In The Age of Total War, Black builds on his impressive record of scholarship and provides an effective and useful study of the course and conduct of war during the second half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries that offers insightful consideration of total war as a central theme in the military history of the period. ... Read more. . . Black's effective synthesis of scholarship and thought-provoking analysis make this a work of much value to students of this period in world military history. . . . [I]t will work well for instructors seeking to stimulate thought and discussion in graduate-level courses and a supplemental text for undergraduate courses.
Journal of Military History
[Black's] discussions of World War I and II positively shine.
Air and Space Power Journal
It is useful for experts to challenge the consensus in their field and in The Age of Total War Jeremy Black does not disappoint. He not only questions convention, but offers a useful for doing so. Dr. Black’s work is not so much a history as a paean to the historiography and military dogma regarding what we commonly call Total War. . . . The Age of Total War has utility as a text for framing the importance of questioning terms and widely-held beliefs in graduate-level history courses. . . .As a brief summary of major conflicts from 1860-1945 this work succeeds. . . .Black’s work is strongest when he questions conventional wisdom regarding how we see war. . . .By focusing on the unique circumstances (societal, technological, industrial) of the period ranging from 1860-1945, Black helps us understand how and why this period’s conflicts were fought in a particular way and why their consequences were important to the world we live in today.
The Bridge
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