At the dawn of the 21st century, new weapons and information technologies are transforming warfare to enable wars to be fought ‘over the horizon’ by smart unmanned missiles. There may be a temptation to think that combat no longer involves people and that the vital role of the individual, ‘the man against fire’, is in danger of being forgotten. But humans and human factors are still decisive in modern warfare.

This book analyses the human face of warfare in the past, present and future. It contains essays by eminent Australian and international experts covering such issues as the psychology of killing in society and in the military; the past and future stresses on military commanders, from Douglas Macarthur to Norman Schwarzkopf; the making of war heroes such as Albert Jacka and Audie Murphy; and the role of women in combat.

The growing dilemma in Western democracies, between the need for far-flung commitments to maintain international security and increasing public reluctance to accept military casualties in the face of instantaneous media coverage, is carefully analysed.

The Human Face of Warfare is a major interdisciplinary contribution to a field of study that is rapidly growing in importance in Western society.