Spans the globe and the centuries to explore the way ideas
shape the conduct of warfare Drawing on examples from Europe, the
Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and America, John A. Lynn
challenges the belief that technology has been the dominant
influence on combat from ancient times to the present. In battle,
ideas can be more far more important than bullets or bombs. Carl
von Clausewitz proclaimed that war is politics, but even more
basically, war is culture. The hard reality of armed conflict is
formed by - and, in turn, forms - a culture''s values, assumptions,
and expectations about fighting. The author examines the
relationship between the real and the ideal, arguing that feedback
between the two follows certain discernible paths. Battle rejects
the currently fashionable notion of a ''Western way of warfare'' and
replaces it with more nuanced concepts of varied and evolving
cultural patterns of combat. After considering history, Lynn
finally asks how the knowledge gained might illuminate our
understanding of the war on terrorism. The book includes a new
Epilogue by the author.
關於作者:
John A. Lynn, an expert on 17th and 18th century warfare, is a
professor of history at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and an adjunct professor at Ohio State University.
He is the author of Giant of the Grand Siecle and The Wars of Louis
XIV.
目錄:
Acknowledgments
Preface: Requiem for the Universal Soldier
Written in Blood: The Classical Greek Drama of
Battle and the Western Way of War
Subtleties of Violence: Ancient Chinese
and Indian Texts on Warfare
Chivalry and Chevauchde: The Ideal, the Real,
and the Perfect in Medieval European Warfare
Linear Warfare: Images and Ideals of Combat in the
Age of Enlightenment
Victories of the Conquered: The Native Character
of the Sepoy
The Sun of Austerlitz: Romantic Visions of
Decisive Battle in Nineteenth-Century Europe
The Merciless Fight: Race and Military Culture
in the Pacific War
Crossing the Canal: Egyptian Effectiveness
and Military Culture in the October War
Epilogue: Terrorism: Forming a New Military Discourse on War
Appendix: The Discourse and the Reality of War:
A Cultural Model
Notes
Index