The Economics of Military History

Tyler Cowen comments on Castles, Battles, and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History which I've also been reading:

The table of contents looks amazing, but my browsing indicated this book to be boring. Still, some of you should read it. It is full of factual substance, slotted into an economic framework.

The book is, indeed, a disappointment mostly brought low by poor prose style. The analysis of the issues at hand is, however, often quite interesting. The chapter on mercenaries in Italy is an excellent take on the subject, and I'll have more to say later inspired by the book's account of the strategic bombing campaign in Germany.