The other reviews are accurate. I bought the paperback half-price and I'm mildly satisfied. The writing is average, and it does provide a decent overview of military history; but this scope is far too broad and the maps are horrible. They look like they were drawn using a 1980's PC. I only hope the paperback has abbreviated maps and pictures due to formatting differences, otherwise the people who paid $125 for the hardcover should be livid. Perhaps this was the authors attempt at producing an expensive text book for his history class? Hopefully his lectures on the subject are more interesting.
