Provides a historical overview of weapons and warfare from the invention of the bow and arrow to the United States attack on Iraq in 2003.

Stone Age warfare and the Native Americans -- Military innovations in the ancient Near East -- Greece and Rome at war: the rise of the West -- Knights and castles in medieval Europe and Japan -- The fast, fierce armies of the Asian conquerors -- Musket and bayonet: linear warfare emerges -- Industrializing the battlefield: the first modern wars -- Crushing ordeal of total warfare: World War II -- Epilogue: technology unleashed and the future of warfare.