Publisher's description: "This book introduces players to the fascinating and stunning universe of BattleTech. A Time of War is a brief encapsulation of the BattleTech universe. With that, you'll have a frame of reference to jump right into the short story Perpetual War that provides a taste for what BattleMech combat is like for the men and women who populate this exciting universe. Next, A Brief History of the Inner Sphere provides a glimpse of how humankind has expanded to the stars in the last millennium, while the Faction section details the major states in the universe and what it's like to follow each banner, as well as a short section detailing other powers as well. This is followed by The MechWarrior section that explains a MechWarrior's place in this complex universe, as well as detailing how he actually pilots a 'Mech. The final section of this book, The BattleMech, provides a general technical overview of the BattleMech and describes the specific capabilities and weapons of the twenty-four BattleMechs contained in this book."