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Historians interpret events differently. All of us approach subjects from different
points of view based on our own life experiences, training, knowledge, and biases,
whether these are recognized or not. Obviously the passage of time provides a
clearer perspective as to the importance and impact of a particular event, while new
evidence in the form of memoirs and documents—often appearing decades or even
generations after the event itself—allows for fresh assessment of it.
After consulting with other scholars and historians, I have assembled a collec-
tion of essays treating 64 topics in the long history of world conflict that have been
the subject of different interpretations. The essays selected range in time from an-
cient history to the contemporary world: from the Peloponnesian War to whether
women in the U.S. military should be allowed to serve in combat units.
The topics are arranged in loose chronological fashion, grouped in seven major
eras: ancient Greece and Rome (500 BCE–500 CE), 5 topics; the Middle Ages (500–
1500), 6 topics; the emergence of modern Europe and the Americas (1500–1825),
10 topics; the rise of imperialism and nationalism (1825–1914), 11 topics; the world
at war (1914–1945), 12 topics; the Cold War (1945–1991), 12 topics; and the new
millennium (1991–present), 8 topics. Each topic has a brief introduction and a
background essay.
Some of the background essays are relatively short; others, such as that on the
Vietnam War, are necessarily longer because the essays themselves make reference
to events without necessarily explaining what they were. Following the background
essay, each topic has between two and five position essays. An expansive list of
books for further reading on the subject closes out each topic.
Some topics lent themselves to different approaches. Among these are the topics
that address the key factors behind the fall of the Roman Empire and the primary
causes of World War I. Here the authors address the one central issue that they
believe was paramount.
Other topics lent themselves to pro and con approaches. Examples of this in-
clude whether it would have been better from a military standpoint for Britain and
Introduction
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