- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (Feb 10 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0812972732
- ISBN-13: 978-0812972733
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 1.6 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 204 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,467,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Hanson (An Autumn of War), who has been compared to John Keegan as a historian of war, doesn't display the objectivity of a scholar here. These 39 previously published essays (35 from National Review Online) assessing the U.S. war on terrorism mostly focus on broad-brush denunciations of Europeans, Arabs, the U.N. and Muslims, reserving praise for the U.S. and Israel as beacons of democracy. America's pre-emptive war in Iraq is applauded and, Hanson says, Syria should be next. Saudi Arabia should be seen more as an enemy than an ally and actively subverted. His targets are mostly caricaturesâ€"he portrays Europeans, for instance, as reactionaries in their anti-Americanism. Hanson, a scholar of the ancient Greek military, does not appeal to research or direct experience in the Arab world, but merely to what one can infer from mass media accounts. He professes faith that U.S. arms and good intentions will bring secular democracy to Iraq, and then beyond, but his dark portrayal of Arab culture gives little cause for optimism. The volume might have been more interesting if Hanson had confronted the difficult issue of just how less corrupt secular democracies might take root in the Middle East, including the problems of previous democratic experiments in the Arab world (in Lebanon, Algeria and Iraq itself before Saddam). What went wrong? Will the presence of U.S. soldiers insure that things go right this time? Hanson thinks so, but his reasons are not spelled out.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Victor Hanson is a national treasure. . . . Every American needs to learn from him.”
—Donald Kagan, author of On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace
—Donald Kagan, author of On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
September 11 changed our world. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
September 11 changed our world. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book Dealing With Recent Political and Military Issues,
By
This review is from: Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq (Paperback)
"Between War and Peace" is a remarkable book which discusses many serious political and cultural issues, mainly associated with recent events in the Middle East and Iraq. Hanson has written a few books dealing with the combination of military and cultural issues (I think that the best one is "The Soul of Battle"). The best explanation that I have ever read for the strange fact that so many American and European "intellectuals" prefer dictators like Arafat and Castro (And, in the past, Stalin and Mao) to the democratically elected George Bush and Ariel Sharon, is Dr. Hanson's chapter in this book "Anti-Americanism". Dr. Hanson discusses the fundamental misunderstanding of Western and American culture by the Arab world in "Occidentalism" (A counterweight to Said's "Orientalism" nonsense that dominates the thinking of the Middle East Studies faculties). Feeling apologetic about America's role in the Middle East? Dr. Hanson's book will help expunge these feelings. I have never read a better explanation of the world's reaction to Israel's barrier (It is a fence, and not, as frequently portrayed, a wall) than Dr. Hanson's "Fortress Israel". Why is Ariel Sharon so reviled by the left? Please read "Israel's Ajax: The Tragedy of Mr. Sharon". I have always found it ironic that the left despises Israel, by the far the strongest country in the Middle East in terms of minority rights (Arab members of Knesset), gay rights, an independent judiciary, women's rights etc.. (Supposedly issues of concern to the left). To find out why, read "On Hating Israel" and "Flunking With Flying Colors". I am not American, but if you are worried about America not contributing enough to foreign aid? Please read "Misunderstanding America": "Just how much foreign aid is a multibillion-dollar carrier battle group worth, when it patrols...ensuring that Koreans do not blow each other up". Contrary to some opinions, Dr. Hanson does not always support American policy (For example, he took issue with the leadership of Jimmy Carter). I highly recommend this book, as well as the author's columns on National Review online.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wisdom and Foresight,
By Scott "Scott" (New York, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq (Paperback)
Go back and read both of Hanson's books that sprung from 9/11. You will see how deeply this man understands historical trends. Read them and understand that no one knew how things were going to turn out. Some of his predictions and observations are almost exactly what wound up actually happening.A man of such deep and broad learning has a lot to offer how we conduct our affairs in the current struggle. This volume serves as a valuable aid to understanding events and their consequences as they actually unfolded at the time.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Between Rush & mush: Non-lessons from a classical education,
By A Customer
This review is from: Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq (Paperback)
If Hanson wants to claim a scholarly foundation for his political drivel, he would do well to discover something about the histories of Afghanistan and Iraq and the effects of British and U.S. (and Soviet/Russian) interference in these countries. Unfortunately, neither his knowledge of the region nor his expectations for stupendous "coalition" success in the warmongering that has taken place since 9-11 provide the reader with much reason to waste money on this example of Rush-mush when you can get the same thing on talk radio or "fair and balanced" FOX News on a nightly basis for free -- and with similar effects on a naive mind. A UCSC education was wasted, and California tax-payers should demand their money back!!
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