Battles that Changed History

An oldie but a goodie.  First published in 1956 when I was in middle school.  I  saw it in a Harvard Square bookstore, and thought it was so cool.  I begged and pleaded with the parents and somehow I received a copy for birthday  and read it cover to cover.  Pratt starts off with Alexander the Great,  moves up thru Pyrrus of  Epirus (from whom we get Pyrric victory), the siege of Vienna, the revolt of the Netherlands, and ending with the carrier battles of Midway.  Although it concentrates on the military history of Western Civilization, the book is a good introduction to Western European history. 
   The writer, Fletcher Pratt is a helova good writer.  He made his living dong decent science fiction, good stuff that sold, and he knows the periods of which he writes well, gives all sorts of interesting details.  Pratt is a good fun read, and in this book the reader gets at  good abet sketchy  history of the Western world  going back 2500 years.  If you have a middle school child or grandchild, this book would be a class A gift.