War and Our World: The Reith Lectures, 1998 - Couverture rigide

Keegan, John

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0091777941 ISBN 13 : 9780091777944

Editeur : Hutchinson, 1998

Synopsis

The subject of the 1998 Reith Lectures is war - its origins, history and future. Keegan focuses on significant themes, among them, the impact of war on our century and the forms it has taken, from the all-out conflicts of industrialized states to the deadly assaults of religious fundamentalists.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

War has afflicted the life of mankind in this century as it has done in no other. The First World War killed ten million people, the Second fifty million, and wars since 1945 have killed millions more. Nuclear weapons, a product of the Second World War, have the potentiality not only to destroy lives on a scale greater than any yet explained or even imagined but to obliterate organised society itself. Because the story of war is intertwined with that of mankind from the earliest recorded times, no short book can encompass its whole history. John Keegan therefore concentrates in significant themes: the impact of war on our century and the forms it has taken; the origin of war in human nature and history; the adoption and use of war by states as an instrument of policy; the experience of war by individuals and human groups and its effect on their existence; and, finally, the future of war, particularly the question whether there can now be an end to it.

Présentation de l'éditeur

John Keegan, widely considered the greatest military historian of our time and the author of acclaimed volumes on ancient and modern warfare--including, most recently, The First World War , a national bestseller--distills what he knows about the why’s and how’s of armed conflict into a series of brilliantly concise essays.

Is war a natural condition of humankind? What are the origins of war? Is the modern state dependent on warfare? How does war affect the individual, combatant or noncombatant? Can there be an end to war? Keegan addresses these questions with a breathtaking knowledge of history and the many other disciplines that have attempted to explain the phenomenon. The themes Keegan concentrates on in this short volume are essential to our understanding of why war remains the single greatest affliction of humanity in the twenty-first century, surpassing famine and disease, its traditional companions.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Hutchinson
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0091777941
• ISBN 13: 9780091777944
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 124
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible