The culture of war
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The culture of war
Presidio Press : Ballantine Books, c2008
Available at 6 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In theory war is a means to an end, a rational, if very brutal, activity intended to serve the interests of one group of people by killing, wounding, or otherwise incapacitating those who oppose it. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. Facts beyond number prove that war exercises a powerful fascination in its own right. Out of this fascination grew an entire culture that surrounds it as water surrounds a fish.
The Culture of War ranges from the often exuberant shapes and decoration of armor to today's"tiger suits"; from war games played by the ancient Egyptians on specially-made boards all the way to the vast variety of present-day war games, exercises, and maneuvers; and from Yahweh's commandments in the Pentateuch to the numbered paragraphs of today's international law. It includes the values and traditions of warriors as manifested in their deportment, customs, literature, parades, reviews, and other assorted ceremonies, as well as the endlessly varied ways in which wars have been declared, brought to a formal end, and commemorated.
This volume, the first of its kind in any language, provides a comprehensive account of the subject. It takes aim both at leftists who denounce the culture of war as"militarist" and at "hard headed" strategists who see it as useless; arguing that the culture of war, far from being passe, is as alive today as it has ever been. Conversely, a society which, for one reason or another, loses touch with this culture will be helpless in front of one that has retained it and relishes in it.
Martin van Creveld, professor of history at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, is one of the world's best-known
experts on military history and strategy.
by "Nielsen BookData"