The
Book of War
In this eclectic anthology of war writings, military historian John Keegan
(author of
The Face
of Battle and
The
Second World War) has collected some of the best that has been thought
and said about armed conflict over the course of 25 centuries. Keegan is
especially interested in how war has evolved over time; his introduction is a
brief history of this development, from the heroic age of individual combat to
the horrific "total war" of the 20th century.
He begins with a pair of 5th-century-B.C. excerpts from Thucydides and concludes
with a British soldier's brief description of combat against Iraqi soldiers in
the 1991 Gulf War. In between are selections by Julius Caesar, Davy Crockett,
Victor Hugo, George Orwell, and many others. If there is a theme to this book,
it may be the clash of cultures: what happens when different military traditions
collide, such as when the Romans invaded Britain, the Muslim Turks besieged
Malta, or General Custer and the 7th Cavalry faced the Sioux in Montana. He
understandably gives only cursory attention to several wars--the U.S. Civil War,
Korea, and Vietnam--and lingers a bit on his coverage of the First World War
(which Keegan views as a key to interpreting the whole 20th century) and the
Second World War. The selections themselves are continually exciting, and rarely
predictable. There are even a few poems thrown in for good effect.
The
Book of War may focus on an awful subject ("The history of all forms of
warfare is ... essentially inhumane," writes Keegan), but it is also full of
awfully good writing. --John J. Miller --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition. Review © Amazon.com
