The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800
by Geoffrey Parker
This is Geoffrey Parker’s much-admired illustrated account of how the West, so small and so deficient in natural resources in 1500, had by 1800 come to control over one-third of the world. Parker argues that the rapid development of military practice in the West constituted a ‘military revolution’ which gave Westerners an insurmountable advantage over the peoples of other continents. A substantial ‘Afterword’ summarises the debate that developed after the book’s first publication.
"… a work of superb scholarship… a brisk and engaging account that illuminates virtually every aspect of warfare in this watershed period." - Gordon A. Craig, New York Review of Books
"… a succinct but dense study with the rare distinction of being packed with information, rich in argument, and yet well organized and clear." - John Childs, The Times Literary Supplement
"... a major work of military historiography which will influence the outlook of Professor Parker's fellow practitioners for years to come." - John Keegan, The Daily Telegraph
"Parker's Military Revolution has produced the most sophisticated debate in the entire field of military history." - John Lynn
Other Books by Geoffrey Parker
