PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
In writing this boo, the authors have had two general purposes in mind: to present to both scholar and general reader a comprehensive survey of the history of war and of military affairs in the world throughout recorded human experience; and to provide a reliable, relatively complete, and authoritative reference work covering the entire sweep of world military history.

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
It is now more than thirty years since my father and I began to work on The Encyclopedia of Military History, and almost twenty-two years since we completed the first edition.