Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat

by R.G. Grant

DK's Battle draws together, for the first time, the many facets of battle — the glory and the gore, the attrition and atrocity — in a new and original way. Organized chronologically, Battle provides a detailed overview of the conduct of warfare through the centuries, from the first recorded battle at Megiddo between the massed ranks of Hittites and Egyptians, to the war of the missing Weapons of Mass Destruction. In each era, the technology that transformed the battlefield and the tactics that won the day are explored and explained. Battle is an indispensable reference to this most fundamental part of the human story.

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

360 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

R.G. Grant is a historian who has written extensively on many aspects and periods of history. Among his more than fifty published books are: Battle, Soldier, and Battle at Sea (2005, 2007, 2008). He was also a major contributor to the ITV Visual History of the Twentieth Century (1999) and consultant for Chronology of World History (1995). He is also a contributor to 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History, where earlier versions of his contributions to Britannica first appeared.

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle is the most complete military history reference book on the market. This amazing text contains short essays about famous/ infamous military leaders, summaries about particular battles throughout mankind's history (each complete with a map, approximate date of the battle, who participated in the battle, a short description of the whys of the incident, and in some cases an estimate of the number of casualties), and includes features that examine changes/ differences in military strategy and technology between various cultures and time periods from the ancient world to the current situation in Iraq. There are also some impressive illustrations showing military artifacts and details of some of the most interesting aspects of military technology.

Whether you are looking for a good military reference book for your kids, wanting to learn a little more about a particular battle, or are interested in the progression of war techniques throughout time, Battle is definitely your best bet. This is one of those books that gets read and used so many times that it pays for itself over and over again.

[Bear Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A missed opportunity. Beautifully illustrated, but far too many errors in the captions of those illustrations. Anyone who can't tell the difference between leather strap and an archer's bow (pg 19), a broad-head from a bodkin arrowhead (pg 115), an anti-aircraft artillery piece and a machine-gun (pg 280), a mountain howitzer from a mortar (pg326) or even the difference between 2 stripes indicating TNT and 3 stripes indicating Tritonal, when the object in question is clearly marked Tritonal (pg 312) should have left identifying the photographs to someone who could at least count, and preferably to someone who knows at least a little about weaponry. This kind of inaccuracy in the captions of the illustrations does not leave me much confidence in accuracy of anything else in the book.

[Asathor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very beautifully illustrated. The pictures are absolutely stunning and offer a great visual aid to the book.
However, the praise has to end there. The information given on many of the battles is not correct. Granted, the author does not have a lot of space per battle to explain what often are very complex circumstances, but nevertheless there are too many inaccuracies present throughout the entire book.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical going into this as I recently read another book by R.G. Grant entitled Warrior I was not a huge fan of. Well this work delivers in all the ways I wanted the last one too!

Firstly the format is great, it works as a quick reference book for recorded warfare but is also insanely readable from front to back, rarely feeling like it repeats itself and telling the story of the conflict in general, or at least much of the flow. I have a greater understanding of WW1 and some other smaller conflicts around the turn of the century and can say you won't gain much if you have a good understanding of a certain conflict already (though tidbits can slip in). But this work really opened my eyes to my absolute glaring hole in SA history and can confidently say the information in general is great along with great supplemental maps & images. Really a great example of how to do a reference book for the general public or wide-ranging topic like this

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers armed conflict from pre-history to modern times. There are many good illustrations and some interesting bits of information. The text does not go in-depth so if you are looking for detailed accounts of particular wars or battles, this may not be the book you need.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

48 - 2025

Baca ulang setelah beli di BBW.
Baru sadar tidak ada sejarah perang kerajaan Manapahit, Sriwijaya atau kerajaan-kerajaan Nusantara lainnya. Dan di abad 20 tidak ada sejarah perang kemerdekaan Indonesia.

Tidak masuk bahan riset penulisnya sepertinya.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great cliff notes.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

37 - 2021

Ingin punya buku aslinya.

[Walter Bonnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book “Battle” is a book about all the major battles in history, it goes all the way back to the Sumerian city states to the invasion of Iraq, it details the battles and how they were fought, from who commanded them to how many men were there.
A feature of the book I want to discuss is how it also tells you the exact area the battle was fought in, for instance, it will show you on a map where it took place, it also tells you the conditions of the battle, like if it was hot or cold or if there was a dust storm during the battle, it can also tell you the months it took place, in some battles down to the exact date.
Another feature i want to discuss is how historically accurate it is, it gives you an unbiased, truthful, discussion on the battle, it makes no mistakes, and tells you exactly what happened, it is very well researched, it took them 4 years to make the book, making sure everything was right and that they were as accurate as they could be, making it very good.
My final reaction on the book is that it was a very good book, one of my favorite, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, it is well written, well researched, and very interesting, I have read it many times and i still like to re-read it every time I do, over all, this is a very good book and I would of course recommend it.

[Max Remaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is what allowed me to discover the rich history of Military History. This book is so vivid, so detailed in the pictures and descriptions of the Battles and participants of said Battles in the book that it is almost too good to be true seeing the equipment that I had never dreamed of seeing. This book is why history is so amazing to me. Unlike stories that from oral traditions, I love those too don't get me wrong, but the way that this type of history is able to to be seen and touched and even worn takes the cake for me. I have loved history since the day I saw this book, and it will never leave me until the day I die. I hope to pass this book down to my students some day, as well as use it in my classroom someday if the situation presents itself. I want to share my love of history with as many people as I can, and hopefully I can do that with my future students.

[Lady Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This massive tome is one cool coffee table book. Details many key battles throughout the centuries with asides about weapons/armour of the times and/or leader bios. Battles about which more info is known also have detailed battle diagrams.

I only have two complaints about this book. It is very Eurocentric. Despite knowledge of ancient South American and African battles, with the exception of ancient Eygpt, neither of these continents is covered until they interact with Europe. Too, probably due to the ambitious nature of a book which attempts to cover the history of combat, very little is said about each battle, and some (that would seem to be key for one reason or another) are skipped over entirely.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerising, Historical Battle Lovers Handbook

An exceptional collection detailing all of mans conflicts and all of the large scale battles as well as some of the small battles which have taken place throughout time, if you are a battle enthusiast and are looking for a guidebook to end all others then this is the one for you, this gives you details of the actual battles, troop numbers, the why and wherefores of the battles and campaigns and lots of details on how throughout time in different areas of the world how war changed.

[Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

not exactly a 'light read', this coffee table size book will settle most questions you have about any battle in history. A brief overview of every significant battle throughout time, the most fascinating sections were those on battles, mainly in Asia & Africa, that I had never heard of before...especially considering the hundreds of thousands of casualties and the far reaching implications for the winners & losers. An incredible amount on information jammed into a large book.

[John Gentry · Rating 5 out of 5]

an awesome coffee table book, that holds within it entry and entry of detailed accounts of numerous battles throughout history. it can be glanced through time after time and you will always read something new and interesting. a must have for anyone who has an interest in the dastardly thing we call war.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding and comprehensive compendium of pretty much every recorded war in the history of man. The book provides great background on strategy and weaponry and how they developed over time. The maps were superb.

Due to the massive scope of the book, not every war is covered in detail, though all the important ones are. The book is well-organized and concise. In all, a great read.

[Dennis Sison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise information, beautifully presented which is par for the course in the Dorling Kindersley line. Two other books in the series are clamoring for my attention - Weapons, and Warrior.

Well worth the forty bones for this gorgeous hardcover book1

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

History buffs look here! This amazing(ly large) book does a show-and-tell of 5,000 years worth of weaponry. Besides truly amazing photographs, it gives nitty-gritty details on stuff that I thought I knew and lots more that I'd never heard of.

A visual feast and mentally fascinating.

[Mychael · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a great book to study warfare and tactics, I love this book because it was battles from the anchient mesopotamians to the Iraq war. Over all this book I would definately recomend to anyone who likes battles

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing "coffee table" book that covers the history of combat over the span of human history and archaeology. There are great photographs and summaries of important battles.

[Nick Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives very useful insight to the thousands of battles that have taken place over history, and for those of you who enjoy learning about warfare, this is a great book.

[Eugene booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovce this book to death gives a comprehensive history of battle to ancient time to the 21st century, I must have for a history buff, you will love it to beginning to end.

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a visual history so not the kind of book you read from cover to cover. But it is a fantastic visual guide with lots of information and glossy pictures. Beautifully put together

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great 101 of the histroy of warfare from the beginning of mankind to present day. The book has very nice maps, pictures of weapons and basttlefield drawings.

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good general reference book, which provides enough detail to intrigue the reader into discovering new parts of human history.

[Tan Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách tuyển tập nên phải đọc từng người 1. Và cũng chưa được kỹ như mình mong muốn. Mình muốn chi tiết hơn nữa. Chắc phải chọn cuốn chi tiết hơn cho mỗi danh tướng quá.