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A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower, 1611-1721
This book examines the meteoric rise of Sweden as the pre-eminent military power in Europe during the Thirty Years War during the 1600s, and then follows its line of warrior kings into the next century until the Swedes finally meet their demise, in an overreach into the vastness of Russia.
A small Scandinavian nation, with at most one and a half million people and scant internal resources of its own, there was small logic to how Sweden could become the dominant power on the Continent. That Sweden achieved this was due to its leadership—a case-study in history when pure military skill, and that alone, could override the demographic and economic factors which have in modern times been termed so pre-eminent.
Once Protestantism emerged, via Martin Luther, the most devastating war in European history ensued, as the Holy Roman Empire sought to resassert its authority by force. Into this bloody maelstrom stepped Gustav Adolf of Sweden, a brilliant tactician and strategist, who with his finely honed Swedish legions proceeded to establish a new authority in northern Europe. Gustav, as brave as he was brilliant, was finally killed while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Lützen.
He had innovated, however, tactics and weaponry that put his successors in good stead, as Sweden remained a great power, rivaled only by France and Spain in terms of territory in Europe.
And then one of his successors, Karl XII, turned out to be just as great a military genius as Gustav himself, and as the year 1700 arrived, Swedish armies once more burst out in all directions. Karl, like Gustav, assumed the throne while still a teenager, but immediately displayed so much acumen, daring and skill that chroniclers could only compare him, like Gustav, to Alexander the Great.
This book examines thoroughly, yet in highly readable fashion, the century during which Swedish military power set an example for all Europe. While the Continent was most visibly divided along religious lines—Catholic versus Protestant—geopolitical motives always underlied the conflicts. Sweden’s reliance on its military skill was especially noteworthy, as it veritably founded the modern concept of making wars pay through conquest.
Karl XII finally let his ambitions lead him too far, as did Napoleon and Hitler in following centuries, into the vastness of the nascent Russian Empire, where he was finally defeated, at Poltava in Ukraine. Thus the period of Swedish supremacy in Europe came to a close, albeit not without leaving important lessons behind. In this work, by renowned author Henrik O. Lunde, these are clearly to be seen.
About the author:
HENRIK O. LUNDE, born in Norway, moved to America as a child and thence rose in the U.S. Army to become a Colonel in Special Forces. Highly decorated for bravery in Vietnam, he proceeded to gain advance degrees and assume strategic posts, his last being in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe. After retirement from the Army he turned to writing, with a focus on his native North, and given his combination of personal tactical knowledge plus objective strategic grasp has authored several groundbreaking works. These include Hitler s Pre-Emptive War, about Norway 1940, Finland s War of Choice, and Hitler s Wave-Breaking Concept, which analyzes the controversial retreat of Germany s Army Group North from the Leningrad front in WWII. In A Warrior Dynasty he re-examines the potential of pure military skill in global affairs. His next, long-awaited work, will examine how America itself has fared in this regard during the last 50 years. "
A small Scandinavian nation, with at most one and a half million people and scant internal resources of its own, there was small logic to how Sweden could become the dominant power on the Continent. That Sweden achieved this was due to its leadership—a case-study in history when pure military skill, and that alone, could override the demographic and economic factors which have in modern times been termed so pre-eminent.
Once Protestantism emerged, via Martin Luther, the most devastating war in European history ensued, as the Holy Roman Empire sought to resassert its authority by force. Into this bloody maelstrom stepped Gustav Adolf of Sweden, a brilliant tactician and strategist, who with his finely honed Swedish legions proceeded to establish a new authority in northern Europe. Gustav, as brave as he was brilliant, was finally killed while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Lützen.
He had innovated, however, tactics and weaponry that put his successors in good stead, as Sweden remained a great power, rivaled only by France and Spain in terms of territory in Europe.
And then one of his successors, Karl XII, turned out to be just as great a military genius as Gustav himself, and as the year 1700 arrived, Swedish armies once more burst out in all directions. Karl, like Gustav, assumed the throne while still a teenager, but immediately displayed so much acumen, daring and skill that chroniclers could only compare him, like Gustav, to Alexander the Great.
This book examines thoroughly, yet in highly readable fashion, the century during which Swedish military power set an example for all Europe. While the Continent was most visibly divided along religious lines—Catholic versus Protestant—geopolitical motives always underlied the conflicts. Sweden’s reliance on its military skill was especially noteworthy, as it veritably founded the modern concept of making wars pay through conquest.
Karl XII finally let his ambitions lead him too far, as did Napoleon and Hitler in following centuries, into the vastness of the nascent Russian Empire, where he was finally defeated, at Poltava in Ukraine. Thus the period of Swedish supremacy in Europe came to a close, albeit not without leaving important lessons behind. In this work, by renowned author Henrik O. Lunde, these are clearly to be seen.
About the author:
HENRIK O. LUNDE, born in Norway, moved to America as a child and thence rose in the U.S. Army to become a Colonel in Special Forces. Highly decorated for bravery in Vietnam, he proceeded to gain advance degrees and assume strategic posts, his last being in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe. After retirement from the Army he turned to writing, with a focus on his native North, and given his combination of personal tactical knowledge plus objective strategic grasp has authored several groundbreaking works. These include Hitler s Pre-Emptive War, about Norway 1940, Finland s War of Choice, and Hitler s Wave-Breaking Concept, which analyzes the controversial retreat of Germany s Army Group North from the Leningrad front in WWII. In A Warrior Dynasty he re-examines the potential of pure military skill in global affairs. His next, long-awaited work, will examine how America itself has fared in this regard during the last 50 years. "
312 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2014
57 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Henrik O. Lunde
12 books13 followersHENRIK O. LUNDE, was born in Norway, moved to America as a child and thence rose in the U.S. Army to become a Colonel in Special Forces. Highly decorated for bravery in Vietnam, he proceeded to gain advance degrees and assume strategic posts, his last being in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe. After retirement from the Army he turned to writing, with a focus on his native North, and given his combination of personal tactical knowledge plus objective strategic grasp has authored several groundbreaking works. These include Hitler's Pre-Emptive War, about Norway 1940, Finland's War of Choice, and Hitler's Wave-Breaking Concept, which analyzes the controversial retreat of Germany's Army Group North from the Leningrad front in WWII. In A Warrior Dynasty he re-examines the potential of pure military skill in global affairs. His next, long-awaited work, will examine how America itself has fared in this regard during the last 50 years.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 14, 2016
What I found most interesting in Henrik Lunde's Warrior Dynasty were the shifting alliances during the late 17th century, the period in which Sweden rose to superpower status. Military tactics are a major focus of this study; battle by battle, Lunde analyzes how Sweden changed modern warfare. There was some drama in how each battle played out. I would like to have seen more on the accompanying cultural transformation as well as attitudes toward what was nearly nonstop warfare; however, I can't fault Lunde since this was not the purpose of his book.
October 21, 2014
A huge disappointment. Essentially, this is a hack-job to earn some money.
The author claims that he wanted to cover a void in military history, but that is a lie. There is no lack of recent books on that wars. The author in each chapter compiles his text mostly from 3 other books (most are in English and easily accessible to everyone) with some quotes from about 3 other books. Often he choses outdated books or quotes from new ones very selectively. He often talks about choosing which ‘source’ to believe but by ‘sources’ he means these books, some of them old or non-academic, not first-hand accounts, so these talks are nonsense.
Lunde’s style is bleak and lifeless, there are a lot of mistakes (dates, months, names, locations...), his understanding of the early modern warfare is lacking, he doesn’t know about the difference of 17th century wars from 16th century wars or 18th century ones, and the general tone is too biased pro-Swedish.
It is recommended to read Wilson’s ‘Thirty Years' War: Europe’s Tragedy’ instead, or Frost’s ‘Northern Wars’, or Englund's 'Poltava' specifically on that campaign and battle.
The author claims that he wanted to cover a void in military history, but that is a lie. There is no lack of recent books on that wars. The author in each chapter compiles his text mostly from 3 other books (most are in English and easily accessible to everyone) with some quotes from about 3 other books. Often he choses outdated books or quotes from new ones very selectively. He often talks about choosing which ‘source’ to believe but by ‘sources’ he means these books, some of them old or non-academic, not first-hand accounts, so these talks are nonsense.
Lunde’s style is bleak and lifeless, there are a lot of mistakes (dates, months, names, locations...), his understanding of the early modern warfare is lacking, he doesn’t know about the difference of 17th century wars from 16th century wars or 18th century ones, and the general tone is too biased pro-Swedish.
It is recommended to read Wilson’s ‘Thirty Years' War: Europe’s Tragedy’ instead, or Frost’s ‘Northern Wars’, or Englund's 'Poltava' specifically on that campaign and battle.
March 16, 2018
Interesting book on the rise and fall of Sweden as a military empire in the 17th and 18th century. The throwback to Gibben’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is made explicit by the author and though not quite on the same level, it does an excellent job to highlight the military aspects of this period, including an honest reappraisal of both Gustav Adolf and Carl XII. The generalizations made in the conclusion could be fleshed out a bit more, but overall an enjoyable read.
January 12, 2015
The Goodreads description for this book does a pretty good job as acting as its own review, so I won't say overmuch about the narrative of the book itself.
Just one thing: As a subjective, personal taste sort of thing, I wish Mr. Lunde had focused just a little more on the campaigns and leadership style of 'Carolus Rex' Karl XII. Lunde has the thesis all ready to go for yet another book hidden within the narrative when he declares that he feels that other military historians (including Napoleon himself who declared that Karl was a good soldier, but not a good general) are mistaken in deriding Karl XII as a foolish adventurer. Personally, I would love to see a full length book Lunde's idea that Karl XII was, indeed, a good general. Also the narrative of the Great Northern War gets short shrift even though Mr. Lunde, himself a Scandinavian by birth, complains about this in his own narrative! The Great Northern War and the War of Spanish Succession started at the same time and, considering the diplomatic interplay and the impact Swedish, Russian and Polish military actions had on Western Europe, I feel that the two wars should be viewed as one and the same entity. (Not to mention the convoluted alliance system at the time, but maybe I should just find a way to pay for grad school, get a Masters in Military History and write it myself?)
Beyond that, I actually really enjoyed the book. It was fairly well written, the typos should nearly always be blamed on the publisher though these weren't egregious in my view. While much of the work was not all that original, it is still an excellent overview and an introduction into the apex of Swedish history.
Now for a lesson that I feel can be learned from this book.
While unintended, I found a deeper lesson hidden within the pages of this book. There is a wonderful military historian out there who has written a controversial, excellent book of his own: 'The German Way of War'. While Mr. Lunde in no way intended this, I feel that his book, 'Warrior Dynasty' can serve as a bit of a corrective to the refrain from some military historians that warfighting is linked to a nations culture. Well, yes and no.
The deeper lesson one can derive from the work of Mr. Lunde is this: All great armies/military organizations share a few things in common. A reliance on speed and maneuverability over heavy plodding. A willingness to approach, engage, defeat, and then pursue their enemy, what you can call the 'Killer Instinct'. A reliance upon firepower and or aggression as opposed to sheer mass. And a willingness to go the extra mile in order to achieve victory even within the face of a broken, or some times non-existent, logistical infrastructure. In other words, a willingness to do more with less and the willingness to suffer on an individual basis in order to make the collective stronger despite of it.
All of these things the reforms of Gustav Adolf brought about gave to the Swedes in abundance. And these things were prevalent in not just the Prussian later German Army as well. They are the hallmarks of every great army. While true the German state(s) have and had been forced to deal with a unique strategic situation brought about by geography, neither the reforms of the Prussian Army wrought about by the Great Elector and improved upon by Frederick, or the Prussian General Staff System followed by the sheer excellence that was the unified German Army can be classified as 'unique'. They simply aren't. Besides- Brandenburg's/Prussia's later military greatness grew out of the direct contact, both as an ally and as a foe, with the Swedish military system designed by Gustav Adolf. Therefore, the 'German Way of War' is neither unique to Germany, or even very German at all. And as the Japanese in their wars with China and Russia proved or the Army of Northern Virginia in the US Civil War proved, it is not even necessarily a European phenomenon.
Still, as an introduction to the apex of glory that was the short lived Swedish Empire, and to the campaigns of two of the Great Captains of history- Gustav Adolf and Carolus Rex, this is a very good book.
Just one thing: As a subjective, personal taste sort of thing, I wish Mr. Lunde had focused just a little more on the campaigns and leadership style of 'Carolus Rex' Karl XII. Lunde has the thesis all ready to go for yet another book hidden within the narrative when he declares that he feels that other military historians (including Napoleon himself who declared that Karl was a good soldier, but not a good general) are mistaken in deriding Karl XII as a foolish adventurer. Personally, I would love to see a full length book Lunde's idea that Karl XII was, indeed, a good general. Also the narrative of the Great Northern War gets short shrift even though Mr. Lunde, himself a Scandinavian by birth, complains about this in his own narrative! The Great Northern War and the War of Spanish Succession started at the same time and, considering the diplomatic interplay and the impact Swedish, Russian and Polish military actions had on Western Europe, I feel that the two wars should be viewed as one and the same entity. (Not to mention the convoluted alliance system at the time, but maybe I should just find a way to pay for grad school, get a Masters in Military History and write it myself?)
Beyond that, I actually really enjoyed the book. It was fairly well written, the typos should nearly always be blamed on the publisher though these weren't egregious in my view. While much of the work was not all that original, it is still an excellent overview and an introduction into the apex of Swedish history.
Now for a lesson that I feel can be learned from this book.
While unintended, I found a deeper lesson hidden within the pages of this book. There is a wonderful military historian out there who has written a controversial, excellent book of his own: 'The German Way of War'. While Mr. Lunde in no way intended this, I feel that his book, 'Warrior Dynasty' can serve as a bit of a corrective to the refrain from some military historians that warfighting is linked to a nations culture. Well, yes and no.
The deeper lesson one can derive from the work of Mr. Lunde is this: All great armies/military organizations share a few things in common. A reliance on speed and maneuverability over heavy plodding. A willingness to approach, engage, defeat, and then pursue their enemy, what you can call the 'Killer Instinct'. A reliance upon firepower and or aggression as opposed to sheer mass. And a willingness to go the extra mile in order to achieve victory even within the face of a broken, or some times non-existent, logistical infrastructure. In other words, a willingness to do more with less and the willingness to suffer on an individual basis in order to make the collective stronger despite of it.
All of these things the reforms of Gustav Adolf brought about gave to the Swedes in abundance. And these things were prevalent in not just the Prussian later German Army as well. They are the hallmarks of every great army. While true the German state(s) have and had been forced to deal with a unique strategic situation brought about by geography, neither the reforms of the Prussian Army wrought about by the Great Elector and improved upon by Frederick, or the Prussian General Staff System followed by the sheer excellence that was the unified German Army can be classified as 'unique'. They simply aren't. Besides- Brandenburg's/Prussia's later military greatness grew out of the direct contact, both as an ally and as a foe, with the Swedish military system designed by Gustav Adolf. Therefore, the 'German Way of War' is neither unique to Germany, or even very German at all. And as the Japanese in their wars with China and Russia proved or the Army of Northern Virginia in the US Civil War proved, it is not even necessarily a European phenomenon.
Still, as an introduction to the apex of glory that was the short lived Swedish Empire, and to the campaigns of two of the Great Captains of history- Gustav Adolf and Carolus Rex, this is a very good book.
March 22, 2015
In the year 1611, Charles X of Sweden died and the crown passed to his son. It was a perilous time for the nation. Just sixteen years old at the time of his accession, Gustav II Adolf inherited not just a kingdom, but three wars; against Denmark-Norway, against Poland, and against Russia. The young king acted swiftly to reform the nation's army and within a few years transformed the sparsely populated and resource-poor Sweden into the dominant power in Northern and Central Europe, a position of military hegemony it would hold for over a century.
Henrik Lunde's A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower, 1611-1721 examines the century of Swedish dominance from the accession of Gustav Adolf, through the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) to the eventual fall of the Swedish Empire after The Great Northern War (1700–1721), with a focus on the careers of Kings Gustav Adolf and Charles XII. Lunde pays particular attention to the combined arms approach - revolutionary at the time - developed by Gustav Adolf, and the factors which made the Swedish army virtually unbeatable. These factors include the Swedish embrace of new technologies, a preference for offense over defense, and the idea that rather than costing the state "war should pay for itself".
Lunde excels in his analysis of the minutiae of tactics and campaigning, but the detail given to these areas comes at a cost. The monarchs who reigned between Gustav Adolf and Charles XII receive scant attention, and the lack of a greater geopolitical context is especially frustrating in the chapters dedicated to the Thirty Years War. This is not a great weakness, however, as there are many English-language and translated popular histories on the Thirty Years War available and very few dedicated solely to the Swedish campaigns. This book does an excellent job of filling that hole in the literature, even if concentrating a hundred years of European history into three hundred pages means that there will be some omissions.
Henrik Lunde's A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower, 1611-1721 examines the century of Swedish dominance from the accession of Gustav Adolf, through the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) to the eventual fall of the Swedish Empire after The Great Northern War (1700–1721), with a focus on the careers of Kings Gustav Adolf and Charles XII. Lunde pays particular attention to the combined arms approach - revolutionary at the time - developed by Gustav Adolf, and the factors which made the Swedish army virtually unbeatable. These factors include the Swedish embrace of new technologies, a preference for offense over defense, and the idea that rather than costing the state "war should pay for itself".
Lunde excels in his analysis of the minutiae of tactics and campaigning, but the detail given to these areas comes at a cost. The monarchs who reigned between Gustav Adolf and Charles XII receive scant attention, and the lack of a greater geopolitical context is especially frustrating in the chapters dedicated to the Thirty Years War. This is not a great weakness, however, as there are many English-language and translated popular histories on the Thirty Years War available and very few dedicated solely to the Swedish campaigns. This book does an excellent job of filling that hole in the literature, even if concentrating a hundred years of European history into three hundred pages means that there will be some omissions.
October 1, 2021
Sweden has to have been one of the most unlikely military powers in history. It’s location in the far north hampered its development in both manpower and resources. Nevertheless, throughout the 17th Century, Sweden belonged in the higher echelons of European military powers. In A Warrior Dynasty, Henrik O. Lunde considers the reasons for Sweden’s rise and fall from 1611 to 1721 through the stories of the soldier kings responsible for it.
Lunde immediately dispels the myth of historical Swedish pacifism: that is a relatively modern invention. He then surveys Swedish conflicts before the Kalmar War (1611-1613) and the accession of Gustav Adolf. That warrior king needs no introduction to military history students, but Lunde does his due diligence in following Gustav’s career, including his innovations and reforms that propelled Sweden into becoming a major force in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Indeed, Lunde places Gustav firmly within the Military Revolution of the 17th Century. Lunde takes us into the Thirty Years’ War with a focus on the campaigns of Breitenfeld (1631) and Lutzen (1632) where Gustav was killed characteristically leading a cavalry charge. The Swedes fought on in Europe for another 16 years, but their mantle of leaders of Protestantism passed to the French.
Karl X came to the throne in 1654 and Karl XII in 1697, and it was under those two kings that Sweden fought more significant wars – Karl XI reigned during more peaceful times, but also left his son a powerful army. Karl X was successful for the most part in establishing and defending Sweden’s Baltic Empire, including the spectacular March Across the Belts in 1658 to beat the Danes. Karl XII, however, is considered by Lunde to be Sweden’s greatest Vasa warrior king. When he ascended to the throne, the Danes thought this a good time to attack Sweden. They were wrong. Karl XII took the offensive, as he would do for most of his war-filled reign and crushed them. He turned his attentions to the Russians and battered them at Narva (1700) then the Polish-Lithuanians at Kliszow (1702). It was the turn of the Saxons in 1706. Karl XII attacked Russia in 1707, but after initial successes he lost disastrously at Poltava in 1709, changing the course of European history. After a period of exile with the Ottomans, Karl XII returned to Sweden, only to begin a new war with Norway in 1718 where he was killed by a sniper. Sweden never recovered from his loss. Lunde concludes by summarising his arguments over Sweden’s rise and fall, comparing Karl XII and Gustav, and deducing lessons for modern policy makers.
Although first published in 2014, this paperback edition of A Warrior Dynasty will make it more accessible to a wider readership. That is a good thing because this is a solid survey of Sweden’s most glorious century, militarily speaking. Lunde does a good job of clarifying a sometimes complex era, though he weakens his text at times by discussing his problems with sources and space. That aside, this is an interesting and engaging book that made me want to dig deeper into the warrior kings. Other readers of 17th Century warfare will certainly want this on their shelves.
Lunde immediately dispels the myth of historical Swedish pacifism: that is a relatively modern invention. He then surveys Swedish conflicts before the Kalmar War (1611-1613) and the accession of Gustav Adolf. That warrior king needs no introduction to military history students, but Lunde does his due diligence in following Gustav’s career, including his innovations and reforms that propelled Sweden into becoming a major force in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Indeed, Lunde places Gustav firmly within the Military Revolution of the 17th Century. Lunde takes us into the Thirty Years’ War with a focus on the campaigns of Breitenfeld (1631) and Lutzen (1632) where Gustav was killed characteristically leading a cavalry charge. The Swedes fought on in Europe for another 16 years, but their mantle of leaders of Protestantism passed to the French.
Karl X came to the throne in 1654 and Karl XII in 1697, and it was under those two kings that Sweden fought more significant wars – Karl XI reigned during more peaceful times, but also left his son a powerful army. Karl X was successful for the most part in establishing and defending Sweden’s Baltic Empire, including the spectacular March Across the Belts in 1658 to beat the Danes. Karl XII, however, is considered by Lunde to be Sweden’s greatest Vasa warrior king. When he ascended to the throne, the Danes thought this a good time to attack Sweden. They were wrong. Karl XII took the offensive, as he would do for most of his war-filled reign and crushed them. He turned his attentions to the Russians and battered them at Narva (1700) then the Polish-Lithuanians at Kliszow (1702). It was the turn of the Saxons in 1706. Karl XII attacked Russia in 1707, but after initial successes he lost disastrously at Poltava in 1709, changing the course of European history. After a period of exile with the Ottomans, Karl XII returned to Sweden, only to begin a new war with Norway in 1718 where he was killed by a sniper. Sweden never recovered from his loss. Lunde concludes by summarising his arguments over Sweden’s rise and fall, comparing Karl XII and Gustav, and deducing lessons for modern policy makers.
Although first published in 2014, this paperback edition of A Warrior Dynasty will make it more accessible to a wider readership. That is a good thing because this is a solid survey of Sweden’s most glorious century, militarily speaking. Lunde does a good job of clarifying a sometimes complex era, though he weakens his text at times by discussing his problems with sources and space. That aside, this is an interesting and engaging book that made me want to dig deeper into the warrior kings. Other readers of 17th Century warfare will certainly want this on their shelves.
June 16, 2024
I really wanted to like this book, it did provide a lot of interesting information about the Vasa kings. It was good going till we got to Peter the Great. This author would've been better off calling him Perer I, because Charles XII lost his Empire not for the reasons stated, but because he was good and went after a man who was Great. What happened between Narva and Poltava? Tsar Peter time traveled his country several centuries into the future, by force of his will alone, in less than a lifetime. A second born son who had never seen anything bigger than a lake, but dared to dream of Russia becoming a great naval power, who was born into a Russia that still paid protection money to the Golden Horde's remnants and veiled it's women, and which he turned into a POWER Europe respected. And if every single subject didn't fight him tooth and nail, from the great boyars to the last peasant. And if he didn't lead from the front, working in shipyards incognito to learn, building St Petersburn from the swamp up with his own two hands, and dying because he he stepped in to save drowning sailors. This author treats Peter like a barbarian whose motivations are unknown and unknowable, and as a coward who runs. Well, jokes on the Swedes, then. Peter's achievement is something like Willian the Conqueror rowing over the Channel in a duck boat and leaving England a global empire by the end if his own lifetime. That's why Sweden lost its empire. Charles XII misjudged his opponent. Sometimes running to fight another day is the right thing to do.
May 26, 2020
This book makes a most excellent combination of overall view and details of the subject.
Mr. Lunde is very clear from the beginning of the book what his objective is and at the end of the book he reviews that. :He has summaries for each chapter as well.
He is very clear on his resources. The main references are listed at the back of the book soon followed by a further list of the many volumes of his resources. At the end of each chapter notes are listed of resources used for that chapter. This is especially useful for those who desire further reading.
He repeatably mentions he sources and compares information from different sources. He does provide his own conclusions - however ( as opposed to many other authors, the bad ones ) he then provides his logic and alternatives, their possible results and provides further information and mentions the resources he uses to form those ideas.
The chapters are to the point, in summary form followed by more details for the most relevant ( to the book ) events. The battles and political details provide the reader with enough information to understand and know what occurred.
An most Excellent history.
Mr. Lunde is very clear from the beginning of the book what his objective is and at the end of the book he reviews that. :He has summaries for each chapter as well.
He is very clear on his resources. The main references are listed at the back of the book soon followed by a further list of the many volumes of his resources. At the end of each chapter notes are listed of resources used for that chapter. This is especially useful for those who desire further reading.
He repeatably mentions he sources and compares information from different sources. He does provide his own conclusions - however ( as opposed to many other authors, the bad ones ) he then provides his logic and alternatives, their possible results and provides further information and mentions the resources he uses to form those ideas.
The chapters are to the point, in summary form followed by more details for the most relevant ( to the book ) events. The battles and political details provide the reader with enough information to understand and know what occurred.
An most Excellent history.
November 5, 2020
I was disappointed with the book. It feels really rushed, very poorly formatted, and it feels more like some essays written by middle schoolers, than a serious work. It's hard to describe, but the feeling is the book is quite unprofessional when you read it.
December 10, 2020
A short military history of the Swedish Vasa dynasty, a good intro to a much neglected (in the West) subject. For those interested the Swedish campaigns of the Thirty years war and the Great Northern War.
May 13, 2023
damned good book
People who like history and historical characters should love this book. Well written. Absorbing. I finished it in four days - roughly a hundred pages per day. It clarified for me a period in European history that had puzzled me since high school.
People who like history and historical characters should love this book. Well written. Absorbing. I finished it in four days - roughly a hundred pages per day. It clarified for me a period in European history that had puzzled me since high school.
May 17, 2024
2.5 stars. I was hoping for something that would develop the broader political context. But after the first few chapters, it's really just a (pretty tedious) military history. If that's what you're looking for, I suppose it's perfectly fine. But it didn't really give me what I wanted.
October 21, 2018
Heavily reliant on secondary sources the result is an uneven somewhat idiosyncratic and unbalanced account with occasional glimpses of clear insight and explanation
September 29, 2016
Needed to fill a gap in my knowledge of the 30 years war of 1618-1648 and better understand the role Sweden played in it. Learned about the strategic genius of Gustavus Aldophus and King Charles the 12th of Sweden as they deftly changed the European battlefield through skillfully employing combined arms tactics. Using Cavalry and mobile artillery in perfect concert with infantry and by doing so Sweden became the major Military power in continental Europe with victory after successive victory until their defeat by the infamous Russian winter and Tsar Peter the Great's slash and burn tactics.
Key lessons: Logistics and supply line vulnerabilities can break even the best trained army facing an inferior one if they are exploited.
Weather effects can't be underestimated.
Leading from the front inspires morale but destroys an Army's ability to fight when that leader is killed.
To engage in a protracted war you must secure a sustainable way to finance it.
Key lessons: Logistics and supply line vulnerabilities can break even the best trained army facing an inferior one if they are exploited.
Weather effects can't be underestimated.
Leading from the front inspires morale but destroys an Army's ability to fight when that leader is killed.
To engage in a protracted war you must secure a sustainable way to finance it.
September 29, 2014
According to this book, Sweden was once the dominant military force in Europe once upon a time - who knew? Of course, if you go far back enough, just about everyone had a turn. The book reads like a textbook or extended treatise by a scholar of history, so it lacks punch and hook... and as the author does little to develop the various kings and regents of the period, it becomes hard to tell the Karls and Gustavs apart.
November 30, 2014
For a decent military history with summaries between major points, this was helpful in filling-in some historical blanks in my reading. I felt I was learning a great deal about these northern countries and it connected a lot of dots for me. Easy to read and understand, it was a pleasant time worth reading.
November 15, 2025
A nice and interesting look at Sweden's role as a Superpower. I wanted to know more about Karl XII. The second time I read this book, was while in Sweden, so that was really interesting listening to the audiobook walking around the city of Stockholm. I learned a lot about Karl XII this second time and really liked learning about Gustav Adolphous.
August 19, 2018
Naprawdę bardzo interesująca książka - nie ma co się zrażać, że autorem jest były wojskowy i historyk wojskowości. Niezwykle ciekawie , całkiem obszernie, wnikliwie i uczciwie (!) opisuje Wielkie Stulecie Szwedów (przy okazji chyba - Najgorsze Stulecie Polaków...)
March 8, 2015
Not a very compelling narrative. Too much emphasis on battle by battle tactics. Context missing or not clear.
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