Century of War

This volume is a history of the way in which war has transformed modern society and a political analysis of the ways in which wars have been waged. Professor Kolko takes a long view of the 20th century, focusing on World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, to show the degree to which leaders and generals have consistently misunderstood the battles on which they embarked.

Kolko argues that time after time, generals have underestimated the implications of new military technology and have begun wars they were incapable of managing or ending. Since World War I, this technology has led to conflicts being more protracted and more destructive to civilian life and property than even the most pessimistic had predicted. As the generals have been slow to realise, war has become less a matter of strategy than a contest between differing social and economic systems.

Century of War provides a synthesis of the effects of war on civilian populations and the political results of these traumatising experiences. Kolko also provides a revisionist view of the post-World War II conflicts, from the Philippine uprising to the Greek Civil wars.

The book offers a reassessment of the nature of the communist parties that were born in opposition to World War I but changed drastically as the Soviet governments were established.