An Instinct for War; Scenes from the Battlefields of History

ix, [1], 403, [3] pages. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Minor creases to rear flap. Includes Prologue, as well as chapters on A Sword Is Drawn; The Testament; The Lesson; Scoudrel; La Noche Triste; Galen's Proof; In Winter Quarters; The Very Last Civil War Historian; Human Rain; Rain Stops Play; The Final War; At the Fair; and The Discovery of Kansas. Roger J. Spiller retired as the George C. Marshall Distinguished Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He is the first George C. Marshall Distinguished Professor of History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Spiller is a noted author and editor who recently wrote In the School of War. In 1978 he was offered a visiting associate professorship in military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He stayed on as a permanent member of the faculty, and later became one of the founding members of the Combat Studies Institute. Dr. Spiller's leadership and innovation helped turn CSI into the Army's in-house think tank for the study of warfare. He later served as its deputy director and director. From 1982 to 1985, he was Special Assistant to the Commander in Chief, United States Readiness Command. There he turned theory into practice advising two four-star commanders on policy and strategy. Dr. Spiller returned to Fort Leavenworth faculty in 1985, first as Professor of Combined Arms Warfare, then as George C. Marshall Distinguished Professor of History. From 1992 to 1995, he served as Personal Historian to the Chief of Staff, United States Army. Stories about war are some of the oldest stories told-used to entertain, to glorify, to lament, to educate. An Instinct for War utilizes myriad tales of war to offer a remarkable look at one of humanity's oldest endeavors. Roger Spiller excavates the essence of war and its evolution through the words and thoughts of those who led-and those who were led-into battle, moving from the perspective of an ancient Chinese emperor to Napoleon's command, from a Civil War soldier's final days to the particularities of today's small wars throughout the globe. Spiller combines a mastery of the primary sources with a vibrant historical imagination to locate a dozen turning points in the world's history of warfare that altered our understanding of war and its pursuit. We are conducted through profound moments by the voices of those who witnessed them and are given a graphic understanding of war, the devastating choices, the means by which battles are won and lost, and the enormous price exacted. Spiller's attention to the sights and sounds of battle enables us to feel the sting and menace of past violent conflicts as if they were today's. A bold departure from standard military history, An Instinct for War will challenge our understanding of how war forever alters the landscape-both human and geographic-and how individuals can alter the nature of battle. This collective portrait of the life of war offers unparalleled insight into our struggle for mastery over a fundamental instinct. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. …