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Battles of the World: The Interactive History of War (Compton’s New Media, $44.95).

Battles of the World: The Interactive History of War, a Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or Macintosh CD-ROM for $44.95 from Compton’s New Media (800-227-5609, http://www.comptons.com), is a showcase of the History of War. Ten battles that changed world history come to life through the use of video, colorful maps and 3-D animation. What gives this title added credibility is the strategic analysis by military historian Martin Van Creveld, a professor of history at Hebrew University, in Jerusalem. Other excellent features include an extensive database and timeline.

Battles of the World includes a database containing 3,000 alphabetically arranged mini-articles about many battles, but the 10 on which it focuses are Alesia, Agincourt, Austerlitz, Gaugamela, Kadesh, the 1918 Kaiserschlacht, Kyushu, Stalingrad, the Tet Offensive and the Gulf War.

It is easy to search for a battle by name, and at the bottom of the screen buttons labeled “background,” “the battle” and “aftermath” offer more in-depth information about each battle. These features supply information on more than just the 10 main battles. For example, the timeline feature shows what was going on in world history at the time of the battle currently being shown. Aside from the sometimes annoying British accent of its narrator, Alexander the Great, this is a wonderful title.

Crews McCulloch