When Men Lost Faith In Reason

Author : H. P. Willmott
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2002-08-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780313070099

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When Men Lost Faith in Reason by H. P. Willmott Pdf

This examination of the history of the 20th century and the place of war in its unfolding presents a radical, unorthodox interpretation of both. With provision for seeing 1945 as the proper starting point for the 20th century and 1968 as the year that marked the end of the Age of Reason, this provocative study portrays the First World War as the first war of the 20th century and the Second World War as the last war of the 19th. It also provides a counterview of the Second World War as merely one part of a series of conflicts that lasted between 1931 and 1975 and the Cold War as the time when real hatreds were suspended. Moving through various insurgency campaigns, Willmott subjects the Gulf campaign of 1991 to skeptical analysis that is certain to be contentious. Challenging the view that the 20th century will be viewed by future historians as ranging from approximately 1914 to 1992, Willmott offers this volume as a counter to modern historiography which, he contends, is obsessed with micro-analysis and has lost vital context and perspective. Arguing that war is not the preserve of the intellect, and that it is neither intrinsically rational nor scientific, Willmott depicts war as a manmade phenomenon, complete with all the elements of human failure, misjudgment, and incompetence. He concludes with a consideration of modern doctrine and predictions for the future of war.

Author : H. P. Willmott
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 19??
Category : Militarism
ISBN : OCLC:426958803

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When Men Lost Faith in Reason by H. P. Willmott Pdf

Author : John Andreas Olsen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2013-11-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781135312909

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Strategic Air Power in Desert Storm by John Andreas Olsen Pdf

In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on the second of August 1990, a small group of air power advocates in the Pentagon proposed a strategic air campaign - "Operation Desert Storm" designed to drive the Iraqi army from Kuwait by a sustained effort against the major sources of Iraqi national power. John Andreas Olsen provides a coherent and comprehensive examination of the origins, evolution and implementation of this campaign. His findings derive from official military and political documentation, interviews with United States Air Force officers who were closely involved with the planning of the campaign and Iraqis with detailed knowledge and experience of the inner workings of the Iraqi regime.

Author : H. P. Willmott
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 425 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2005-08-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9780253003515

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The Battle of Leyte Gulf by H. P. Willmott Pdf

"The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an extremely unusual battle. It was unusual on five separate counts that are so obvious that they are usually missed. It was unusual in that it was a series of actions, not a single battle. It was unusual as a naval battle in that it was fought over five days; historically, naval battles have seldom spread themselves over more than one or two days. It was unusual in terms of its name. This battle involved a series of related actions subsequently grouped together under the name of just one of these engagements, but in fact none of the actions were fought inside Leyte Gulf.... More importantly, it was unusual in that it was a full-scale fleet action fought after the issue of victory and defeat at sea had been decided, and it was unusual in that it resulted in clear, overwhelming victory and defeat." -- from Chapter One The Battle of Leyte Gulf -- October 22-28, 1944 -- was the greatest naval engagement in history. In fact the battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for "a fitting place to die" and "the chance to bloom as flowers of death." Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H.P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" is a significant contribution to military history.

Author : H. P. Willmott
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 583 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2009-06-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9780253003560

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The Last Century of Sea Power, Volume 1 by H. P. Willmott Pdf

“In this first of three volumes on sea power, the author reviews the story of political, economic, and military oceanic control from the 1890s through WWI.” —Choice The transition to modern war at sea began during the period of the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Spanish-American War (1898) and was propelled forward rapidly by the advent of the dreadnought and the nearly continuous state of war that culminated in World War I. By 1922, most of the elements that would define sea power in the 20th century were in place. Written by one of our foremost military historians, this volume acknowledges the complex nature of this transformation, focusing on imperialism, the growth of fleets, changes in shipbuilding and armament technology, and doctrines about the deployment and use of force at sea, among other factors. There is careful attention to the many battles fought at sea during this period and their impact on the future of sea power. The narrative is supplemented by a wide range of reference materials, including a detailed census of capital ships built during this period and a remarkable chronology of actions at sea during World War I. “The author, dean of naval historians, provides a sweeping look at, and analysis of, the transformation of naval power . . . [His] dry wit and sense of irony add spice to the impressive array of facts and analysis of the greatest period of naval warfare. Wilmott is fearless in his judgments.” —Seapower “This book, first of a series, contains a wealth of facts and opinions, the latter provided with Willmott’s unerring analytical eye and mordant wit.” —Bernard D. Cole, National War College

Author : Jeremy Black
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 529 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2007-10-31
Category : History
ISBN : 9781134157044

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Great Powers and the Quest for Hegemony by Jeremy Black Pdf

This timely book provides a general overview of Great Power politics and world order from 1500 to the present. Jeremy Black provides several historical case-studies, each of which throws light on both the power in question and the international system of the period, and how it had developed from the preceding period. The point of departure for this

Author : Robert Wright
Publisher : Little, Brown
Page : 576 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2009-06-08
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780316053273

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The Evolution of God by Robert Wright Pdf

In this sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy. He explains why spirituality has a role today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms the validity of the religious quest. And this previously unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued religious extremism, but future harmony. Nearly a decade in the making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of the past, and a visionary look forward.

Author : H. P. Willmott,Michael B. Barrett
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2009-11-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9780313362774

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Clausewitz Reconsidered by H. P. Willmott,Michael B. Barrett Pdf

This fascinating book assesses Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz's famous theory on warfare in relation to historical and modern-day conflict—and future trends. Carl von Clausewitz's On War is arguably the most important single work ever written on the theory of warfare and military strategy. In Clausewitz Reconsidered, two prominent military historians assess his theories, examining their viability at a time when asymmetric warfare and "war" conducted by and against nonstate actors is increasingly common and state control often ephemeral. The basis of the book's analysis is an examination of war over the last four centuries, since the Thirty Years' War, including the Cold War and subsequent conflicts. What is discovered is that war is far more endemic and brutal today than when Clausewitz tried to explain it. This volume explores that paradox and shows that if anything, we can anticipate further uncontrolled violence. The authors conclude that Clausewitz and On War have assumed a status akin to holy writ, but are obviously dated. The aim of Clausewitz Reconsidered is to bring the master's theories up to date, providing the current generation with a new basis for thought and analysis.

Author : John Andreas Olsen
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 603 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781597973236

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John Warden and the Renaissance of American Air Power by John Andreas Olsen Pdf

Dr. John Andreas Olsen has written an insightful, compelling biography of retired U.S. Air Force colonel John A. Warden III, the brilliant but controversial air warfare theorist and architect of Operation Desert Storm s air campaign. Warden s radical ideas about air power s purposes and applications, promulgated at the expense of his own career, sparked the ongoing revolution in military affairs. Legendary in defense circles, Warden is also the author of "The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat" (republished by Brassey s, Inc. in 1989). Presenting both the positives and negatives of Warden s personality and impact in this objective portrait, Olsen offers a trenchant analysis of his revolutionary ideas and great accomplishments. "

Author : John T. Molloy
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2008-12-14
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN : 9780446554138

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Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others by John T. Molloy Pdf

A groundbreaking book--based on years of the same thorough research that made the "Dress For Success" books national bestsellers--about how women can statistically improve their chances of getting married.

Author : Nick Smart
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2003-02-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9780313051456

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British Strategy and Politics during the Phony War by Nick Smart Pdf

The so-called Phony War from September 1939 to May 1940 occupies a peculiar yet distinct place in popular memory. All the sensations of war, except the fighting, were present; yet, instead of massed air attacks and great land battles, very little happened. The British government was said to be complacent, and the people downright bored. Then, France fell to German attack, and the small British army was evacuated (minus its equipment) from Dunkirk. Reaction to this major strategic catastrophe was naturally to blame the men deemed guilty for bringing the nation to the verge of humiliating defeat. In sharp contrast to previous studies, Smart argues that there was more to the phony war than governmental complacency, that the period was more than a foolish or frivolous ante-chamber to a later more heroic phase. The extent to which the guilty men verdict on the first nine months of Britain's Second World War has stuck remains surprising. The notion that the phony war was a necessary, indeed over-determined, prelude to catastrophe has become cemented over time. Examining the workings of the Anglo-French leadership during this period, Smart picks this thesis apart and argues that disaster was not necessarily, still less inevitably, just around the corner. He concludes that Anglo-French decision-making during this time was basically sound, that the soldiers were well equipped and in good-heart, and that there was no malaise eating away at the entente. This study offers a challenging reappraisal of the phony war from a British perspective.

Author : Jeremy Black
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2010-09-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9781461644095

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The Age of Total War, 1860–1945 by Jeremy Black Pdf

What is total war? Definitions abound, but one thing is certain—the concept of total war has come to be seen as a defining concept of the modern age. In The Age of Total War, celebrated historian Jeremy Black explores the rise and demise of an era of total war, which he defines in terms of the intensity of the struggle, the range (geographical and/or chronological) of conflict, the nature of the goals, and the extent to which civil society was involved. He contends that this era (roughly 1860–1945) was markedly different from the warfare that characterized earlier periods, and that it is very different from the situation that has evolved since, with its emphasis on asymmetrical conflict and limited warfare. Acknowledging that various definitions are problematic and often contradictory, Black argues that 1860 to 1945 was an era in which the prospect of war and the consequences of it were crucially important for human history. He focuses primarily on conflict between Western powers, including Japanese participation in the Russo-Japanese War. Trends and developments subsequent to 1945 have combined, Black asserts, to make a return to total war unlikely.

Author : Neil L. York
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2003-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780313059551

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Turning the World Upside Down by Neil L. York Pdf

York illustrates how Revolutionary Americans founded an empire as well as a nation, and how they saw the two as inseparable. While they had rejected Britain and denounced power politics, they would engage in realpolitik and mimic Britain as they built their empire of liberty. England had become Great Britain as an imperial nation, and Britons believed that their empire promised much to all fortunate enough to be part of it. Colonial Americans shared that belief and sense of pride. But as clashing interests and changing identities put them at odds with the prevailing view in London, dissident colonists displaced Anglo-American exceptionalism with their own sense of place and purpose, an American vision of manifest destiny. Revolutionary Americans wanted to believe that creating a new nation meant that they had left behind the old problems of empire. What they discovered was that the basic problems of empire unavoidably came with them into the new union. They too found it difficult to build a union in the midst of rival interests and competing ideologies. Ironically, they learned that they could only succeed by aping the balance of power politics used by Britain that they had only recently decried.

Author : Frederick C. Schneid
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2005-05-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780313064685

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Napoleon's Conquest of Europe by Frederick C. Schneid Pdf

Poised to strike at England in the summer of 1805, Napoleon found himself facing a coalition of European powers determined to limit his territorial ambitions. Still, in less than one hundred days, Napoleon's armies marched from the English Channel to Central Europe, crushing the armies of Austria and Russia—the first step in his conquest of Europe. In this telling new account, Schneid demonstrates how this was possible. Schneid details how Napoleon's victory over the Third Coalition was the product of years of diplomatic preparation and the formation of French alliances. He played upon the prevailing conditions of the European state system and the internal politics of the Holy Roman Empire to improve France's strategic position. This war must be understood in the context of the French Revolution and its influence on major and minor European states. In some cases, Napoleonic diplomacy returned to France's traditional and historic relationships; in others, he capitalized upon longstanding competition and animosities to gather allies and create wedges. Schneid approaches the campaign from a broad diplomatic, economic, and military perspective, including not only the French perspective, but the points of view of the other powers involved as well. This telling account reveals that the road to Vienna was paved long before Napoleon's armies marched upon the enemies arrayed against them.

Author : Weinandy Ofm Cap Thomas G
Publisher : CUA Press
Page : 430 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2024-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780813238388

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The Unity of Faith by Weinandy Ofm Cap Thomas G Pdf

In this volume, The Unity of Faith, Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap., has compiled a theologically significant medley of essays. The first section deals with the Trinity, ranging from the question of the filioque to the trinitarian thought of Johnathan Edwards. The second section addresses a topic for which Weinandy has become notable - the impassability of God and human suffering. The third takes of the topic of Christology, particularly from within the contemporary theological milieu. For example, what is the relationship between the Incarnation and Soteriology? What is the nature of Christ's human consciousness and knowledge? How does Paul perceive the primacy of Christ within his Christological hymns? The next collection of essays focuses on the relationship between faith and reason. In doing Catholic theology, how do theologians apply reason when contemplating the mysteries of faith? What is the philosophical and theological significance of Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Fides et Ratio? Ecclesiology is the final topic addressed. Weinandy examines the contributions that Henri de Lubac has contributed to our understanding of the Church. He also takes up the very delicate issue of the Jews in relationship to the Church. How important is it that Jews become Christians? The nature of the sacramentality of the Catholic priesthood is investigated. What does it mean that the priest acts in persona Christi? Lastly, Weinandy broaches a topic that has received very little theological attention - the Christian family as a Domestic Church. In what manner are spouses and parents, in imitation of Christ, priests, prophets and kings? Weinandy invariably writes in a clear and engaging manner, so much so that these essays would benefit not only academics, and students of theology, but also the educated laity.