Alan Axelrod identifies twenty-five small wars that had repercussions far beyond their size. Boudicca's fight against the Romans in Britain, that eventually led to the downfall of the biggest empire of that time; the 2nd Jewish revolt of 132-135 AD, that inadvertently led to the creation of Christianity as a world religion; how Ivan IV made Russia one country, how the Opium Wars increased Chinese distrust and fear of the West, so it is still felt today; the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 that precipitated the First World War that changed the face of the world; and, how the Afghan Civil War led to the rise of the Taliban, the Algerian War in 1815 'the first war on terror' and its terrible backlash, and King Philip's War in 1675 that bankrupt Spain, and cost that country it's position as the most powerful one in the world. Weather inadvertently or not, Axelrod shows the consequences of wars cannot be predicted, and how these conflicts - intended or otherwise - had knock-on effects far beyond their size, and how a small war hundreds of years ago could change history and our world forever