Reviews for The Northern Wars: 1558 - 1721

The average rating for The Northern Wars: 1558 - 1721 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-01-11 00:00:00 John W Powell III As an amateur student of history (in particular Polish History) I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the chaotic years of the "Deluge". I loved Frost's argument that war in Northeastern Europe was, fundamentally, different and that historians are mistaken to see this part of Europe as being opposed to military change. In fact he argues that the combatants were quite aware of, and used, up-to-date military technology and tactics. He also looks at the way the three societies evolved in order to cope with military costing and organisation and asks the question why historians assume that it was inevitable that Russia would eventually succeed and that the Polish Commonwealth would fail because of some economic or military "predestination". The book isn't as dry as I'm painting it but it is wonderfully researched and paints a very clear picture of the history of this important, yet often ignored, part of Europe and period of history.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-07-24 00:00:00 Marian H. Morgan Good overview of place and period that do not get as much attention by historians as they deserve. Analysis of reasons for rise and fall of Sweden and Poland-Lithuania is one of the best I've ever read. However, parts of this book on Russia suffer from shallow research.