John A. Lynn – författare

An accessible and comprehensive history of terrorism from ancient times to the presentIn the years since 9/11, there has been a massive surge in interest surrounding the study of terrorism. This volume applies distinguished military historian John Lynn’s lifetime of research and teaching experience to this difficult topic. As a form of violence that implies the threat of future violence, terrorism breeds insecurity, vulnerability, and a desire for retribution that has far-reaching consequences. Lynn distinguishes between the paralyzing effect of fear and the potentially dangerous and chaotic effects of moral outrage and righteous retaliation guiding counterterrorism efforts. In this accessible and comprehensive text, Lynn traces the evolution of terrorism over time, exposing its constants and contrasts. In doing so, he contextualizes this violence and argues that a knowledge of the history and nature of terrorism can temper its psychological effects, and can help us more accurately and carefully assess threats as well as develop informed and measured responses.

Mars must be fed. His tools of war demand huge quantities of fodder, fuel, ammunition, and food. All these must be produced, transported, and distributed to contending forces in the field. No one can doubt the importance of feeding Mars in modern warfare, and it takes no great effort to recognize that it has always been a major aspect of large scal

Feeding Mars deals with logistics in western warfare across a broader time span and emphasizes the various ways in which the essential materials of war have been produced, acquired, and transported to fighting forces in the field.

The Bayonets of the Republic challenges the view of the French revolutionary army as an unskilled but fiercely patriotic fighting force that won simply by overwhelming its enemies with bayonet assaults. Skillfully combining traditional and new military history, Lynn demonstrates that French combat effectiveness encompassed far more than mere patriotism or frenzied charges.Lynn focuses on the Armee du Nord, largest of the eleven armies which protected the borders of France at the height of the Revolution. He does not, however, restrict himself to an analysis of generalship or weaponry, but examines every aspect of life in the French army--from rank-and-file recruitment, officer selection, discipline, political education, and group cohesion, to the flexible use of line, column, and skirmishers on the battlefield. The image which emerges is one of a highly motivated, disciplined, and tactically superior army that outmaneuvered and outfought its opponents.For students of the French Revolution, Bayonets builds upon and extends the best of recent scholarship on subjects as diverse as the debate over conscription and the distribution of revolutionary newspapers and songbooks. For military historians, it combines social, organizational, and operational elements to present a unique view of the French army as an institution and fighting force. And, finally, for social scientists concerned with troop motivation and combat effectiveness, it supplies a highly illustrative case study of troops under fire.

The Bayonets of the Republic challenges the view of the French revolutionary army as an unskilled but fiercely patriotic fighting force that won simply by overwhelming its enemies with bayonet assaults. Skillfully combining traditional and new military history, Lynn demonstrates that French combat effectiveness encompassed far more than mere patriotism or frenzied charges.Lynn focuses on the Armee du Nord, largest of the eleven armies which protected the borders of France at the height of the Revolution. He does not, however, restrict himself to an analysis of generalship or weaponry, but examines every aspect of life in the French army--from rank-and-file recruitment, officer selection, discipline, political education, and group cohesion, to the flexible use of line, column, and skirmishers on the battlefield. The image which emerges is one of a highly motivated, disciplined, and tactically superior army that outmaneuvered and outfought its opponents.For students of the French Revolution, Bayonets builds upon and extends the best of recent scholarship on subjects as diverse as the debate over conscription and the distribution of revolutionary newspapers and songbooks. For military historians, it combines social, organizational, and operational elements to present a unique view of the French army as an institution and fighting force. And, finally, for social scientists concerned with troop motivation and combat effectiveness, it supplies a highly illustrative case study of troops under fire.

An 'invisible giant', the seventeenth-century French army was the largest and hungriest institution of the Bourbon monarchy. Combining social and cultural emphases with more traditional institutional and operational concerns, this book examines the army in depth, studying recruitment, composition, discipline, motivation, selection of officers, leadership, administration, logistics, weaponry, tactics, field warfare and siegecraft. The portrait that emerges differs from what current scholarship might have predicted. Instead of claiming that a 'military revolution' transformed warfare, Lynn stresses evolutionary change. This work also offers surprising insights into absolutism and the relationship between the monarchy and aristocracy. Questioning widely held assumptions about state formation and coercion, Lynn argues that this standing army was primarily devoted to border defence and only rarely to internal repression.

An 'invisible giant', the seventeenth-century French army was the largest and hungriest institution of the Bourbon monarchy. Combining social and cultural emphases with more traditional institutional and operational concerns, this book examines the army in depth, studying recruitment, composition, discipline, motivation, selection of officers, leadership, administration, logistics, weaponry, tactics, field warfare and siegecraft. The portrait that emerges differs from what current scholarship might have predicted. Instead of claiming that a 'military revolution' transformed warfare, Lynn stresses evolutionary change. This work also offers surprising insights into absolutism and the relationship between the monarchy and aristocracy. Questioning widely held assumptions about state formation and coercion, Lynn argues that this standing army was primarily devoted to border defence and only rarely to internal repression.

Warfare dominated the long reign of the `Sun-king', Louis XIV. For forty years from 1672, France was continuously at war and had one of the largest armies seen in the West since the fall of imperial Rome. The campaigns secured little territory, but almost bankrupted the country and the consequences for the French monarchy were dramatic - contributing to its eventual downfall. John Lynn examines the wars for evidence of a coherent strategic policy; he explores the operational logistics of the campaigns; and considers their significance for France's diplomatic, political, mililtary, administrative and institutionalThis is the first modern, comprehensive study in any language, and offers a vivid insight into 17th and 18th century statesmanship and warfare - reaching a climax with the defeat of France by Marlborough at Blenheim.

Battle: A History of Combat and Culture spans the globe and the centuries to explore the way ideas shape the conduct of warfare. Drawing its examples from Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and America, John A. Lynn challenges the belief that technology has been the dominant influence on combat from ancient times to the present day. In battle, ideas can be more far more important than bullets or bombs. Carl von Clausewitz proclaimed that war is politics, but even more basically, war is culture. The hard reality of armed conflict is formed by - and, in turn, forms - a culture's values, assumptions, and expectations about fighting. The author examines the relationship between the real and the ideal, arguing that feedback between the two follows certain discernable paths. Battle rejects the currently fashionable notion of a "Western way of warfare" and replaces it with more nuanced concepts of varied and evolving cultural patterns of combat. After considering history, Lynn finally asks how the knowledge gained might illuminate our understanding of the war on terrorism.

Warfare dominated the long reign of the `Sun-king', Louis XIV. For forty years from 1672, France was continuously at war and had one of the largest armies seen in the West since the fall of imperial Rome. The campaigns secured little territory, but almost bankrupted the country and the consequences for the French monarchy were dramatic - contributing to its eventual downfall. John Lynn examines the wars for evidence of a coherent strategic policy; he explores the operational logistics of the campaigns; and considers their significance for France's diplomatic, political, mililtary, administrative and institutionalThis is the first modern, comprehensive study in any language, and offers a vivid insight into 17th and 18th century statesmanship and warfare - reaching a climax with the defeat of France by Marlborough at Blenheim.