This authoritative and magnificently illustrated book examines the entire history of war through the eyes of the leading protagonists, from Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BC to Vo Nguyen Giap in the twentieth century.

Truly worldwide in scope, the book ranges from China and India to Africa, and from Europe to the Americas, focusing in detail on more than one hundred major military leaders, their associates, and their opponents. All the great commanders are here: Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Saladin, Chingiz Khan, Napoleon, Wellington, Nelson, Ulysses S. Grant, Erich von Manstein, and Georgy Zhukov. So too are less familiar figures, such as Jan Zizka and János Hunyadi, bold Czech and Hungarian leaders of the Middle Ages; Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "Napoleon of Japan"; and Nader Shah, the Persian conqueror of the eighteenth century.

The large format allows for a full display of the illustrations, from portraits and battlefield scenes to weapons and uniforms, plus spectacular battle reconstructions. There are specially commissioned campaign maps for each major leader, plus a reference section that includes concise biographies of 250 commanders. 520 illustrations, 420 in color.

American and Canadian contributors include Gábor ágoston, Georgetown University; Charles Bowlus, University of Arkansas; Fernando Gonzalez de Leon, Springfield College; Russell A. Hart, Hawaii Pacific University; John Lamphear, University of Texas; Lester Langley, University of Georgia; Timothy May, North Georgia College; Michael Neiberg, University of Southern Mississippi; Charles Peterson, Cornell University; Ethan Rafuse, US Army Command and General Staff College; Roger Reese, Texas A&M University; Matthew Restall, Penn State University; Frederick Schneid, High Point University; Timothy Travers, University of Calgary; Joanne Waley-Cohen, New York University.

Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter and the author or editor of many books, including The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare and The Seventy Great Battles in History.