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bub_9's review against another edition
3.0
I wonder if my predilection for ideas just leads me to criticize works that (on entirely reasonable grounds) adopt a principally chronological approach. But here is another one that I found dull as a result.
It's obviously an important topic and the author does well to string these case studies together, but I don't always agree with his interpretation of things. The Tang as weak? Really?
I do like, though, that the focus doesn't excessively skew towards the present. The author rightfully calls out the narrow case studies we often fixate on when studying strategy today but himself fails to draw better conclusions from a broader selection. Oh well...
It's obviously an important topic and the author does well to string these case studies together, but I don't always agree with his interpretation of things. The Tang as weak? Really?
I do like, though, that the focus doesn't excessively skew towards the present. The author rightfully calls out the narrow case studies we often fixate on when studying strategy today but himself fails to draw better conclusions from a broader selection. Oh well...
salalander's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I see quite a lot of negative reviews regarding this book, but as a student of professor Holslag himself I found it an inspiring, challenging book. It includes a lot, but to study and to reread to book, you get to know so much more on e.g. causes of decline of great empires.
The book does not need 1 read, it needs to be read over and over and over again.
Thanks professor for instigating my interest in international politics, I appreciate you a lot!
The book does not need 1 read, it needs to be read over and over and over again.
Thanks professor for instigating my interest in international politics, I appreciate you a lot!
michareads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Great overview, tough read. Holslag discusses 250 year periods in 40 pages each, which makes for a relatively fast read. Not dwelling too long on The Great Men of History, he instead focusses on the far longer lasting empires they served. Giving every era and area the attention it deserves, Holslag does away with any Eurocentric notion of history.
It’s easy to get swamped in all the names of all the generals and lesser kingdoms, so try to read over them. Lastly, in my opinion, from 1750 onwards, Holslag focusses too much on the drawing table power politics in the West. That being said, this angle keeps the discussion relatively concise and I appreciate his intention to keep in line with the length of the discussion of the other periods.
smacbot's review
informative
slow-paced
3.25
I think it was a mistake to just have 1 chapter for 1750-2000. So much happened during this time, and the booked passed over so much in favour of more detail in BC history.
rita_pereira's review against another edition
2.0
(Audiobook, narrated by Roy Mcmillan.)
I'm probably being unfair to this book, since it promises to talk about world history through the lens of war, and it does exactly that; but oh, how boring it was! It felt like an almost endless sequence of names of emperors, dates and number of casualties, listed monotonously, without so much as a spark of interest, deeper explanation or humor.
The fact that I've listened to it as an audiobook helped me finish it, and closer to the end there were some interesting reflections on the role of diplomacy and History's judgment of who is guilty and how much. However, the analysis of colonial struggles was weirdly almost absent, and I could not help but think that this is not a great History book to read. Maybe a solid book, but not a pleasant reading.
I'm probably being unfair to this book, since it promises to talk about world history through the lens of war, and it does exactly that; but oh, how boring it was! It felt like an almost endless sequence of names of emperors, dates and number of casualties, listed monotonously, without so much as a spark of interest, deeper explanation or humor.
The fact that I've listened to it as an audiobook helped me finish it, and closer to the end there were some interesting reflections on the role of diplomacy and History's judgment of who is guilty and how much. However, the analysis of colonial struggles was weirdly almost absent, and I could not help but think that this is not a great History book to read. Maybe a solid book, but not a pleasant reading.
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