The Literature on War

Abstract

War has been such a shaping force in human history that no period has escaped its influence. This century seems especially cursed with the burden of two World Wars, not to mention the Russian and the German revolutions. To satisfy current interest in military affairs, armies, and the conduct of war, the following survey of military literature has been prepared. Books in English have been emphasized as much as possible though there is a more abundant literature in foreign languages. So vast is this literature that some limitations have been made necessary: the field of international law, the issue of disarmament, peace-making, and conquest have not been considered. Only incidental references have been made to the economics of war, which is a field embraced by the popular concept “Total War.” Except for a few books no attempt has been made to discuss the important problem of the relation of government and armies in peace and war. The sociology of war, a proper topic, cannot be treated in detail here: ample discussion of this subject will be found in the works of Arnold Toynbee,A Study of History(London, 1934 ff. 6 v.); Pitirim Sorokin,Social and Cultural Dynamics(New York, 1937, especially v. 3); Max Weber,Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft(Tübingen, 1925); and Werner Sombart,Der moderne Kapitalismus(Munich, 1921–1927, 3 v., 4th ed.).