably open minded. His fluency in French, use of French sources and the attention he pays to Napoleon's attempt to crush oppressive British trade with his Continental System points to authorship which is not merely cheerleading for British imperialism but an evenhanded analysis of military history.

It should also be noted that this book is the 2nd installment of a trilogy. All three are excellent and if you still need to be convinced that Fuller was not a mouthpiece for British Imperialism, read his account of the causes of WWII where he identifies Anglo-American loan-capitalism as a major factor.

Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: There are some reviews that I don't understand. One of them from an earlier reader is one such review. The three volumes, taken as a whole, are excellent. They are not a British only, Britain is great, Britain is wonderful, history. Volume two does start with the Spanish Armada and ends with Waterloo, two British victories. However, in between, Fuller does write about other nations victories and British defeats. Isn't the British defeat at Saratoga relevant? Fuller goes to great length to discuss it.

And yes, it is a Eurocentric view of military history. But, he states that this is what he has written about in the title: "Military History of the Western World"

His descriptions of the battles are excellent and clearly written. He understands how to describe the battles Clare and concisely. He cuts through the fog of war to show us the battlefield, the generals and the men.

The major flaw is in his analysis of what some of these battles mean, particularly in regards to the World War Two and the postwar world. Concentrate on his descriptions of the battles, and it is an excellent journey through two thousand years of military history.

Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: This book is for the person who has a generalized understanding of the time period covered but wants to learn more. The author seems to hate Americans, though.

Rating:
Summary: Much more than a Military History
Review: Those who wish to understand not only the military history but also the underreported political undercurrents of those times will love this book and read it over and over again. By examining the failures by both military leaders and politicians in understanding the obvious lessons of their relatively recent past, they will gain valuable insights into our current condition.