The Pursuit of Power

Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000

Nonfiction, History, Western Europe, Military
Cover of the book The Pursuit of Power by William H. McNeill, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William H. McNeill ISBN: 9780226160191
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: November 15, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: William H. McNeill
ISBN: 9780226160191
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: November 15, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

In this magnificent synthesis of military, technological, and social history, William H. McNeill explores a whole millennium of human upheaval and traces the path by which we have arrived at the frightening dilemmas that now confront us. McNeill moves with equal mastery from the crossbow—banned by the Church in 1139 as too lethal for Christians to use against one another—to the nuclear missile, from the sociological consequences of drill in the seventeenth century to the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the twentieth. His central argument is that a commercial transformation of world society in the eleventh century caused military activity to respond increasingly to market forces as well as to the commands of rulers. Only in our own time, suggests McNeill, are command economies replacing the market control of large-scale human effort. The Pursuit of Power does not solve the problems of the present, but its discoveries, hypotheses, and sheer breadth of learning do offer a perspective on our current fears and, as McNeill hopes, "a ground for wiser action."
 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this magnificent synthesis of military, technological, and social history, William H. McNeill explores a whole millennium of human upheaval and traces the path by which we have arrived at the frightening dilemmas that now confront us. McNeill moves with equal mastery from the crossbow—banned by the Church in 1139 as too lethal for Christians to use against one another—to the nuclear missile, from the sociological consequences of drill in the seventeenth century to the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the twentieth. His central argument is that a commercial transformation of world society in the eleventh century caused military activity to respond increasingly to market forces as well as to the commands of rulers. Only in our own time, suggests McNeill, are command economies replacing the market control of large-scale human effort. The Pursuit of Power does not solve the problems of the present, but its discoveries, hypotheses, and sheer breadth of learning do offer a perspective on our current fears and, as McNeill hopes, "a ground for wiser action."
 

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Filled with the Spirit by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Measuring and Modeling Health Care Costs by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Feral by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Combating Jihadism by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Personae by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Obsolescence by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book The Lost Black Scholar by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Afterimages by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Valuing Life by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Magic's Reason by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Composing for the Jazz Orchestra by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book A Story Larger than My Own by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Hayek on Hayek by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation by William H. McNeill
Cover of the book Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret by William H. McNeill
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy