The Guinness Book of Decisive Battles

This book recaps history's top battles from the Greeks to the Gulf War. Each of the 50 battles is described in 3-5 pages with appropriate battlefield diagrams, maps, sidebar discussions of historic and technological advances and illustrations of soldiers and battle scenes. Each vivid description of the actual battles is preceeded by brief discussions of the historical context and personalities that underlaid the situation. The book's strength is its ability to bring the reader into the strategy, intrigue and action of the battles. In the process it offers valuable lessons into the human strengths and weaknesses that have both shaped history and continue to shape events from macroscopic international affairs to simple interpersonal transactions.