The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle

by Michael Stephenson

In this brilliantly researched, deeply humane work of history, Michael Stephenson traces the paths that have led soldiers to their graves over the centuries, revealing a wealth of insight about the nature of combat, the differences among cultures, and the unchanging qualities of humanity itself.

Behind every soldier’s death lies a story, a tale not just of the cold mathematics of the battlefield but of an individual human being who gave his life. What psychological and cultural pressures brought him to his fate? What lies—and truths—convinced him to march toward his death? Covering warfare from prehistory through the present day, The Last Full Measure tells these soldiers’ stories, ultimately capturing the experience of war as few books ever have.

In these pages, we march into battle alongside the Greek phalanx and the medieval foot soldier. We hear gunpowder’s thunder in the slaughters of the Napoleonic era and the industrialized killing of the Civil War, and recoil at the modern, automated horrors of both World Wars. Finally, we witness the death of one tradition of “heroic” combat and the construction of another in the wars of the modern era, ranging from Vietnam to America’s latest involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In exploring these conflicts and others, Stephenson draws on numerous sources to delve deep into fascinating, period-specific detail—tracing, for instance, the true combat effectiveness of the musket, the utility of the cavalry charge, or the vulnerabilities of the World War II battle tank. Simultaneously, he examines larger themes and reveals surprising connections across both time and culture. What does the medieval knight have in common with the modern paratrooper? What did heroism and bravery mean to the Roman legionary, or to the World War I infantryman—and what is the true motivating power of such ideals? How do men use religion, friendship, or even nihilism to armor themselves against impending doom—and what do we as human beings make of the undeniable joy some among us take in the carnage?

Combining commanding prose, impeccable research, and a true sensitivity to the combatant’s plight, The Last Full Measure is both a remarkably fresh journey through the annals of war and a powerful tribute to the proverbial unknown soldier.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, Military History, World History, The World

482 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2012

About the author

"In addition to his writing, Stephenson spent more than twenty-five years as a professional book editor, for much of that time with a particular focus on military publishing."

"Stephenson is the former editor of the Military Book Club and the editor of National Geographic's Battlegrounds: Geography and the History of Warfare. He is also the author of Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought. He lives in New York City."

(source)
(source)

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the title and the subject matter (death in war) it is not as gloomy as I expected. And there is some gallows humour sprinkled about.

Over half the book is on the two World Wars. There are maybe one hundred pages on the U.S. Civil War and the modern era (Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq). It starts off with Greece, Rome, Carthage... which I was not that interested in. Overall the book is eloquent with a multitude of quotes from participants of war – and mostly from the English speaking world, with a few French and German ones.

There is much discussion of how warriors seek nobility in death, whether it be under the auspice of “courage”, “the upright fight”...But many die in abysmal circumstances.

Page 194(my book) in the First World War
The greatest killer, however, was artillery, hence the shockingly high proportion of men whose bodies were never recovered and who have no known grave. More than 300,000 British and British Empire dead of the Western Front – 40 percent of the total killed there – were never found... They were either obliterated or churned into the earth by remorseless artillery.

This book gives us a wide range of the experience, with differing points of view, of soldiers in war; many are heart-breaking and eloquent (a few are not). Various types of warfare are brought up – particularly the infantry soldier from the American revolutionary war to the current day. Paratroopers, for example, in the U.S. 101st Airborne carried at least sixty pounds of equipment attached to various parts of their body. Included were an assortment of knifes. As the author suggests this is a possible throwback to medieval knights (the age of chivalry). Sadly some paratroopers landed in water – and drowned due to the tremendous bulk of what they were carrying.

Page 319 – A soldier describes patrol duty in Germany
I decided that a patrol was the worst of all possible assignments...It is the slow piling up of fear that is so intolerable. Fear moves swiftly in battle, strikes hard with each shell, each new danger, and as long as there’s action, you don’t have time to be frightened. But this is a slow fear, heavy and stomach-filling. Slow, slow... all your movements are careful and slow, and pain is slow and fear is slow and the beat of your heart is the only rapid rhythm of the night.

In the new insurgent warfare of Vietnam, and now Afghanistan and Iraq the primary killer of Western troops (the occupying force) has been the mine (whether it is called the booby-trap or an improvised explosive device (IED)).

Among many aspects considered is the new recruit (or FNG – fucking new guy). They will likely be shunned by the veterans for various reasons. Very sadly a high proportion of dead and casualties are the new recruits – war has an unforgiving learning curve.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Full Measure is contemporary military social history in the style of John Keegan, travelling most well-trodden examples of how soldiers die. In some sense, the task is impossible. No historian, however able, can conjure up Achilles' shade to ask "So what was it like to die?"

Stephenson starts with some insights from anthropology. Indigenous people worldwide, and our near cousins in chimpanzees, practice a similar form of 'raiding' warfare, based on ambush and sudden violence against the isolated and unweary. From this he moves into 'Western warfare', based on a close analysis of the Iliad and historical accounts of phalanx and legionary warfare. There's a clear distinction between 'heroic' combat between champions of similar social status and ability, the random mass crush of arms, and the hit-and-run tactics of nomadic horse archers.

A clear break with the past is the introduction of gunpowder weaponry, which change combat from the duty of a martial elite to the levy en mass, with new ways of dying from lead shot and cannons. Stephenson discusses the bayonet debate, following the conventional wisdom that almost no bayonet casualties arrived to be recording at field hospitals, but allowing for the alternative that bayonets were a secondary weapon used to finish off the wounded in close assault.

From there it's a leap to the best section, a discussion of death in the industrial abattoir of the Western Front in World War I, where men were murdered and mangled by the millions by high explosive shells, machine guns, and poison gas. Sections on the Second World War, and war since, round out the book.

I'm torn, because this is a very good history within its bounds, and has a great selection of excerpts. But Stephenson doesn't have an explicit thesis or argument about death in battle. His choice of sources is thorough, but also entirely conventional. There's nothing about how, say, Vikings saw death, or the mercenaries who ravaged Europe in the 15th-17th century, prior to modern explicitly national armies. Death is horrifying, and killing the central aspect of war, but there's an element of pornography to this book, and how it shows men in their last and most vulnerable moments. Call it a four, but a low four.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much history, not enough cultural analysis. Sorry, Last Full Measure- you're an excellent read for historians, not so much for anthropologists

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books serves as a fascinating examination of how soldiers have died in battle—including the weapons, wounds, and tactics that have led to their dooms—from antiquity all the way through Iraq and Afghanistan. I learned new information about each of the eras covered, even my beloved WWII! Although generally quite readable, the prose is occasionally bogged down by obtuse English-academician language and phrasing; this is a characteristic shared by the books from my favorite WWII historian, Max Hastings.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads through their First-Reads program, and thoroughly enjoyed it, although it is somewhat morbid to say one enjoys reading a book about the death of soldiers. And, indeed, this book is a sobering one as it forces the reader (especially the reader who has never been a soldier) to consider the armaments, motives, and deaths of those who fight. This book aims to examine these topics through the ages, but tends to focus on American wars, as well as more recent wars. This makes sense as there are a lot more sources to refer to from 20th-21st century wars;which Stephenson quotes from liberally, and doesn't seem to be an issue as you see common themes of motives and tactics throughout.

This book spends a lot of time talking about the actual causes of mortality in the various wars. When citing numbers and percentages of casualties, one is tempted to marginalize the loss of life when compared to total population. However, Stephenson doesn't allow this for long as he plunges into battles and individual experiences that attempt to capture the true cost of war; the terror, the brutality, the horrible conditions, the incredible loss of life. War journals, letters home, and memoirs provide insight into thinking of these men as they took life and contemplated their own demise.

This book was eye opening in many ways, but one that really stuck out was the brutality or nobility that war brings out in men. It seems that today we expect our soldiers to embody the idea of the heroic warrior: courageous in battle and gracious in victory. We (and the media) are shocked when they not only fail to live up to our civilian ideal but also dip into a savagery that we deem inappropriate. However, as I read about acts committed by almost all armies, throughout all of history, I find myself less willing to judge soldier we see posing with dead bodies or found collecting "trophies". War is awful, and Stephenson shows in the book the mental hardening that takes place in a soldier as they are taught to kill. Is it really that surprising that they sometime exhibit a cavalier attitude towards the fallen enemy? I doubt anyone who hasn't been on the front line can truly judge those that are.

For a country that hasn't had a draft in 40 years, that relies upon volunteers to fight the battles that are deemed necessary by our elected officials, this book is a testament at what these men and women face, situations and decisions that most of us never have to face.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

How soldiers approach not just the prospect of battle itself but the possibility (or inevitability) of their own death is something both unique and timeless. Each soldier faces death in his own individual way, and yet so much of battle and battlefield deaths are a result of a whole convergence of factors, only a few which may have anything to do with the man himself. The nature of the combat, the time and the place, the cultural impulses behind the conflict, the identity of the enemy, the weaponry, the proximity - so many different aspects all combine in the body of the soldier and all of these dictate how and when a man may meet his death.

In this book Michael Stephenson explores battlefield death from the very earliest era of 'heroic combat' - man-to-man, Achilles and Hector, the Greek phalanax, Alexander the Great - all the way up to the modern era of Fallujah and Basra, via knights on horseback, cavalry charges, the first invention of gunpowder and the musket, the killing fields of the First World War, the nihilism of Vietnam. Alongside he explores how men have mentally processed warfare, what beliefs or codes of honour or glory have impelled them into the field and how these came to have an impact on the way soldiers fought and the way they faced their own deaths - what Wilfred Owen called 'the old lie'. Dulce et decorum est.

No man can fight for nothing and no-one, Stephenson argues; and as warfare has become increasingly industrialised and mechanised, increasingly remote from the up-close-and-personal style of combat, soldiers have had to develop new ideas of what they fight for, most often their buddies, their comrades, the unit. By the same token, the very idea of death in battle has become increasingly unacceptable - warfare has become so divorced from its roots, so reliant on weaponry and technology, that it has become ever harder to accept that causalities can and will still occur.

This book really strips away any of the heroism or glow that may come to surround the concept of the fighting man. Stephenson draws heavily on soldiers' real accounts, and he doesn't stint with the graphic accounts blood and the shit and the viscera that comes with battlefield death. Soldiers may go into battle with visions of glory and honour in the ends, but there is rarely much of that left at the end. And yet this book is full of honour, and pity too, and real understanding and empathy - it's a riveting read, and really highlights both how much and how little has changed over the centuries.

[Waven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I can add much that hasn't been covered in the blurb and other reviews, but this was a great book. While I devote little time to the genre, I think it would be difficult to find a better look at general warfare, weaponry, and the many ways in which soldiers have shuffled off the mortal coil. With such a massive supply of subject matter, the author narrowed the scope of the book to focus largely on the plight of "land soldiers" - infantry and mounted forces fighting on land. (Naval and airborne forces deserve their own dedicated books.) To further organize the daunting ocean of information, Stephenson followed the progression of ways to die in a roughly chronological fashion, from ancient clubs, spears, and arrows to modern drone air-strikes. The individual wars covered in greatest detail are the American Civil War, the Great War (WWI), and World War II with frequent input from letters, memoirs, journals, etc. of those who experienced them first-hand. Despite the daunting prospect of essentially studying war throughout recorded history, the book manages to stay accessible and informative without overwhelming. It is fascinating but factual, being very well researched with a Notes section deserving its own read-through, and is quite fair in assessing both sides of a battle. Stephenson also manages to keep war human without romanticizing it or burying the reader in sentiment. The result is a rather extraordinary work - and a haunting one - that I would recommend for any (and ideally every) bookshelf. An easy five stars, without question.

[Scott Whitmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly readable overview of the evolution of land warfare, The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die In Battle by Michael Stephenson covers some of the same ground as John Keegan’s The Face of Battle by focusing on war from the foot soldier’s perspective.

Stephenson’s scope is much broader, though, as he begins in the Stone Age, makes some predicable stops along the way — dawn of gunpowder, American Civil War, World Wars I and II — and finishes up in Iraq just a few years ago.

Of course any one of the author’s chapters can and have been explored in much greater detail in separate volumes, but this book serves as a fine primer on major milestones and events. Those looking to further explore specific topics can browse the bibliography.

It must be noted that this book does not address naval or air combat — just land warfare. There is also a focus on statistics that I found interesting. All in all it was an enjoyable read.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a certain morbidity that comes with reading 400 pages of unabated death--and not quiet death, but death in the midst of battle. And yet there is a quiet dignity to The Last Full Measure, one that manages to be neither clinical nor Rambo-esque, but rather, fundamentally compassionate. Stephenson is a consummate historian, tracing the evolution of war over the millennia--from prehistory to the modern day--with meticulous accuracy. Although there are moments where the writing falls short of the monumental rhetorical challenge with which it is tasked, and while the book manages to focus almost exclusively on "Western" warfare, Stephenson takes great pains to draw parallels amongst modes of combat throughout the centuries, revealing in sweeping strokes, a number of compelling observations about our humanity.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a very accessible overview of trends in how soldiers are killed in war and, in so doing, highlights lots of more general issues with regard to war: classism, ethics, the role of leadership, the changing nature of organization for war, the relationships between soldiers and civilians, the brutality of war, tension between heroism and professionalism, between heroism and mechanization, between heroism and stand-off capabilities, ideals of warfare, ideals of soldiery, and so forth. Between the eviscerations and red mist, there's a lot here about what kind of violence people will not just accept but routinize, embrace, wield, and institutionalize in order to achieve political, economic, and ideological objectives.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads.

The book did not read easy like a novel, but this was so informative and interesting I enjoyed reading it. The author starts as describing early methods of war as well as the social and personal expectations/experiences of a warrior and continues up to modern day. I would think that this could be a wonderful resource to add to our military's "must read" books. The research done is excellent and the book is easy to understand so I'd recommend it to anyone who loves reading about history.

[Ross Ritchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding study of combat and its instrument from Ancient Greece to modem Afghanistan and Iraq. Readers will be happily surprised to see that this is not a technical read, but rather one comprised of endless personal anecdotes from the combatants throughout history. Reads like a diverse diary of numerous soldiers, brought together by a single narrator. Very well done and highly recommended. Sections from WW1-present day are unmatched.

[Joshua Horn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to buy this book as it sounded like a good idea - pulling out one thread from a broad sweep of history. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations and I didn't make it very far through the book. The author, in my opinion, spent far too much space giving generic history that you could find anywhere, and didn't go into that much detail on his actual topic.

[Martin Samuels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warfare is the application of violence against others in order to secure one's aims. That violence inevitably involves the death and maiming of some, many, or all of the participants. Yet that fact is quietly overlooked in much writing about the subject. In this volume, Michael Stephenson, a professional military book editor, treads in the footsteps of classics, such as John Keegan's 'The Face of Battle', in order to examine death in battle directly. The result is both fascinating and shocking. And that combination represents one of the book's strengths.

The book is divided into eight chapters, each covering a key period in history, and concludes with a very brief review of the history of battlefield medicine. Each chapter considers the weapons of the period, their use by the soldiers of the time, and their consequences for formations and tactics, but the bulk of each of devoted to the impact of those weapons on the bodies of the troops against which they were used. The descriptions are graphic. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but then it could be argued that the faint-hearted should perhaps not be studying battle, as their very faint-heartedness may drive the whitewashing of the often brutal reality of the subject. To illustrate the account, Stephenson draws heavily from contemporary personal accounts, giving the text an immediacy that adds greatly to its power.

Two points from the work merit brief consideration here. First, Stephenson makes some interesting comments on the question of soldiers's willingness to face cold steel. On the one hand, he provides evidence to support the view that troops would often shy away from this form of very direct and intimate killing, with one side breaking just before contact. On the other hand, he notes that the arguments presented that minimise the use of the bayonet may be weak, on the basis that casualty figures for different types of weapon tend to be based on analysis of wounded men treated at casualty clearing stations, yet bayonet wounds tend to be quickly fatal, such that these men do not survive long enough to be seen (and counted) by medics. Incidentally, using similar analysis, he shows that bullets hit fewer soldiers but tend to kill, whereas artillery causes more wounds but fewer of these are fatal (though many may be maiming).

The second point to note is that although Stephenson's subtitle is 'How Soldiers Die in Battle', the examples are almost entirely drawn from the Classical and Western tradition. He notes how the attitudes and expectations of battle, and death in battle, of Western troops may differ from those of soldiers from other traditions, and how this has caused dismay and reprisal against those foes, based on their behaviour being somehow 'against the rules', but there is limited examination of those other traditions. The book is therefore largely about how Western soldiers die, and, in fact, largekly about how English-speaking soldiers. It is therefore a valuable work, but this omission reduces its value.

Overall, well written and researched, though with the occasional factual slip, this deserves to be read by all those interested in warfare, not least as a reminder of the practical reality of the subject.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 2012, this is a good treatment of the subject for the general public (if they brace themselves for some rough going). In just over 400 pages of text and eight chapters plus appendix, Micheal Stephenson tells us more than many may in fact want to know about death during wartime (not just in combat though as the title indicates that’s the central topic) across at least 3,000 years of human history. War and warfare, of course, predate recorded human history but that limits an historian’s ability to address prehistory, but in spite of that limitation, the author has drawn on numerous works including many classics to support his account of the death of soldiers in battle (no aircrew nor sailors need apply here). He has also included a 12-page bibliography that offers lots of excellent further reading for those interested and up to it.
You may note that I recommend this for the general reader, but it does have some flaws, where the author’s over-confidence in his source material or his grip on metaphors and other literary flourishes threaten to lead him astray. SLA Marshall left us a great body of work, but it is work that must be used carefully and considerately since we have been left without any notes from interviews or research that we can review – he leaves us to take his written word for it which does not inspire complete confidence. The author also referred to the American Revolutionary War’s Battle of Yorktown as that conflict’s “Saigon” – i.e., battle of Saigon. I can only conclude that his enthusiasm over the phrasing obscured a clear vision of the countless difference between the two events not least the critical fact that the American victory at Yorktown dramatically redefined that conflict while the ‘battle of Saigon’ was by comparison merely the pre-determined exclamation point in a conflict that the NVA and VC had already won in a series of engagements over the previous months as they moved towards Saigon.
As noted above, a recommended work for the general public, but one that the serious military historian should consult carefully (and seriously just steal the bibliography!). I leave it to them to also decide if they desire to put this one on their bookshelves – I’ll content myself with having most of his cited sources instead.

[Jordison Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Full Measure, de Stephenson, é um livro convincente e informativo que investiga as complexidades da guerra e os sacrifícios feitos pelos soldados. Ele narra a história real de William Pitsenbarger, um médico da Força Aérea dos EUA que heroicamente salvou inúmeras vidas durante a Guerra do Vietnã, mas acabou tendo a Medalha de Honra negada. Através de sua pesquisa meticulosa e narrativa vívida, Stephenson lança luz sobre as experiências frequentemente esquecidas dos médicos no campo de batalha e os desafios de conceder honras militares.

Aqui estão oito lições principais que você aprenderá com The Last Full Measure:

1. O verdadeiro custo da guerra. O livro oferece uma visão séria do custo humano da guerra, indo além do heroísmo no campo de batalha para retratar o trauma físico e emocional que os soldados enfrentam.

2. A coragem dos médicos. The Last Full Measure destaca a bravura e o altruísmo dos médicos do campo de batalha que arriscam suas vidas para salvar outras pessoas.

3. As complexidades da concessão de honras militares. O livro explora os obstáculos políticos e burocráticos que os soldados enfrentam para receber honras militares como a Medalha de Honra.

4. A importância de homenagear nossos heróis. Stephenson argumenta que reconhecer o valor dos soldados é essencial para elevar o ânimo dos veteranos e preservar as suas histórias.

5. O poder da persistência. O livro mostra a determinação inabalável daqueles que lutaram durante décadas para dar a Pitsenbarger o reconhecimento que merecia.

6. O legado duradouro da guerra. A Última Medida Completa explora o impacto duradouro da guerra nos soldados, nas suas famílias e na sociedade como um todo.

7. A importância da verdade. O livro ressalta a importância de investigar as ações durante a guerra e honrar a verdade sobre o heroísmo.

8. Nunca desistir da justiça. A Última Medida Completa é uma prova da importância de lutar pelo que é certo, mesmo diante de grandes dificuldades.

The Last Full Measure é um livro poderoso e instigante que permanecerá com você por muito tempo depois de virar a última página. A pesquisa meticulosa e a prosa comovente de Stephenson dão voz aos que não têm voz e lançam luz sobre um capítulo importante, mas muitas vezes esquecido, da história americana.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impulse purchase on Ibooks a while back. Overall, I was not all that impressed with the book. Stephenson is certainly a great writer and his judicious use of quotes and extended passages from soldiers' letters, diaries, and memoirs illustrates the chaos of battle across time. At a certain point when reading this book, though, one begins to wonder "What's the point?" because after discussing the American Civil War, Stephenson mostly presents a series of snapshots about battle from various colonial conflicts, World War I and II, and a mixture of Vietnam/Iraq 2003/ Afghanistan. Making matters worse, Stephenson did not include a conclusion that could wrap the book up neatly for the reader.

If you have read John Keegan's Face of Battle, you will understand Stephenson's premise of studying "Death in battle through the ages." He, like Keegan, tries to draw on particular soldiers' accounts or any on-the-ground perspective to make broader claims about the universals and particulars of warfare. However, Keegan does a better job in Face of Battle selecting battles that had a rich source base and also illustrated something fundamentally changing about the nature of warfare generally. Stephenson, on the other hand, does not have any grand thesis or point he wishes to emphasize other than the grotesque and macabre ways in which men have died in battle. Stephenson tires to illuminate a) the chaos of battle b) the various dangers and privations soldiers faced and c) how men die. If that doesn't sound profound, you may be cluing into what I didn't like about this book.

Stephenson also unconsciously or consciously bifurcates warfare into "heroic" (almost anything prior to 1900) and "unheroic" (almost anything after World War II). He backs these claims up by selectively quoting from various soldiers who attest to either perspective. In doing so, Stephenson falls into old tropes wherein military historians pigeonhole and stereotype soldiers in "heroic" and "victim" molds that, while making for a tidy narrative, glaze over the many complexities of human experience in war.

3/5 (60)

[Rebecca Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out promising, but ultimately left me disappointed. The first chapter is an interesting discussion of how we define heroism and a “good death” in different cultures, and how that has shaped how countries go to war. Unfortunately it then narrows to include only Western countries, and becomes a tedious listing of death statistics interspersed with soldier’s quotes. The quotes were interesting, as was the way advances in technology have shaped battlefields, but the delivery made the information feel dry. The book felt like it was longer than it needed to be, and while I was looking forward to the afterward on battlefield medicine it turned out to only be a few pages.

This is a book my partner bought and then didn’t touch for a year that I decided SOMEONE should finally read. I ended up having to force myself to plow through it, but I can see how this book would be a useful reference book for someone interested in military history. Honestly, if you want to read about this topic there are probably better books out there.

[Paul Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobering read

I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps more of the psychology of death in battle and less gruesome details of soldiers’ death yet this book serves a purpose and that is to remove the veneer of battle and death and killing to expose it in its less acceptable but more truthful form.

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book

I really did not expect the book to be engaging, especially given the topic. I expected a dry treatise that would be very informative but very dry. I was completely wrong. The book was engaging and the stories were told in such a way that I could not put the book down. I spent many nights reading into the early morning. Outstanding job.

[Mary Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinary well-researched. I'm not used to non-fiction so I didn't get through it as easily as I'd hoped, but the anecdotes and knowledge embedded were extraordinary. A must-read for any remotely interested in war, history, or the human spirit.

[Drew Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly compelling, and wonderfully researched. Stephenson is able to take data and snapshots throughout history and turn them into the stories of the nameless soldiers who have fallen in battle throughout history and prehistory.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

No words can adequately describe this book. Its a book you'll love or dislike and dislike probably only because of the inconvenient truth it holds.

[Steve Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

The perspective of this book is quite different from most military histories. Dying is war hasn't changed, only the methods.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

War is brutal.

[Hamka Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

It’s interesting story of how soldiers faced death and also stories of how they killed their opponents. Shows the dark side of humanity

[unknown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally good

It's good But I miss that air &naval war is excludded. Anyway it's worthy of reading. So I mark 4stars.

[Strick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes dry"

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delivered the healthy dose of reality I was hoping for.

[Josh Yaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 7/10
Interesting subject matter with an overwrought writing style.
A review an be seen at my "Josh Yaks" YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6hGD...