Why read Gunpowder and Galleys?

Book cover of Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the 16th Century

Book description

Interspersing topical chapters with chronological ones, Guilmartin (history and early modern European history, Ohio State U.) explores how the Mediterranean system of armed conflict at sea operated over the course of the 16th century. Among his findings is that the war galley held it own against the broadside sailing vessel…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Gunpowder and Galleys as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Cormac O'Brien

Author

The great John Keegan called this “among the two or three very best works of military history I have ever read,” and it’s easy to see why. An authoritative, deeply researched examination of the Mediterranean system of warfare at sea in the age immediately following the introduction of effective gunpowder weapons, Guilmartin’s riveting book takes us deep into the interminable rivalries between Christians and Muslims across the inland sea, revealing the peculiar realities—technological, geopolitical, climatic, cultural—that shaped the era’s tactics and strategy. This is a book full of fascinating revelations about a largely misunderstood chapter of history.

From Cormac's list on early modern European warfare.