A richly absorbing book... Overy is unquestionably one of our finest living historians - The
Daily Telegraph Why has warfare always been part of the human story? From biology to belief
what explains the persistence of violent conflict? What light can this shed on humanity's past
- and its future? There can be few more important but also more contentious issues than
attempting to understand the human propensity for conflict. Our history is inextricably tangled
in wave after wave of inter-human fighting from as far back as we have records. Repeatedly
humans have foresworn war have understood its appalling risks and have wished to create more
pacific productive societies. And yet almost inevitably circumstances emerge under which war
once more seems inevitable or even desirable How can we make sense of what Einstein called
'the dark places of human will and feeling'? Richard Overy draws on a lifetime's study of
conflict to write this challenging account of how we can understand the causes of war. Looking
at every facet of war from biology to belief psychology to security Overy allows readers to
understand the many contradictory or self-reinforcing ways in which warfare can suddenly appear
a legitimate option and why it is likely to be part of our future as well as our past.
