University of Toronto historian MacMillan (History's People) examines "the deep impact of war on human affairs--and vice versa" in this brisk and lucid survey of human history. Expanding on five BBC radio lectures she delivered in 2018, MacMillan links the origins of warfare to the advent of agriculture, and documents the various motivations for going to war, including fear, greed, ideology, and self-defense. In the Western tradition, MacMillan notes, the "search for the decisive military victory" has frequently resulted in defeat (e.g. Napoleon at Waterloo and Germany's Schlieffen Plan in WWI). She details the impact of technological innovations, including the crafting of metal weapons and the invention of gunpowder, on military strategy, and sketches the bloodiest battles fought in England (Towton, 1462) and America (Antietam, 1862). MacMillan also probes the difficulties of negotiating and maintaining peace, and in her discussion of war and culture, she ranges from Shakespeare to the WWI trench poets to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Though the threat of global conflict may seem diminished, MacMillan contends, advances in "artificial intelligence, automated killing machines and cyberwar" mean that "we must, more than ever, think about war." She laces her account with fascinating observations and examples, and provides an extensive and well-sourced bibliography for further reading. Military history buffs will be riveted. Agent: Caroline Dawnay, United Agents. (Sept.)

Historian MacMillan (The War That Ended Peace, 2013) sets the record straight on just what war is and what it does to a nation. Commencing with a history of warfare, she reminds readers that war has tremendous financial implications. Louis XIV had to settle for very unfavorable terms in his war with Britain when he could not borrow any more money. Yet war can bring about leveling of social classes, as it did in Europe after the two world wars. Wars start sometimes over trifles and perceived insults, but the costs are no less great. MacMillan shows the differences between aggressive, defensive, and civil wars, and the outcomes they may produce. Technology and war are interrelated, and advances in war-driven technology affect culture and society for good and ill, especially in recent decades. Much of war's history begets innovation that seems impregnable till the next invention appears, and the cycle repeats. Like a great general, MacMillan marshals strands of culture, economics, technology, strategy, tactics, and even music, art, literature, and movies, clearing away the smoke of battle to reveal war's inner structure and impact. This is an erudite yet clearly written synthesis, sure to appeal to many readers.

Depending on how you count conflicts, there have been 150--300 armed conflicts since 1945. Human propensity for war (and its glamour and transformative nature) are some of the aspects that MacMillan (Paris 1919) explores in her latest book. As a well-regarded historian, MacMillan has the experience and the talent to provide meaningful examples of how war affects society and why that is so. While she doesn't really reach any definitive conclusions to her questions, the beauty of this book is how the questions are posed, and the evidence that she lays forth. From Ancient Greece and Rome to the Hundred Years War to the American Civil War to the First and Second World Wars, the narrative explores both brutality against civilians and active resistance in the form of protests. Raising questions such as "Does war bring out the worst or the best in us?" or "Is war an inevitable result of being human?," MacMillan's discussion is also philosophical, as she explores how wars impact countries near and far from an affected area. VERDICT Those interested in military history, and the idea of how we make, prepare, and enable war, will enjoy this thought-provoking read.--Maria Bagshaw, Elgin Community Coll. Lib., IL

An analysis of war throughout history. Because Canadian historian MacMillan specializes in the 20th century, the scope of her latest is a stretch, and she is also entering a crowded field that includes plenty of excellent overviews. Despite the competition, however, MacMillan acquits herself well. She begins with the traditional warning that, despite its popularity in books and media, the concept of war is not taken as seriously as it deserves. Moralists correctly denounce its miseries but err in claiming that it is an aberration and that peace is the normal state of affairs. That prehistoric humans lived in harmony with each other was an article of faith until advances in archaeology and anthropology revealed that they led a violent existence ("humans, certainly by the time of the later Stone Age, made weapons, ganged up on each other and did their best to finish each other off"). Although the usual wars make their appearances, this is not a history of particular conflicts but of their influence on society. MacMillan emphasizes that humans grew better at making war as states evolved: "War was…an integral and necessary part of the emergence of the nation, as sanctifying it even, and the military wore a particular halo as its defenders and saviors." In ancient Greece and early Rome, only full-fledged citizen landowners were entitled to take up arms. All cultures but one, the Chinese, have venerated their warriors and placed military values (courage, tenacity, self-discipline) above civilian (virtue, scholarship, wisdom). In nine thoughtful chapters, the author examines how increasingly sophisticated central governments gradually suppressed small-scale bloodshed--e.g., tribal conflicts, private armies, banditry, ordinary murder--in favor of efficient, large-scale warfare. With only a nod to politics and technology, MacMillan tackles broad issues such as the reasons nations go to war, the cult of the warrior, the effect of war on civilians and on women, efforts (barely two centuries old) to make laws for war, and its influence on art, literature, and national memories. An insightful and disturbing study of war as an aspect of culture. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.