War in Human Civilization - Softcover

Gat, Azar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199236631 ISBN 13: 9780199236633

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Why do people go to war? Is it rooted in human nature or is it a late cultural invention? How does war relate to the other fundamental developments in the history of human civilization? And what of war today--is it a declining phenomenon or simply changing its shape?

In this sweeping study of war and civilization, Azar Gat sets out to find definitive answers to these questions in an attempt to unravel the riddle of war throughout human history, from the early hunter-gatherers right through to the unconventional terrorism of the twenty-first century. In the process, the book generates an astonishing wealth of original and fascinating insights on all major aspects of humankind's remarkable journey through the ages, engaging a wide range of disciplines, from anthropology and evolutionary psychology to sociology and political science. Written with remarkable verve and clarity and wholly free from jargon, it will be of interest to anyone who has ever pondered the puzzle of war.

About this title

About the Author

Azar Gat is Ezer Weitzman Professor of National Security in the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University. He has published widely in the field of military strategy and thought, including A History of Military Thought: From the Enlightenment to the Cold War.

Review

"War in Human Civilization is indeed the ambitious, sweeping book that the author set out to write. Both its scope and scale are impressive as is the wide range of sources and disciplines whose theories and methods are brought to bear on the 'riddle' of war....The coverage and the deft weaving together of so many central theories on human behavior make this a book worth examining."--Michael S. Neilberg, Journal of Social History

"A work of extraordinary scope and formidable erudition....Gat definitively unravels the riddle of civilization and war."--Professor Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University

"Gat's book is a rich undertaking definitely well worth reading and pondering."--William R. Thompson, The International History Review

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "An immensely ambitious work covering not only history but archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, demography and economics, to name but a few... its weight of learning is borne aloft by the author's enthusiasm for his subject and takes his readers with it. If only there were more scholars like this!"--Michael Howard, TLS Books of the Year

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "There's any amount of fascinating insight to be found in this big and enormously ambitious interdisciplinary study."--The Scotsman

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A book of extraordinary ambition, erudition and range... Every student of war will be obliged to engage with this remarkable piece of scholarship."--Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, King's College, London

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A towering and triumphant achievement... acute, scholarly, and wide-ranging: it is certainly one of the most important works on the subject written since 1945. Gat is at the top of his brilliant form, linking a variety of disciplines in a rich and comprehensive study of this most pertinent of issues."--Professor Richard Holmes

"The scope and sweep of Gat's work is certainly unmatched in modern world history writings...Gat's work will be a springboard for debate, refutation, support and development for some time to come."--World History Bulletin

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199236631
• ISBN 13: 9780199236633
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 840