BookshelfJacob deGroot-Maggetti

The Shortest History of War – Gwynne Dyer

Thoughts: Meh. I read this in the fall of 2021, and recall finding it interesting while I was reading it. By the time I finished converting my highlights into these notes in early 2025, my main takeaway recollection was that on more than one occasion, Dyer would make a causal pronouncement—“event A occurred, which led inevitably to phenomenon B”—leading me to feel skeptical of his other conclusions. His commentary on historical trends in warfare seem more-or-less sound, however. The edition I read was poorly edited, with typos and formatting errors.

A reader interested in the history of warfare might possibly find something of interest here (such a reader might also be able to evaluate Dyer’s takes better than I am). Can’t say I’d recommend it to the general reader.

(The notes below are not a summary of the book, but rather raw notes - whatever I thought, at the time, might be worth remembering. I read this as an e-book, so page numbers are as they appeared in the app I used, Libby.)

Dyer, Gwynne. 2021. The Shortest History of War. Old Street.

1. Origins

2. How Combat Works

3. The Evolution of Battle 3500-1500BC

4. Classical War 1500BC-1400AD

5. Absolute Monarchs and Limited War (1400-1790)

6. Mass Warfare (1790-1900)

7. Total War

8. A Short History of Nuclear War, 1945-90

9. Trifurcation: Nuclear, Conventional and Terrorist

10. The End of War

Posted: Jan 05, 2025. Last updated: Jan 05, 2025.