Why do people go to war? Is it rooted in human nature or is it a late cultural invention? How does war relate to the other fundamental developments in the history of human civilization? And what of war today - is it a declining phenomenon or simply changing its shape? In this truly global study of war and civilization, Azar Gat sets out to find definitive answers to these questions in an attempt to unravel the 'riddle of war' throughout human history, from the early hunter-gatherers right through to the unconventional terrorism of the twenty-first century. Conclusion: Unravelling the Riddle of War. Affluent Liberal Democracies, Ultimate Weapons, and the World

Unbound and Bound Prometheus: Machine-Age War Guns and Markets: the New European States and a Global World Introduction: the Explosion of Wealth and Power

PART THREE: MODERNITY: THE DUAL FACE OF JANUS.

Conclusion: War, the Leviathan, and the Pleasures and Miseries of Civilization

The Eurasian Spearhead: East, West, and Steppe Armed Force in the Formation of the State Introduction: Evolving Cultural Complexity PART TWO: AGRICULTURE, CIVILIZATION, AND WAR.Conclusion: Fighting in the Evolutionary State of Nature

Why Fighting? The Evolutionary Perspective Peaceful or Warlike: Did Hunter-Gatherers Fight? PART ONE: WARFARE IN THE FIRST TWO MILLION YEARS: ENVIRONMENT, GENES, AND CULTURE.Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (p.

War in Human Civilization by Azar Gat