Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is the third volume of a trilogy. The first two installments were "Great Battles of Antiquity" and "Great Captains of Antiquity". If the first two volumes were as good as this one, the three books constitute an excellent but expensive reference work for pre-gunpowder military history.
Gabriel begins with the earliest armies of the Ancient Near East and exhaustively studies the armed forces of almost every significant military power of ancient and medieval times. He lays out the armament, logistics, organization and command structure, strategic and tactical doctrines, innovations, and political basis for each of these armies. Gabriel makes a strong case for the proposition that the only area in which we exceed our ancestors is that of technology. I was impressed by how much of what we think to be modern is of truly ancient vintage.
As good as the work was, I do have a few critiques: Gabriel made extensive reference to military depictions in ancient sculpture. Weaponry was described in great detail. No photographs or other adequate illustrations of either appeared anywhere in the book. The line drawings which were included did little to enlighten the reader. The work would have benefitted greatly from the employment of a qualified proofreader. Typographical errors abounded, but they were not sufficiently egregious that the reader couldn't cipher out what the author was trying to say. As good as it was, I'm not sure the book was worth the extravagant price. The best thing that can be said for the price is that "Great Armies" is the most inexpensive volume of the trilogy.
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