The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (980 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0684845024 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 496 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-01-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
WARS OF LIBERATION C. Davis The Soul of Battle compares three "campaigns", for lack of a better word, that in the author's mind have very similar characteristics. While the timing of this book (it was written in 1999 and published initially in 2001) and the epilogue indicate that this book was written to either critique the limited war aims of the first Gulf War or to urge - in a rather abstract way - the liberation of the Iraqi people, it is a fantastic read that will long outlast the current war in Iraq. Mr. Hanson is viewed by many as an apologist for the Neo-cons, but that does not detract from his ability to create an interesting thesis, writ. Strongly-Argued, Intriguing, but Unconvincing A. Courie Victor Davis Hanson's "The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, How Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny" is a thought-provoking, interesting, but too-lengthy study of three great democratic military leaders: the Theban Epaminondas, Sherman, and Patton. Hanson argues that the democratic armies under these three leaders, engaged in noble fights to save the oppressed and end tyranny, used their moral soul to defeat enemies that most considered superior.Hanson devotes one section to each of the leaders, giving brief biographies as well as highlighting their major campaign: Epaminondas' successful cam. "A mind-opening book" according to Stephen Chakwin. This is the kind of book that throws off ideas like sparks from a sparkler. On its surface, it is a sober, if not solemn, examination of how three great generals (Epaminondas, a Theban; Sherman, a Union general; and Patton, in Europe in World War II) commanding forces made up of free men from democratic societies were able to achieve great results against adversaries who were supposedly very powerful, but who were representatives of slave societies and whose power turned out to be less than expected. Hanson argues that the moral power of an army that comes to realize that it is fighting on the side of good against true
--John J. He writes: "Theban hoplites, Union troops, and American GIs were ideological armies foremost, composed of citizen-soldiers who burst into their enemies' heartland because they believed it was a just and very necessary thing to do. They were "eccentrics, considered unbalanced or worse by their own superiors" who led democratic armies on missions of freedom. Yet Victor Davis Hanson, a classics professor and author of The Western Way of War, makes a compelling connection between these three men. Hanson disputes the conventional notion that soldiers fight only for their buddies, rather than abstract ideals. Civil War, and Patton was the general most feared by his N
Argues that American generals Sherman and Patton, as well as Athenian general Epaminondas, were the greatest military leaders in history.