Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers [2 Volumes]

Front Cover
Daniel Coetzee, Lee W. Eysturlid
ABC-CLIO, Oct 21, 2013 - History - 1056 pages

This user-friendly reference systematically covers the entire intellectual history of strategy and war, in all cultures and all times.

Each culture has had its Machiavelli, its Sun Tzu; its own Mohammed-like or Napoleonic figure. This encyclopedia ranges across the world to provide entries on every significant military and strategic thinker in human history as well as a number of military cultures, covering Chinese, Western, Indian, Islamic, and other cultures. Each entry supplies a brief biography, a synopsis of the writer's theories, their success or failure, and their impact on other thinkers and military practitioners. The unique coverage allows readers to cross cultural barriers and gain access to sources in languages as diverse as Arabic and German, and to note key similarities and contrasts. The relative importance and contribution of each individual to intellectual progress is noted, as is the greater significance of specific schools of thought and debates.

  • Presents entries with consistent organization and order of information, allowing readers to easily compare and discern key differences
  • The only work of its kind, the work provides comprehensive coverage on all military thought, including theorists not available elsewhere or in English
  • Ideal for students of military and strategic thought as well as academic researchers and casual readers alike

Other editions - View all

About the author (2013)

Daniel Coetzee, PhD, is a freelance researcher and author. He received his doctorate in history at Pembroke College, Cambridge, England. Dennis Showalter was Professor of History at Colorado College, USA. He is the author of several books, including Armor and Blood: The Battle of Kursk, The Turning Point of World War II (2013), Patton and Rommel: Men Of War in the Twentieth Century (2005) and Tannenberg: Clash of Empires 1914 (1991), which won the American Historical Association's Paul M. Birdsall Prize. He was the Founding Editor of the War in History journal and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies Online: Military History. Professor Showalter was also President of the Society for Military History between 1997 and 2000. LEE W. EYSTURLID is an Instructor of History at The Indiana Academy at Ball State University. He is an advocate of teaching military history and of reestablishing that topic's necessary place in the instruction of history.

Bibliographic information