Synopses & Reviews
What is Military History? presents a clear, readable introduction to a popular field of history. It shows that military history encompasses not just accounts of campaigns and battles but includes a wide range of perspectives on all aspects of past military organization and activity. In concise chapters it explains the fundamental features of the field, including:
The history of military history, showing how it has developed from ancient times to the present;
The key ideas and concepts that shape analysis of military activity; it argues that military history is as methodologically and philosophically sophisticated as any field of history;
The current controversies about which military historians argue, and why they are important;
A survey of who does military history, where it is taught and published, and how it is practiced;
A look at where military history is headed in the future.
What is Military History? is ideal for classes in military history and in historiography generally, as well as for anyone interested in learning more about the dynamics of a rich and growing area of study.
Review
"An exceptional introduction to the study and craft of military history for any reader."
Journal of Military History"Of particular value for students, for whom it offers a clear introduction."
History
"A fast-paced, authoritative introduction to what is possibly the oldest and still the most popular form of historical writing. The innovations of the past 50 years that reinvigorated military history and transformed it into one of the strongest sub-fields in the historical discipline are skillfully highlighted. Snooty academics who dismiss military history as a simple narrative concerning battles and generals need to read this book to discover the rich scholarship they have been missing. Serious military historians seeking new arguments to justify their specialty will also benefit from this informative and witty survey."
Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University
"This book is the thoughtful, overdue answer to a question that has needed answering since the profound transformation of the field in the years after Vietnam. Nowadays military history is so much more than drums and trumpets; it is the study of societies, economies, and political systems wracked by the human and material demands of war. Morillo and Pavkovic never lose sight of the centrality of battle to all of this, but lucidly fill in the strategic and social environment with a cogent review of the best, most recent literature."
Geoffrey Wawro, University of North Texas
"This accomplished work provides a clear and thoughtful account of military history that is particularly valuable because of its chronological and geographical range. Interesting, well-written and wide ranging, it can be highly recommended."
Jeremy Black, University of Exeter
Review
Synopsis
What is Military History? presents a clear, readable introduction to a popular field of history. It shows that military history encompasses a wide range of perspectives on all aspects of pas military organization and activity. Fundamental features of the field are included:
- The background to military history, showing its development from ancient times;
- The key ideas and concepts that shape analysis of military activity;
- The current controversies about which military historians argue, and why they are important;
- A survey of who does military history, where it is taught and published, and how it is practiced;
- A look at where military history is headed in the future.
This is an ideal book for students of military history and of historiography generally, as well as for anyone interested in learning more about the dynamics of this rich and growing area of study.
About the Author
Stephen Morillo, Jane and Frederic M. Hadley Chair of History Affiliation Wabash College, Crawfordsville.
Michael F. Pavkovic, United States Naval War College.
Table of Contents
1. An Introduction to Military History.Military History: definitions, topics, scope.
Who studies Military History and why?
Overview of this book.
2. Military Historiography.
Classical Roots: Military History in Ancient Times.
Military History in the Traditional World: Histories, Manuals, and War Tales.
Science, Nationalism and General Staffs: Military History in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries.
New Military Histories: The Transformations of the Last Fifty Years.
3. Conceptual Frameworks.
Military History and Philosophy of History.
Military Art and Practice.
War and Society: Interdisciplinary Influences.
Global History and Comparative Methodology.
Conclusions.
4. Current Controversies.
Military Revolutions.
"The West": Exceptionalism and Dominance?
War, Society and Culture: Other Controversies.
Conclusion: Revisionism and Reading the Process of History.
5. Doing Military History.
Forms.
Sources.
Programs.
Journals, Presses, and Associations.
6. The Future of Military History.
Trends in the Field.
The Politics of Military Hiostory.
Notes.
Suggestions for Further Reading.
Index.