Books › The pursuit of power
The pursuit of power
technology, armed force, and society since A.D. 1000
First published 1984 · 436 pages
A sweeping, sobering journey through a millennium of human conflict, tracing how markets and technology forged the modern military-industrial complex.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like standing on a mountaintop observing a thousand years of human conflict unfold below. The pace is steady and methodical, guiding the reader through a masterful synthesis of military, technological, and social history. The tone is deeply scholarly yet sobering, anchored by an authoritative voice that connects the medieval crossbow to the modern nuclear missile. As the narrative traces the shift from market-driven warfare to command economies, the mood grows increasingly contemplative, shadowed by the frightening dilemmas of the present day. The prose is analytical and expansive, balancing broad sociological hypotheses with sharp historical details. It will deeply satisfy readers who devour macro-history and seek a profound, intellectual perspective on the forces that have shaped global power.
- Mood
- intellectual
- contemplative
- apprehensive
- Tone
- scholarly
- analytical
- authoritative
- sobering
- sweeping
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- technological upheaval · the evolution of warfare · market forces and conflict · the military-industrial complex · societal transformation
- The writing
- Masterful and synthesized, balancing broad historical hypotheses with specific technological and sociological details.
- The arc
- Moves from a sweeping curiosity about historical origins to a sobering contemplation of modern existential threats.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave deep, macro-historical analyses of how war, technology, and economics have shaped human civilization.
Content notes
- warfare
- military violence
- nuclear threat
About the book
"In this magnificent synthesis of military, technological, and social history, William H. McNeill explores a whole millennium of human upheaval and traces the path by which we have arrived at the frightening dilemmas that now confront us. McNeill moves with equal mastery from the crossbow -- banned by the Church in 1139 as too lethal for Christians to use against one another -- to the nuclear missile, from the sociological consequences of drill in the seventeenth century to the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the twentieth. His central argument is that a commercial transformation of world society in the eleventh century caused military activity to respond increasingly to market forces as well as to the commands of rulers. Only in our own time, suggests McNeill, are command economies replacing the market control of large-scale human effort. The Pursuit of Power does not solve the problems of the present, but its discoveries, hypotheses, and sheer breadth of learning do offer a perspective on our current fears and, as McNeill hopes, 'a ground for wiser action'."--Publisher description.
Description from Open Library.
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