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Review
The book is a worthwhile read and some of the articles would do well as reading material on courses of ancient warfare or even modern strategic studies. -- Joonas Sipila, Acto Philogica Fennica
At every point throughout this superb collection of essays, one cannot but reflect on Western engagements in far-off, alien places. -- Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Mr. Hanson's examination of the dangers implicit in pre-emptive warfare is riveting, as is John W.I. Lee's explanation of why the specter of urban warfare was as despised by ancient strategists as it is today by modern warriors. . . . Mr. Hanson and Mr. Luttwak have begun the serious study of what the ancients might have to teach us about a world where traditional nation-states not only have to coexist with armed non-state actors but must negotiate with them on nearly equal terms or sometimes fight them. -- Gary Anderson, Washington Times
This is a worthy edition to the literature of military history. -- Kevin Winter, Sacramento Book Review
The essays are all thought provoking, and readers will find surprises, insights, and things to argue about. -- "Choice
Coming up for air after a couple of hours with this recent Victor Davis Hanson book, I switched on CNN and was briefly confused as to what century it was. Did his point on the overwhelming impact of organized military force refer to Moammar Gaddafi's generals chasing down Libyan rebels or to Roman soldiers crushing a slave revolt? The parallels are striking. 'Spartacus was overmatched by the logistics, discipline and generalship of the Roman legions,' Hanson writes in his fine introduction to Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome. The Libyan rebels face the same odds today, reduced by Western media to a 'ragtag' band of fighters rapidly losing the initiative, pretty much like those of Spartacus when it all ended for him. Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a respected military historian, has assembled here ten succinct studies by academic colleagues that demonstrate, with variable persuasiveness, the 'relevance of the past to military challenges of the present.' . . . Hanson encouraged his contributors to choose a subject of special interest to them. As a result, the studies make for a diverse and refreshing collection. -- Michael Johnson, American Spectator
At every point throughout this superb collection of essays, one cannot but reflect on Western engagements in far-off, alien places. -- Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Mr. Hanson's examination of the dangers implicit in pre-emptive warfare is riveting, as is John W.I. Lee's explanation of why the specter of urban warfare was as despised by ancient strategists as it is today by modern warriors. . . . Mr. Hanson and Mr. Luttwak have begun the serious study of what the ancients might have to teach us about a world where traditional nation-states not only have to coexist with armed non-state actors but must negotiate with them on nearly equal terms or sometimes fight them. -- Gary Anderson, Washington Times
This is a worthy edition to the literature of military history. -- Kevin Winter, Sacramento Book Review
The essays are all thought provoking, and readers will find surprises, insights, and things to argue about. -- "Choice
Coming up for air after a couple of hours with this recent Victor Davis Hanson book, I switched on CNN and was briefly confused as to what century it was. Did his point on the overwhelming impact of organized military force refer to Moammar Gaddafi's generals chasing down Libyan rebels or to Roman soldiers crushing a slave revolt? The parallels are striking. 'Spartacus was overmatched by the logistics, discipline and generalship of the Roman legions,' Hanson writes in his fine introduction to Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome. The Libyan rebels face the same odds today, reduced by Western media to a 'ragtag' band of fighters rapidly losing the initiative, pretty much like those of Spartacus when it all ended for him. Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a respected military historian, has assembled here ten succinct studies by academic colleagues that demonstrate, with variable persuasiveness, the 'relevance of the past to military challenges of the present.' . . . Hanson encouraged his contributors to choose a subject of special interest to them. As a result, the studies make for a diverse and refreshing collection. -- Michael Johnson, American Spectator
Book Description
In this prequel to the now-classic Makers of Modern Strategy, Victor Davis Hanson, a leading scholar of ancient military history, gathers prominent thinkers to explore key facets of warfare, strategy, and foreign policy in the Greco-Roman world. From the Persian Wars to the final defense of the Roman Empire, Makers of Ancient Strategy demonstrates that the military thinking and policies of the ancient Greeks and Romans remain surprisingly relevant for understanding conflict in the modern world.
The book reveals that much of the organized violence witnessed today--such as counterterrorism, urban fighting, insurgencies, preemptive war, and ethnic cleansing--has ample precedent in the classical era. The book examines the preemption and unilateralism used to instill democracy during Epaminondas's great invasion of the Peloponnesus in 369 BC, as well as the counterinsurgency and terrorism that characterized Rome's battles with insurgents such as Spartacus, Mithridates, and the Cilician pirates. The collection looks at the urban warfare that became increasingly common as more battles were fought within city walls, and follows the careful tactical strategies of statesmen as diverse as Pericles, Demosthenes, Alexander, Pyrrhus, Caesar, and Augustus. Makers of Ancient Strategy shows how Greco-Roman history sheds light on wars of every age. In addition to the editor, the contributors are David L. Berkey, Adrian Goldsworthy, Peter J. Heather, Tom Holland, Donald Kagan, John W. I. Lee, Susan Mattern, Barry Strauss, and Ian Worthington.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trying to learn lessons from ancient wars,
By
This review is from: Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome (Hardcover)
This is a hazardous enterprise, but in the hands of credible historians, this project has its virtures. Featuring essays from Peter J Heather, Adrian Goldsworthy and Donald Kagan, among others, we receive a lesson in how war has changed and how it hasn't changed that much. Particularly interesting are essays about subjects which can be somewhat overlooked - fortifications in Greece and the Roman handling of insurgency.
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3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews) 36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding essays on classical military thought,
By Daniel Weitz "Retired Historian" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This is a collection of essays by experts that are outstanding. It is meant to fill in part of the "gap" left by Peter Paret's Makers of Modern Strategy which omits classical warfare. Each of the selections is complete with footnotes and an up to date bibliography.The selections are :Tom Holland on the Persian Wars and a Persian view of the conflict aganst a "terrorist state"; Donald Kagan on Thucydides and Pericles' attempt to defend the Athenian Empire; David L Berkey's brilliant essay on The Fortifications of Athens and how these enabled her to have a vigorous role in foreign policy; Hanson writes on Epaminondas and the use of preemptive war by Thebes to weaken Sparta and spread democracy. A very valuable essay as Epaminondas and Theban democracy are almost totally ignored by the historical community. Hanson as might be expected vigorously compares this to US policy in the post 9/11 world; Ian Worthington on Alexander the Great and nation building and dealing with a large multi-ethnic empire; John W I Lee on the neglected topic of Urban Warfare in the Classical Greek World; Susan Mattern on Roman Counterinsurgency; Barry Strauss on the messianic nature of Slave Wars; Adrian Goldsworthy on Caesar; and finally Peter Heather on Frontier defense and the Later Roman Empire, which rejects Luttwak's theories of a passive defense in depth in favor of a more "offensive" policy of raids and expeditions to punish or support client states, and how over the course of time this interaction resulted in stronger hostile neighbors. All of these essays have conclusions that relate the topics to the modern world, and Lee's essay would be particularly useful for those who serve in the modern military. Whether you accept them or not is another matter. This collection should not be missed with those that have an interest in the classical world, and would be an excellent selection for a classical history course which wishes to defend its "relevance. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, Not Great,
By Jason Zimmerman - Published on Amazon.com
Hanson belongs firmly in the old school historian camp who seek to extrapolate contemporary meaning from the analysis of history. This book is a series of essays largely on elements of Greek and Roman military strategy and their parallels to modern day conflicts. Sometimes this works, often it does not. The essays are largely interesting and informative, and yes they do presuppose at least a general working knowledge of ancient history, but the application of historical principle is often specious at best--sometimes a simple afterthought--as if the author wrote the essay and then thought "Oh yeah, Hanson said I should include analysis."As with most volumes of this type, there are hits and misses. I found the essays on the Greco-Persian Wars, Alexander the Great and nation building, and Julius Caesar and the General as State to be particularly worthwhile. Hanson's own essay on Epaminondas and the Theban doctrine as applied to Sparta, an oft-overlooked area of study, is one of the best here, yet he just can't keep himself from trying to tie it in to the Iraqi conflict, and actually to some effect. The problem is that other historians are not as adept at making this transition as Hanson is. I'm not necessarily against this type of "lessons learned from history" approach, it just has to be done with extreme caution and with the proper qualifiers. If you have an interest in the ancient world, this volume is worthwhile, just be aware of the limitations of this type history going in. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good ancient history; uneven with ties to today,
By R. W. Levesque - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome (Hardcover)
Like many historical essay collections, "Makers of Ancient Strategy" has some good essays and some mediocre ones. As a book on ancient history this is an excellent collection; even as a book that has historians trying to provide insight into strategy the book succeeds. Where a few of the essays suffer is where the author tries to specifically link ancient history to today's problems in the Middle East. Rather than this effort coming across as insightful, the tendency is for the author to appear as if he's reaching beyond his area of expertise (ancient history) into fields where he doesn't understand the concepts, or even the vocabulary, of strategy or modern warfare.Having said that, the collection does a good job of presenting insight into ancient strategy. For example, although I think her use of the term "insurgency" is too broad, Susan Mattern's essay on "Counterinsurgency and the Enemies of Rome" is an excellent overview of how Roman diplomacy, personal connections, social mechanisms, and force were used to subdue rebellions and keep the empire in line. At the same time Peter Heather's essay "Holding the Line" presents what I feel is a complementary analysis of Rome's offensive strategy that fits with Luttwaks's defensive theory in "The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third." (Despite Heather's contention that Luttwak's theory is "mistaken," I believe offensive and defensive options can, and did, both exist.) At the same time, essay's such as John W. I. Lee's "Urban Warfare in the Classical Greek World," and David L. Berkey's "Why Fortifications Endure" cover types of warfare that tended to be overshadowed by more famous ancient set piece battles at sea and on land. All-in-all, a very nice collection of essays that address strategy in the ancient world. |
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