Moment of Battle

The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World

By: James Lacey, Williamson Murray

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

In the grand tradition of Edward Creasy's classic Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, James Lacey and Williamson Murray spotlight only those engagements that changed the course of civilization. In gripping narrative accounts they bring these conflicts and eras to vivid life, detailing the cultural imperatives that led inexorably to the battlefield, the experiences of the common soldiers who fought and died, and the legendary commanders and statesmen who matched wits, will, and nerve for the highest possible stakes.

From the great clashes of antiquity to the high-tech wars of the twenty-first century, here are the stories of the twenty most consequential battles ever fought, including Marathon, where Greece's "greatest generation" repelled Persian forces three times their numbers-and saved Western civilization in its infancy.

Adrianople, the death blow to a disintegrating Roman Empire Trafalgar; the epic naval victory that cemented a century of British supremacy over the globe; Saratoga, the first truly American victory, won by united colonial militias, which ensured the ultimate triumph of the Revolution; Midway, the ferocious World War II sea battle that broke the back of the Japanese navy; Dien Bien Phu, the climactic confrontation between French imperial troops and Viet Minh rebels that led to American intervention in Vietnam and marked the rise of a new era of insurgent warfare; Operation Peach, the perilous 2003 mission to secure a vital bridge over the Euphrates River that would open the way to Baghdad, and many more.

Historians and armchair generals will argue forever about which battles have had the most direct impact on history. But there can be no doubt that these twenty are among those that set mankind on new trajectories. Each of these epochal campaigns is examined in its full historical, strategic, and tactical context-complete with edge-of-your-seat you-are-there battle re-creations.

With an eye for the small detail as well as the bigger picture, Lacey and Murray identify the elements that bind these battles together: the key decisions, critical mistakes, and moments of crisis on which the fates of entire civilizations depended. Some battles merely leave a field littered with the bodies of the fallen. Others transform the map of the entire world. Moment of Battle is history written with the immediacy of today's news, a magisterial tour d'horizon that refreshes our understanding of those essential turning points where the future was decided.

©2013 Jim Lacey (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Engaging, well written, and thoroughly researched, this book will appeal to amateur and professional historians alike." ( Publishers Weekly)

worth every minute

I consider myself to be fairly well-educated on history and especially military history, but I learned so much from this book. I am sure some people will argue about whether some battles should have been included and others excluded , but in any event, the selected battles are covered in historical, political, and societal detail and the authors really leave you with a complete picture of how the battle happened and why it mattered then and why it matters today.

Certainly worth you time.

NEGATIVES:
1) No visual chapter headings.
2) About 30% too much information.
3) I would have liked a bit more explanation in a more conversational tone about how that battle shaped Western Culture and why, in a nutshell the authors picked that battle and when appropriate, compared its relevance to a more well-known battle in the same time period.
4) I’m not “dinging”the book on this, but it would have been so interesting if the authors gave a +/- one minute explanation of what was happening elsewhere in the world.
5) It took awhile for me to figure out what some of the weapons were. I hadn’t heard them called by that name before.
POSITIVES:
1) Very well researched.
2) They did explain how the battle shaped Western Culture. As I said above, I just would have liked more.
3) All together, they really nailed why WC was so important to the world.
4) Countless, “I didn’t know that!” moments and facts!
Overall, well written and presented.

Amazing analysis. Look at video game reality of the great battles

The rich dance detail. The inside the head of the generals and leader ship involved. Intense, Real, Britty, sometimes horrifying and sometimes reaffirming what great valor means to each man in all mankind.

In Depth

Each battle is discussed in depth, with details that are not available easily elsewhere. The importance to history discussion that follows each battle provides a perspective on how history pivots on these battles as to create the world we now have. Very well done.