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Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, by Sir Edward Creasy

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ScottP

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When first learning about history through general narratives, one often encounters compelling moments that demand further investigation. How exactly did the Greeks deflect the invasion of the west by the Persian Empire? What was it that drove the European tribes together to face the Asian onslaught of the Huns, and how did they defeat Attila? To know that the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) or the Battle of Chalons (451 AD) happened is important, and to know how these battles fit in the fundamental causal sequence of history is still more important. But this is merely the beginning of historical knowledge. From this vantage point, myriad options present themselves.

It is natural, for one, to be drawn to the drama and intensity of particularly violent moments, and to want to know more about the men "who flocked to the work of death!" For this purpose, I recommend Sir Edward Creasy's "Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World" (Oracle, 1996).

In Creasy's own words, "there are some battles...which claim our attention...on account of the enduring influence on our social and political condition, which we can trace up to the results of those engagements. They have for us an abiding and actual interest, both while we investigate the chain of causes and effects, by which they have helped to make us what we are; and also while we speculate on what we probably should have been, if anyone of those battles had come to a different termination."

Students of POWELL HISTORY are introduced to pivotal battles, such as Chalons, and our main focus in "A First History for Adults" is on their place in the broader narrative, which Fifteen Decisive Battles cannot possibly relate, since that is not its purpose. But once students of history have a proper context in hand, there's no better place to turn than Creasy to expand one's knowledge of these decisive episodes.

Best,

Scott Powell.

[email protected]

Edited by ScottP
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