The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800

Genre : Arts, History & Current Affairs
Published : 18 Apr 1996
- Cambridge University Press
The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800
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.
Reviews
… a work of superb scholarship… a brisk and engaging account that illuminates virtually every aspect of warfare in this watershed period.
… a succinct but dense study with the rare distinction of being packed with information, rich in argument, and yet well organized and clear.
... a major work of military historiography which will influence the outlook of Professor Parker's fellow practitioners for years to come.
Parker's Military Revolution has produced the most sophisticated debate in the entire field of military history.