The Pursuit of Power

“Remind[s] us that all humankind has a shared past and, particularly with regard to its choice of weapons and warfare, a shared stake in the future.” —Stuart Rochester, The Washington Post Book World 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 t