Through depictions of historic battles, the author exposes the connection between the West's superiority on the battlefield and its rise to world dominance, including controversial arguments ignited by the recent words of various historians.

1. Why the West has won -- 2. Freedom, or "To live as you please"; Salamis, Sept. 28, 480 B.C.-- 3. Decisive battle; Guagamela, Oct. 1, 331 B.C.-- 4. Citizen soldiers; Cannae, Aug. 2, 216 B.C.-- 5. Landed infantry; Poitiers, Oct. 11, 732 -- 6. Technology and the wages of reason; Tenochtitlán, June 24, 1520-Aug. 13, 1521 -- 7. The market - or capitalism kills; Lepanto, Oct. 7, 1571 -- 8. Discipline - or Warriors are not always soldiers; Rorke's Drift, Jan. 22-23, 1879 -- 9. Individualism; Midway, June 4-8, 1942 -- 10. Dissent and self-critique; Tet, Jan. 31-Apr. 6, 1968 -- 11. Western warfare : past and future.