Warfare and history

"Why did the Chinese Empire collapse and why did it take so long for a new government to reunite China? Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 seeks to answer these questions by exploring the most important domestic and international conflicts over the past 200 years, from the last half of the Qing Empire through to modern-day China. This book reveals how most of China's wars during this period were fought to preserve Chinese unity, and examines the cyclical pattern of imperial decline, fall, domestic chaos and, finally, the creation of a new unifying dynasty." "Exposing China as an imperialist country, and one which has often manipulated western powers in its favor, Bruce A. Elleman seeks to redress the view of China as a victimized nation. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 is a concise survey of the military history of China, and makes a valuable contribution to the debate over whether China poses a military threat to the West today."--Jacket.

Challenging the historical tradition that has denigrated Indians as 'savages' and celebrated the triumph of European 'civilization', Armstrong Starkey presents military history as only one dimension of a more fundamental conflict of cultures, and re-examines the European invasion of North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Combining the perspectives of ethno-history and military history, this book provides an evaluation of the evolution and influence of both Indian and European ways of war during the period. Significant conflicts are analysed including King Philip's war in New England (1675-1676) notable due to the number of armed Indians, the American War of Independence, and the conquest of the old Northwest, 1783-1815.