Civilians in the Path of War

Two top young military historians assemble here nine interesting essays on the broad theme of civilians as targets -- deliberate or inadvertent -- of military action. The examples range from Paul Rahe's discussion of the Peloponnesian War to Williamson Murray's provocative assessment of the Persian Gulf War, which claims the allies did not inflict enough collateral damage. The tone is analytic and probing, for the authors are interested more in understanding the why and how than in finding legal remedies or policy responses.