The Lessons of History - Softcover

Michael Eliot Howard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192852817 ISBN 13: 9780192852816

Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks, 1993

Synopsis

The Lessons of History contains the reflections of one of Britain's historians during his time as Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford. Some reflect on contemporary events but most are broadly concerned with the historical process which underlies international politics.

About this title

From the Back Cover

In this highly readable new book, one of the most eminent military historians in the world discusses the processes of historical change that ignited European wars of the twentieth century. Michael Howard ponders the continuing significance of nationalism, explores the conflicting ideologies that arose from industrialism, and argues that, despite the tendency of modern societies to dedicate themselves to material welfare rather than to heroic achievement, organized violence remains a norm.

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of essays and lectures, dating from Howard's tenure of the Regius Chair of Modern History at Oxford between 1980 and '89, reflects his interest in the connection between nationalism and war. In "War and Social Change" he argues that national self-consciousness was the driving force of international conflict in the 19th and first half of the present century. "The Edwardian Arms Race" examines the pre-WW I naval rivalry between Britain and Germany. "Prussia in European History" makes the point that the Nazi creed drew on many sources not specifically Prussian. Nationalism, in Howard's view, is "by far the most effective instrument of social mobilization . . . and so a most effective tool of war." This and similar observations are typical of the blandly general quality of the pieces.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0192852817
• ISBN 13: 9780192852816
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 222