The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Modern WarfareBloomsbury, 2008 - 420 pages "The twentieth century is usually seen as "the century of total war." But as the historian David Bell argues in this work, the phenomenon actually began much earlier, in the era of muskets, cannons, and sailing ships - in the age of Napoleon. It was during this time, Bell argues, that our modern attitudes toward war were born. Bell exposes the surprising parallels between Napoleon's day and our own - including the way that ambitious "wars of liberation," such as the one in Iraq, can degenerate into gruesome guerilla conflict."--BOOK JACKET. |