This book is a wonderful introduction to the armies of ancient Egypt and Assyria. First off is a list of major battles of the period, 3200 BC to 1185 BC for Egypt, and 1300 BC to 612 BC for Assyria. Next follows a series of short chapters on the tactics employed by the title powers and their enemies, their organization and formations, and the composition of their armies. The crowning glory is a section on the dress and arms of the soldiers/warriors; each type of soldier (e.g. light spearman, medium archer, horse archer, etc.) is described, and accompanied by a picture copied from an actual ancient painting or carving!This book was written with war gamers in mind, but it is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in ancient warfare. It is rare that I wish that I could award more than five stars to a book, but this is one of those books!