Hanson, Victor Davis. The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern
From the mind of Victor Davis Hanson comes The Father of Us All, which gets its name from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus (c. 535-475 BC), who said that war is “the father, the king of us all” (p. 32). That title and quote perfectly describe the theme of this book whose author finds it difficult to think of a democracy “that was not an outcome of armed struggle” (p. 16). Although it covers war, a familiar topic for the author, it is a unique book among the Hanson collection featuring a mishmash of articles and reviews from various publications instead of his other works with more narrow themes (e.g., A War Like No Other, Carnage and Culture). Avid readers of Hanson will surely find something new and interesting, as not all of these articles are readily available. In addition, Hanson has made updates to all of the essays.
The book consists of 13 chapters, which includes six reviews. The first chapter, “Why Study War?” is a perfect introduction for the reader to get a foundational understanding of Hanson’s interest in war and his overall mindset. Very simply, wars are worth studying regardless of their age. Though technology and strategies will certainly change, “themes, emotions, and rhetoric remain constant over the centuries, and thus generally predictable” (p. 15). In addition, war may be horrid to consider, but is inevitable and, at times, necessary. Hanson points out that “war–or the threat of war–at least put an end to American chattel slavery, Nazism, Fascism, Japanese militarism, and Soviet Communism” (p. 16). Yet, over the years, American universities have seen a decline in military history courses. Hanson contributes the downfall of academic interest to several factors including the Vietnam War, the growing push for more race, class, and gender studies, and academic careerism (p. 8). Hanson points out correctly that written history began with Herodotus and Thucydides, who wrote about armed conflicts. In addition, Xenophon, Polybius, and Livy wrote predominately about war (p. 6). This first chapter is particularly useful in that if the reader becomes convinced with Hanson’s main premise, he provides several pages of books on war worth reading (p. 26-30).
In the second chapter, Hanson discusses the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and correlations that can be drawn from Ancient Greek conflicts. Again, his theme that war is inevitable reveal itself as he points out that the Greeks “warn that conflict will always break out–and very frequently so–because we are human, and thus not always rational” (p. 33). In some instances, no reason is necessary as the Thebans attacked Plataea “at a time of peace” in 431 BC (p. 35). Through it all, Hanson provides insight on the difficulties of the Iraq War and the public support thereof. What is interesting in his approach is that although he clearly supports the war in Iraq, he has little condemnation against those who protest or oppose. On the contrary, like war, he sees antiwar movements as inevitable. He points out “that democracies by their very nature cannot win the wars they choose to enter when their own free people are not convinced that their collective efforts have any humane foundation” (p. 42). This is the case today as it was in Ancient Greece.
Hanson’s reviews are interesting and include his opinions on the movie 300 and about a half dozen books. At first, the notion of reading reviews sounds dull for such a work, but in each piece, Hanson provides a historical lesson for the reader. Whether the topic is Ancient Greece, World War II, or the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Hanson has read his subject well and he provides insight into each period. Still, these reviews only take up about 50 pages of the book. Probably the most fascinating part of the book comes from Hanson’s stories of teaching Thucydides to his students at California State University (p. 55-59). Here, Hanson argues that Thucydides is relevant today and it is the everyday workingman, not the scholar, who can more easily understand him. His students were not privileged and those he quotes include a working mother, an immigrant, and a “tattooed and scared” student all working to pay off their tuition. One of his students concluded that Thucydides would probably like Carter better, “but he’d want Reagan dealing with the Russians” (p. 57). The fascinating insights of these students that use terms like “check it” are a breath of fresh air and it is disappointing that Hanson did not include more. Unfortunately, this section of the book is hidden at the tail end of one of the reviews. It should certainly be more prominent.
Another essay includes Hanson’s analysis of the temporary lack of decisive battles in modern warfare where he points out that Alexander the Great, the victor of decisive battle like Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela, and Hydaspes, “spent far more time fighting irregular forces in counterinsurgency efforts throughout the Balkans, the Hindu Kush, and Bactria” (p. 106). Chapter 9 offers an analysis on how it is important to keep the American military up-to-date with the latest technology, but convincing the public of the necessity is difficult. In chapter 10, he examines the American way of war over the centuries, which provides great insight into Americans’ general impatience with the lack of results when it comes to war.
There are some issues with the book. The first is for new reader to military history. Hanson switches between periods and battles throughout the entire book. A sampling of a random page (p. 24) shows that Hanson mentions the Iraq War, the Korean War, and the battles of Shiloh, Belleau Wood, Tarawa, and Chosin. Other sections of the book mix in ancient battles and figures as well testing the new student’s patience with either accepting that he does not recognize a subject or stopping to do a quick search for a summary. Hopefully, more readers will choose the latter, but an inclusion of dates would help tremendously for many readers who could at least recognize the period in discussion.
The second issue is minor, but it creeps up throughout and is a result of this book being a collection of essays written over a decade. In many places, Hanson reiterates the same points and reuses the same historical examples. As evidence of the quick technology enhancements Americans tend to make during war, Hanson twice points out that the Union started the Civil War with muskets, but ended the war with Spencer Repeating Rifles and ironclad warships (p. 124 and 142). As a result, some portions of the book can become redundant.
Overall, this is a quality book for any reader of history, especially those with an interest in how the past relates to modern-day warfare. Hanson has a wealth of knowledge and continually looks to the past for precedence and insight when examining the present. Hanson is very opinionated and tends to lean toward a more conservative outlook with views like how “the controversial practice of widespread gun ownership in the United States has meant that a large segment of American youths do not grow up afraid of, or inexperienced with, firearms” (p. 145). He clearly sees this as a positive for new military recruits. Even still, Hanson provides challenges to both the liberal and conservative perspective with The Father of Us All.