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A sweeping, epic history that ranges from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to the war on terrorism, War Made New is a provocative new vision of the rise of the modern world through the lens of warfare.
Author: Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
October 2006
A sweeping, epic history that ranges from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to the war on terrorism, War Made New is a provocative new vision of the rise of the modern world through the lens of warfare.
by Max Boot, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
War Made New is the story of how innovations in weaponry and tactics have not only transformed how wars are fought and won but also have guided the course of human events over the past 500 years, from the formation of the first modern states to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the coming of al-Qaeda. The book explores each revolution through narrative accounts of key battles—from the French invasion of Italy in 1494 to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003—with a focus on the role that technology played in determining their outcomes. A final section explores future technologies and applies the lessons of the past to the current discussion of military transformation and the wider war on terror. War Made New is appropriate for:
Students in a history survey course or introductory military history course will learn how key battles brought the technological innovations of their era—gunpowder, industrial production, mechanization, and information technology—to bear on the battlefield. Students will also learn about the historical context of each revolution from the author’s introduction and summation of each revolution.
Advanced classes will enjoy a richer reading of each historical period and will benefit from a wide selection of battles that include those that are not as well known but are historically important. War Made New also offers an original perspective on recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, a discussion of emerging technologies and their potential to revolutionize warfare, and a thoughtful conclusion on the importance and limitations of technology in the ongoing war on terror.
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