The Book of War: 25 Centuries of Great War Writing

The Book of War: 25 Centuries of Great War Writing edited by John Keegan. Penguin Group (http://www.penguinputnam.com), 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, 1999, $17.00 (paperback), 492 pages.

Here the truceless armies yet
Trample, rolled in blood and sweat;
They kill and never die;
And I think that each is I.

—A. E. Housman, The Welsh Marches

In The Book of War, eminent military historian John Keegan assembles a masterful anthology that records the progress of Western warfare as told through the authentic and often unique voices of its participants. No dry narrative history, Keegan’s work is characterized by diversity and depth. Through 82 essays and poems, he gathers in a single volume some of Western history’s most spectacular military writing. His introductions to each entry are superb: concise yet definitive. Part one of the book’s three segments illustrates the various forms war takes, particularly highlighting the fact that what motivates people to war today did not necessarily provide the impetus to combat in the past. Considering such cultural and methodological divergence, Keegan exemplifies these contrasting military traditions. In part two, he examines warfare among established European states of common military cultures employing similar technologies. The dictates of empire would bring these powers into conflict with dissimilar cultures—specifically, Africa and India. Finally, in part three, Keegan examines war in the twentieth century. One salient feature he explores is how primitive or less technological cultures often overcome the advantages of advanced enemies through ingenuity, evasion, and the perpetuation of "warrior spirit."

Particularly praiseworthy is Keegan’s insertion of some of Western history’s most haunting poetry. Included are Thomas Hardy’s "In the Time of the Breaking of Nations," Thomas Campbell’s "Hohenlinden," John Scott of Amwell’s magnificent eighteenth-century antiwar poem "The Drum," and Wilfred Owen’s magnum opus "Anthem for Doomed Youth." Moreover, Keegan’s book is just as valuable for what it omits. He refrains from including a warmed-over serving of Clausewitz or Sun Tzu, as well as sparing us a currently fashionable diatribe on the supposed leadership qualities of history’s mass murderers. Likewise, we must not overlook the fact that Keegan includes the testimonies of both victors and vanquished, which makes the work all the more alive and didactic.

There is little to criticize in this outstanding anthology. Since only so much poetry could be included, I would have dropped one of Sassoon’s two poems and added one from an era subsequent to World War I. The universal lessons of Goethe’s "Campaign in France" (1792), a poignant portrayal of war as seen through the innocent suffering of horses, would have underscored much. But such considerations take nothing away from Keegan’s present anthology, which remains a paragon of military anthological writing.

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.