The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492-1792

by Jeremy Black

Book Overview

The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution provides a thorough introduction to the military and naval history of the years 1492 to 1792, covering the period from the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521470331
• ISBN13: 9780521470339
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.6" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

Excellent reference

This book, and its companion, covering The Middle Ages, 768-1487 and Renaissance to Revolution, 1492-1792, though with different authors, form an elegant pair of references. They cover a period that is infrequently covered in much detail, and rarely illustrated with any maps, much less the excellent examples here. My primary use for these books is as aids when reading both history and, even more, historical fiction such as Sharon Kay Penman, Dorothy Dunnett and Neal Stephenson. These authors write intricately plotted tapestries that rely heavily on movements in historical time, but their publishers include only incidental maps. These volumes supply a much needed reference for readers who are not quite au courant with the 3rd Anglo Dutch War, or the rise of Maratha India. The accompanying text gives an adequate survey of the time, but the primary emphasis is `rightly on the illustrated portion. The maps are beautifully designed, and easily deciphered, covering both individual battles and broader strategic concepts.

Brilliant and provoking

Black's clear advantage was that the timeline span of the subject was avoided by most historians, probably because it's difficult to compile into a single piece of work. But, Black have done it in a fashion, arguably, very original than most historical atlases.The special maps and themes are divided into daunting blocks of adventure and you'll not stop until the last pages. There are new insights into the clashes between Portugal and Utsmani Devlet in and around the Indian Ocean.Let's hope more works come out from this author, at least from the Cambridge Series. In the end, you'll wish the pages were much longer as your thirst grew unbearable.