Why do people go to war? Is it rooted in human nature or is it a late cultural invention? How does war relate to the other fundamental developments in the history of human civilization? And what of war today – is it a declining phenomenon or simply changing its shape? In this truly global study of war and civilization, Azar Gat sets out to find definitive answers to these questions in an attempt to unravel the ‘riddle of war’ throughout human history, from the early hunter-gatherers right through to the unconventional terrorism of the twenty-first century. In the process, the book generates an astonishing wealth of original and fascinating insights on all major aspects of humankind’s remarkable journey through the ages, engaging a wide range of disciplines, from anthropology and evolutionary psychology to sociology and political science. Written with remarkable verve and clarity and wholly free from jargon, it will be of interest to anyone who has ever pondered the puzzle of war.About the AuthorAzar Gat is Ezer Weitzman Professor of National Security in the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University. He has published widely in the field of military strategy and thought, including A History of Military Thought: From the Enlightenment to the Cold War, also published by Oxford University Press, and has taught and lectured at Freiburg, Oxford, Yale, Ohio State, and Georgetown universities.ReviewsAn immensely ambitious work covering not only history but archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, demography and economics, to name but a few… its weight of learning is borne aloft by the author’s enthusiasm for his subject and takes his readers with it. If only there were more scholars like this! * Michael Howard, TLS Books of the Year *There’s any amount of fascinating insight to be found in this big and enormously ambitious interdisciplinary study. * The Scotsman *A book of extraordinary ambition, erudition and range… Every student of war will be obliged to engage with this remarkable piece of scholarship. * Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, King’s College, London *A work of extraordinary scope and formidable erudition… Gat definitively unravels the riddle of civilization and war. * Professor Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University *A towering and triumphant achievement… acute, scholarly, and wide-ranging: it is certainly one of the most important works on the subject written since 1945. Gat is at the top of his brilliant form, linking a variety of disciplines in a rich and comprehensive study of this most pertinent of issues. * Professor Richard Holmes *Book InformationISBN 9780199236633Author Azar GatFormat PaperbackPage Count 840Imprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University PressWeight(grams) 1268gDimensions(mm) 234mm * 162mm * 46mm