Battle : a history of combat and culture / John A. Lynn.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 371-415) and index.

Preface: Requiem for the universal soldier -- Written in blood : the classical Greek drama of battle and the western way of war -- Subtleties of violence : ancienct Chinese and Indian texts on warfare -- Chivalry and chevauchée : the ideal, the real, and the perfect in medieval European warfare -- Linear warfare : images and ideals of combat in the age of enlightenment -- Victories of the conquered : the native character of the Sepoy -- The sun of Austerlitz : romantic visions of decisive battle in nineteenth-century Europe -- The merciless fight : race and military culture in the Pacific War -- Crossing the Canal : Egyptian effectiveness and military culture in the October War -- Epilogue: Terrorism and "evil" : forming a new discourse on war at the dawn of the twenty-first century -- Appendix: The discourse and the reality of war : a cultural model.