A respected scholar of military history and an expert on strategy, Martin van Creveld recently explored the modern worldâ€™s shifting method of combat in The Changing Face of War. Now, in The

The Culture of War

A respected scholar of military history and an expert on strategy, Martin van Creveld recently explored the modern worldâ€™s shifting method of combat in The Changing Face of War. Now, in The Culture of War, he argues that there is much more to war than just soldiers killing one another for whatever reason.

War has always been a topic of deep intrigue. Fighting itself can be a source of great, perhaps even the greatest, joy; out of this joy and fascination an entire culture has grownâ€“from the war paint of tribal warriors to todayâ€™s â€œtiger suits,â€ from Julius Caesarâ€™s red cloak to Douglas McArthurâ€™s pipe, from the decorative shields of ancient Greece to todayâ€™s nose art, and from the invention of chess around 600 A.D. to the most modern combat simulators. The culture of war has its own traditions, laws and customs, rituals, ceremonies, music, art, literature, and monuments since the beginning of civilization.

Throughout the ages, the culture of war has usually been highly esteemed. Not so in todayâ€™s advanced countries, which tend either to mock it (â€œmilitary intelligence is to intelligence what military music is to musicâ€) or to denounce it as â€œmilitaristic.â€ This provocative book, the first of its kind, sets out to show how wrongheaded, and even dangerous, such attitudes are. The Culture of War argues that men and women, contrary to the hopes of some, are just as fascinated by war today as they have been in the past. A military that
has lost touch with the culture of war is doomed not merely to defeat but to disintegration.

Innovative, authoritative, and riveting, this is a major work by one of the worldâ€™s greatest and most insightful military historians.
Country USA
Brand Presidio Press
Manufacturer Presidio Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 9780345505408
ReleaseDate 2008-09-30
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780345505408

Country	USA
Brand	Presidio Press
Manufacturer	Presidio Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	9780345505408
ReleaseDate	2008-09-30
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780345505408

The Culture of War

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