The Business of War
Military Enterprise and Military Revolution in Early Modern Europe

'David Parrott deftly explores the various shades of grey in the public private partnership between early modern state and military entrepreneurs. He proves that more often than not private enterprise simply did perform more efficiently than the state.' Lothar Höbelt, University of Vienna

'This splendid survey prompts many further questions … but the history of early modern warfare will never look the same again.' History Today

'This is an extremely important book. It marks a major reevaluation of almost everything we have believed about warfare in early modern Europe. It is not a picture of technology-driven change (though Parrott is aware of the significance of such innovations as the flintlock musket and ring bayonet), but instead a clear-eyed and unsentimental thesis showing how administrative and economic developments pushed warfare along specific lines. … The range of Parrott's scholarship - especially in the German literature - is prodigious; the footnotes alone are worth the price of admission. Military historians will doubtless debate the details for some time to come, but that is the point: all subsequent work in early modern military history will have to take into account the Parrott thesis.' Renaissance Quarterly

'His scholarship draws on literature in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with touches of scholarship in Swedish, Danish and Dutch. Few scholars have his Braudellian sweep, or the technical chops to bring together this mass of material into a cogent argument praising the efficiency of private capital in the military realm.' Gregory Hanlon, European History Quarterly

'Now it is evident that The Business of War will become our new reference point. However, this book is something more than a summary of recent research on the subject. This is the first major study that is free from old prejudices and examines facts at their face value.' Anton Tomsinov, Strife