The Dark Path: The Structure of War and the Rise of the West

The Dark Path: The Structure of War and the Rise of the West is the latest book by American military and historian Williamson Murray (1941-2023). The book discusses five revolutions that have fundamentally changed the nature of war and shaped the world we live in.

Western civilization has not always had a military advantage. But the dynamics of continuous change - in strategy, technology, logistics, ideology - have made it the most dangerous player on the battlefield. Murray explores this history from the 16th century to the present day: from the birth of the state with a professional army - to the total war of the 20th century and to the asymmetric wars of today.

This book is about how the West came to dominate the world in many ways thanks to military power. About how war has been the main engineer of history for centuries.