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Where did wargames come from? Who participated in them, and why? How is their development related to changes in real-life warfare? Which aspects of war did they capture, which ones did they leave out, how, and why? What do they tell us about the conduct of war in the times and places where they were played? How useful are they in training and preparation for war? Why are some so much more popular than others, and how do men and women differ in their interest? Starting with the combat of David versus Goliath, passing through the gladiatorial games, tournaments, trials by battle, duels, and board games such as chess, all the way to the latest simulations and computer games, this unique book traces the subject in all its splendid richness. As it does so, it provides new and occasionally surprising insights into human nature.
- Sales Rank: #1337717 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Cambridge University Press
- Published on: 2013-05-20
- Released on: 2013-04-04
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.98" h x .59" w x 5.98" l, 1.19 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 341 pages
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
"No other historian could bring us this marvellous history of wargaming and its relationship to the larger strategic and societal trends that are the critical context for the impact these games have had."
Paul Bracken, Yale University, and author of The Second Nuclear Age
"A witty, wide-ranging, and uniquely inclusive analysis of wargames that goes beyond games and simulations of war and combat. This is the story of all forms of war, and all the games developed over thousands of years to practice, simulate, or analyze these conflicts."
James F. Dunnigan, Editor-in-chief, Strategypage.com
"From antiquity 'till tomorrow, warlike games encounter ritualized combat in Martin van Creveld's meandering journey across the centuries. Because it is van Creveld who is doing the meandering, with his unique talent for uncovering the unexpected, readers will wish for more of it rather than less. Undoubtedly, this is an illuminating master-work."
Edward N. Luttwak, Author of Strategy: the Logic of War and Peace
"This is a characteristically broad-ranging, insightful, and provocative survey of the many ways in which war and games - two of humanity's deepest instincts - interact."
Professor Philip Sabin, Department of War Studies, Kings College London, and author of Simulating War
"Martin van Creveld has written the most comprehensive work on wargaming to date. This superb book provides an insightful and in-depth analysis of the history and value of gaming. Wargames: From Gladiators to Gigabytes is a must-read for all those desiring to understand this important component to military planning, training, and education."
General Anthony C. Zinni, United States Marine Corps (Retired)
"Van Creveld is incapable of writing an uninteresting book. His latest provides a history of war games, which he defines very broadly to include almost any activity that links play and conflict, from gladiatorial combat, to jousting, to chess, to hunting, and to all manner of re-enactments and simulations."
Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs
"Van Creveld surveys the history of war games, defined as strategy games, from prehistory to modern times ... the sheer range of this work makes it an important contribution to simulation studies ... Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."
L. De Rosa, Choice
About the Author
Martin van Creveld is Emeritus Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and one of the world's best known experts on military history and strategy. He is the author of over twenty books, covering all aspects of these subjects, which have now been translated into twenty languages including Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serb and Spanish. Professor van Creveld has consulted for the defense establishments of various countries and taught or lectured at many institutes of higher learning, both military and civilian. He has also written hundreds of articles and conducted interviews for newspapers, television and radio all over the world.
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Wargaming as no one else would recognize it
By M. Hoyt
Martin van Creveld never really defines “wargames”, indeed in the concluding chapter he decides that such a definition is impossible. But that didn’t stop him from writing this book, and giving himself latitude to cover an incredibly wide scope. The problem is that this scope is so wide as to be almost meaningless, and certainly wider than anybody in the wargaming hobby or profession would recognize.
He has the classics, Chess and it’s variants, some mention of the German General Staff and the WWII gaming of the Japanese, he is aware of commercial board wargaming (though he hardly devotes more than a few paragraphs) and he lightly touches on HG Wells and miniatures. I’ll even grudgingly allow his comments on computers and video games to fall under a broad understanding of wargaming.
But Gladiators? Duels? Trial by Combat? Does that sound like wargaming to you? Paint Ball, Laser Tag, Reenactments… all get many pages. He includes a long foray into Professional Wrestling, and dives in even deeper with an exploration of Mud Wrestling. And be warned, he spends more time on Mud wrestling than he does on Charles Roberts and James Dunnigan. How is that possible? Well, fully 40% of the book is about Gladiators, for whom he clearly has an obsession. And he’s quite knowledgeable about Gladiators, maybe he should write a book on that topic, but they are overrepresented here to a ridiculous degree, even assuming they should be in a book about wargaming at all.
Throw in another chapter about the different ways Men and Women participate in or react to all of the above, which is charitably an opinion piece on social norms, not a history of wargaming, no matter how broadly construed, and you have a half baked, apparently unedited, mishmash of garbage on practically every topic except what a modern wargamer would consider to be his hobby.
The best part was the illustrations. (There are none)
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Gladiators, chess and paintball
By Nathan Gilliatt
Why do men (mostly) play at war? For religious reasons, to settle disputes, to train or plan for real war, and for entertainment. From tribal mock battles and Roman gladiators, to tournaments, single combat, and duels, to board games and computer-based simulations, van Creveld takes the reader through an exhausting--excuse me, I should say exhaustive--history of wargames in their many forms and roles in their respective societies.
I learned that I would like very much not to travel back to ancient Rome, nor would I like to prove my case with a fight to the death. I also learned that video games, laser tag and paintball have converged with reality to the extent that playing at war and preparing for the real thing are sometimes indistinguishable.
van Creveld draws helpful lines between war, wargames and other games. It's not always obvious, but history provides many examples to illustrate the differences. The framing of games and sports as wargames also helps to explain why we may have the games, and perhaps part of their appeal.
In his whirlwind tour of the subject--spanning thousands of years in a little over 300 pages--the author raises questions that warrant a follow-up. In particular, to what extent have wargames and simulations influenced strategy and the outcomes of real wars since Prussia instituted gaming as a planning methodology in the late 19th century? Applying the lessons to the present, to what extent does the historical record support the expectation that strategists employing simulations gain an advantage from their use?
I learned of Martin van Creveld from an old friend who recommended his earlier book, The Transformation of War: The Most Radical Reinterpretation of Armed Conflict Since Clausewitz, which I also recommend. Again with his new book, van Creveld provides history, thoughtful analysis, and stimulating arguments. You don't have to agree with him, but wrestling with what he writes is a worthy exercise.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Serviceable With Flaws
By POL
Yikes! The hardcover is selling for over a hundred on Amazon. Save some of your money. Kindle might be the best bargain if you're really interested in the subject or the author. He is a prolific one, whose Supplying War & The Transformation of War are considered classics by some. This is an adequate introductory history on war games, whatever they may be. The author takes a stab at it, but throws his net a bit far, I think. Included in the author's survey are war games pertaining to religious rites, judicial combat, and trial by combat. He also focuses on war games as learning exercises/ exercises in preparedness for actual war, and as entertainment. The former categories do not seem to be "games" at all, while the latter do. This problem categorizing appears to be the result of the contaminative nature of what is construed to be "entertainment". Practically anything watchable for enjoyment, whether that be its direct purpose or not. If people gather and enjoy a good duel, this activity warrants the appellation of "war game." I'm inclined to view war games as lacking actual war's seriousness, though remaining similar to war for purposes of knowledge or entertainment, and therefore judicial combat & religious rites should be excluded as non-applicable . A duel is really neither a "war", nor a "game". The author attaches religious rites to gladiatorial games, thus making his connection. These seem very separate to me. Religious rites may placate the gods through the entertaining arena combat, perhaps, as the author states, yet the vehicle is not its passenger and shouldn't be confused as such. Of course, a book does need fleshing out, and nothing fleshes out a book better than stepping away from a relevant topic by including one maybe less so, yet capable of filling pages. Speaking of which, the penultimate chapter on women and war games is nothing less than creepy. The author's personal misogynistic views are happily unpacked, though this helps educate as to the nature of war games hardly at all. To summarize: Women hardly play; they'd likely get beat anyway; they're best left to flashing male players while spectating, or adding chess skills to a career in prostitution, or having a discreet dinner with the author. There is much that is fine with this book, but chapter 7 isn't a part of it. His survey of military games, however, appears comprehensive, if somewhat rudimentary. His notion that war games are separated from actual war by removal of "the continuation of politics" is probably superficially correct, but factually inaccurate. I suspect the author is aware of this. Gladiators and their contests are exhaustingly, if not exhaustively, dealt with at the beginning. Tournaments are wandered through. The similarities enumerated between sport and war games are rather interesting, as well. The author explores the change of strategic planning after the emergence of nuclear weapons and its effects on war gaming with adequate deftness. The rise of the computer is given its proper space, with its Battlezone & Metal Gear. The use of simulation with the rise of complex technology is expounded upon. Still, I can't help walking away from this work thinking it could have been better: more detailed, more interesting, & Better written. The center of the book contains most of whatever meat you'll find. The bread holding it may leave you with a "gamey" taste in your mouth. Pun intended.
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