The Soul of Battle

In this summary you will learn

• What common characteristics some great military leaders shared
• How Epaminondas defeated the great army of Sparta
• How General Sherman fought for his noble ideals
• How Patton demolished the Third Reich

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Why you should read The Soul of Battle

While Napoleon declared that God favors the side with the most battalions, author Victor Davis Hanson suggests otherwise. Hanson reasons that the side marching to preserve a great moral cause - e.g., the defense of individual freedoms against the agents of human oppression - possesses the true soul of battle. Seen in this light, war becomes far more than a duel of logistics, technology and strategy. Hanson believes that victory’s first seeds are sown in the human spirit, and the terrible battlefield harvest is collected later. He provides three historic examples: Theban general Epaminondas’ destruction of Sparta, Union General William Sherman’s march through Georgia and U.S. General George Patton’s demolition of the Third Reich. In this well researched and almost poetically written volume, Hanson reveals the basis of democratic countries’ military dominance. getabstract.com recommends this book to military professionals, students of military history and those who seek a deeper understanding of the strength of democratic societies.

About the Author

The son of a U.S. Army Air Corps Sergeant who served under General LeMay in the devastating firebombing of Japan, author Victor Davis Hanson  is a professor of classics at California State University in Fresno. He has written or edited several books, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Military History Quarterly. He and his family live in Selma, California, on the family farm where he was born.