2003
First Published
3.90
Average Rating
459
Number of Pages
A History of Combat and Culture spans the globe and the centuries to explore the way ideas shape the conduct of warfare. Drawing its 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 day. In battle, ideas can be more far more important than bullets or bombs. 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 discernable 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.
Avg Rating
3.90
Number of Ratings
221
5 STARS
24%
4 STARS
48%
3 STARS
23%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
0%
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Author
John A. Lynn
Author · 8 books
John Albert Lynn is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a visiting professor at Northwestern University, Evanston. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Although he specializes in the military history of France from the early modern period through the revolution, he has taught classes spanning the entire range of military history, including classes on the military history of south Asia.
