A curious analysis of the history of the world and its conflicts, and an attempt to predict the possible futures. Predicting the future is bound to fail as no one can clearly foresee new developments. A pattern that does emerge is the gradual growth in the size of communities, from families, to villages, to principalities, kingdoms, countries, states and nations and to world alliances. If this is continued eventually perhaps the world will be a single unit. For this however the interests of individuals must be subjugated to the interests of the whole. Will that happen is another question.

almost unreadable ( )

Magisterial in scope the author surveys law and war and the newly emerging market state of the 21st Century. Could have been two books as the author states.

http://web.archive.org/web/20071019104838/http://www.gbn.com/GBNDocumentDisplayS...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bobbitt

almost unreadable ( )

In what universe can the various world events of 1914-1990 be binned together into one unified "Long War"?

The author apparently thinks this will be an epochal book as he begins by pretentiously quoting page after page of Homer. But this book is noteworthy more for it's length than it's intellectual weight. I did enjoy the historical parts, but the general argument doesn't have a clear structure. Some critical editing and shortening would have been most welcome.

Follows the leapfrogging of military power and civic developments in Europe since the fall of feudalism. ( )

Bobbitt's is a first-rate mind exercising itself five and half centuries of military and constitutional history. Reading this book is an intellectual romp that rises to the level of philosophy of history. The marvelous poems that accompany each chapter add aesthetic spice. ( )

A historical overview of international relations.

Have not yet read it all the way through. So far, a very thought provoking book. Many of the interpretations of history I do not necessarily agree with (at least when it comes down to the economics,) but a good read. Very dense, however. ( )