The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World

This book is a classic in the field of military history. Historical writers who can weave myth and symbolism in to their writing carry forward important ideas and concepts for the collective. This is precisely what Creasy has done in his book, organizing his material around the idea that war is productive of something. He influenced every writer of military history who followed. That in itself is enough to promote the book. "15 Decisive Battles" is an excellent introduction to general military history, a perspective often missing in college history courses. Creasy is a generalist but for that very reason, this a good book to start with. Written long ago, his book necessarily omits more recent military candidates, yet vividly captures 15 moments when history stood at a cusp (perhaps Marathon and Waterloo in particular).