The Antique Drums of War (Texas A & M University Military History) - Hardcover

McRandle, James H

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0890965919 ISBN 13: 9780890965917

Verlag: Texas A & M University Press, 1994

Inhaltsangabe

Book by McRandle James H

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Críticas:

" . . . a fascinating book. Well written, it is a blend of history, anthropology, ethology, sociology, archaeology, paleontology, psychology, mythology, philosophy, poetry and realism. McRandle's purpose is to show that war is one of mankind's four basic institutions developed through history--food sharing, marriage, religion, and war. He proceeds from the question of why men fight to a more or less systematic examination of war throughout history. Concentrating on its perenniality, he examines war as a facet of various cultures, looks at how it evolved, how it was and is organized, and finds it a continuing attraction for humankind."--Frank E. Vandiver

Reseña del editor:

Why is war, with all its terror and destruction, so seemingly attractive to humankind? The Antique Drums of War provides a deeply thoughtful and provocative consideration of the sources of war: in archaic instincts, social ritual, animal behavior and evolutionary logic, mythmaking, and psychology. It traces the continuity of such aspects of war as unit size, tactics, and the function of uniforms from primitive beginnings through recent wars. The actual experiences of men in battle, drawn from the personal reminiscences of soldiers from various periods of history, give a sense of immediacy to the narrative. James H. McRandle portrays modern war, despite its dispassionate, computerized brutality, as a kind of ritual that resembles in many of its particulars the ritual of war as practiced since the earliest ages of humanity. But ritual is only one of the characteristics of the institution of war. Mythmaking, psychological techniques, social forces, instinctive responses to fear, and aggressiveness are all martialed and manipulated through ritual to serve war's purposes. Some of Mcrandle's conclusions will be controversial, particularly his argument that warfare served to promote gene flow between separated and isolated groups of Homo erectus and early Homo Sapiens. Throughout, his novel approaches and use of eclectic intellectual perspectives will stimulate those concerned about the possible causes of war and war's possible remedy.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Texas A & M University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0890965919
• ISBN 13: 9780890965917
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 219