Richard Holmes: The Oxford Companion to Military History

By MARGIE THOMSON

Everything you wanted to know about humanity's warlike heritage but were too daunted to ask.

This weighty tome is, as the editor claims, a thoughtful assessment for intelligent general readers on "a subject laced with light and shade", addressing both the heroism and the grim reality of war.

The entries encompass major conflicts, military leaders, technological invention, tactics, espionage and propaganda, logistics and fortifications, military life, literature and medicine, war, pacifism, even venereal disease.

Otago University Press

$99.95