History of Warfare: Galleons and Galleys

I received Gunpowders and Galleys as a Christmas present and I am immensely pleased. This book deserves its reputation as not only a topnotch work of naval history, but history, period. The depth of scholarship, originality, good sense, readable style, and careful interweaving of multiple sources of information makes it a superb book that ought to provoke thought outside of the narrow field of galley warfare. In particular, his insistence that the galley is intrinsically bound up with the economic, cultural, political, geographic, technical, tactical, strategic, and religious context is a powerful antidote to narrower and more regimented approaches to the study of history. Not to mention, it also helps to shed light on current events. Our current dilemma in Iraq would benefit from adopting Guilmartin's approach by broadening our sources of information and deepening our understanding; failure to do so runs the risk of winning the war and failing to achieve our goals. In short, Guilmartin's book not only teaches us about its topic, but provokes us to think holistically about many historical and modern events.

Probably the best in its field. No other work contains so much important information on galleys and naval power in the age of gunpowder and on the history of Mediterranean warfare of the period. It is also a must for anybody interested in the modern struggle between Islam and Western World. Just like now when only the modern Empire (USA) can save our civilisation, so in the 16° century only the superior Venetian technology at Lepanto saved Europe from the same barbarians.Indeed an outstanding book.

I've read the older printing more than once. Author John Keegan once described it as one of the best 2 or 3 military history books he'd read. This research didn't become popular until years after the printer was done. I've seen used copies selling for $150 or more. Since Prof. Guilmartin wrote this, more reserchers have produced quality work on galley warfare, but this original needed very little improvement. I still get benefit every time I read it. There's just so much thinking in here, even passing remarks expose me to new trains of thought. Even if you're not greatly interested in galley warfare, I think you can be exposed to a lot of potentially valuable analysis in historical work. Gunpowder and Galleys examines 16th century Mediterranean warfare. This period saw a climax in fighting between the Moslem Ottoman Empire and countries of Catholic Christian Europe. If you ever thought the Battle of Lepanto was a simple brawl between violent armed men at sea, you'll learn a more intersting tale here. The Christians won, but very narrowly. Much of the arguing and complaining after the action can provide a vehicle for appreciating the skill and nerve that the flotilla commanders provided. For example, Gian Andrea Doria (a Genoese mercenary in the Spanish fleet) earned much criticism for his conduct in the battle. However, I tend to think he placed victory in Don John's hand by keeping Ottoman admiral Uluj Ali out of the fight just long enough. If you read this, there's much opportunity to learn about a fascinating period of history. (Information: Guilmartin was kind enough to mention me in his introduction)

Guilmartin's book offers an excellent fusion of military history and history of science. His wide-ranging work of course offers a thought provoking argument about the adaptability of traditional Mediterranean galley based naval warfare to gunpowder weapons,(which he finds initially effective but ultimately a technological dead end). But there's a lot more to the book than that. His work challenges traditional thinking in a variety of areas,ranging from bronze metal cannon-casting, to the applicability of Mahanian ideas about sea power to the Mediterranean world,to the passing of the Asiatic horse archer. Although Guilmartin's conclusions have been challenged, Gunpowder and Galleys remains an outstanding work, which sets the bar very high. It's a pity that it is no longer in print.

The sixteenth century is a pivotal time in military history, when the increasing quantity of gunpowder weapons fundamentally changed the face of warfare. Mediterranean naval warfare was no less affected by this phenomenon than other spheres of conflict, but historians have had a difficult time analyzing the changes because they used an inappropriate model: the theories of Alfred Thayer Mahan.In this seminal work, John F. Guilmartin (associate professor of history at Ohio State University) looks at Mediterranean galley warfare from a fresh perspective, and goes a long way towards unravelling the complexities of -- as the title puts it -- "Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century." I have done a fair amount of research into this topic over the last few years, and I find GUNPOWDER AND GALLEYS to be an unfailing source of enlightenment. Indeed, it is difficult to find a book written in the last ten years touching on this subject that doesn't cite Dr. Guilmartin's work.Guilmartin has a wonderful writing style that enables him to make even arcane subjects like long-term economic rhythms interesting. He places each of his topical subjects in context by providing a detailed account of a military engagement which illustrates the point. I know of no other work of history that packs so much analysis into such a small and elegantly-written package.Famed Historian John Keegan has read GUNPOWDER AND GALLEYS (it was recommended to him by historian Christopher Duffy) and describes it as "among the two or three very best works of military history I have ever read."