Amazon.co.uk: Why the West Has Won: Carnage and Culture from Salamis to Vietnam: Victor Davis Hanson: Books

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Product Description

Daily Telegraph, October 6, 2001
His latest book can only enhance his reputation among readers with common sense.

Sunday Telegraph, October 21, 2001
At the heart of this big, combative and gutsy book there is an argument which is powerful and convincing.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

Fascinating, 4 Dec 2001

By	huuck@englischlehrer.de (Hildesheim, Germany) - See all my reviews

Even if you are not particularly interested in history or the military, this book will fascinate you right from the beginning. It gives you insight into nine great battles fought between 480 B.C. (Salamis) and 1968 (Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War). All battles described are encounters between western and non-western armies and almost all have been won by western countries. Hanson asks himself what factors eventually contributed to these western victories and he comes up with very convincing answers. He maintains that the keystone for military success was laid in ancient Greece. The old Greeks fought uniquely differently from their adversaries (e.g. the Persians or Carthaginians) in so far as their soldiers fought on a sense of personal freedom, superior discipline, matchless weapons, egalitarian camaraderie,, individual initiative, constant tactical adaption and flexibility, preference for shock battle of heavy infantry. All these positive aspects could have only developed in the constitutionally governed Greek city-states where ordinary people voted for their representatives, where there was equality among classes, where soldiers had a say in military affairs, where even the small farmer owned property etc.
Hanson never merely describes the battles, but always gives insight into the economic, social, cultural and political conditions under which soldiers lived and stood up for their countries.
I have never read a better book in terms of military history.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Triumphalist and rather smug, 8 Oct 2003

By	"jasonchatwin" - See all my reviews

The book comes across as a bit of a cheerleading piece for the western superiority, real or otherwise. The author makes much in the early chapters of the Greek soldiers and their motivations personal freedom, egality, and the rest. To apply this to subsequent western armies may be stretching it in many cases. How many freedoms and privileges did the average British redcoat enjoy? I found it a rather wearisome read. Americans may enjoy it as a feelgood book.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent, 28 Dec 2002

By	Patrick Mullane (Cork, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This is a bold declaration of the supremacy of the Western way of war, by the respected Greek historian Victor Hanson. It details 9 major pivotal events which underpin the key role that Western tactics and technology, that eventually triumphed to shape the world we live in today. The book does not at all claim moral superior of Western morals, just superior force of arms.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Well written..........but
In his book Why the West Has Won Victor David Hanson presents a clear and cogent argument that various practices intrinsic to western society have enabled the west to maintain... Read more

Published 21 months ago by O. Wakefield

Quality writing but propaganda nevertheless
Hanson's ideas are certainly appealing but he doesn't countenance any alternative viewpoint, as if his views are established facts rather than just one analysis of warfare. Read more

Published on 3 Jun 2005 by rashed_huq

Who is "the West" and has it really won?
This book suffers, in my view, from failing to ever define very much what is meant by "the West". Most readers will understand this term in a Cold War context: but its meaning in... Read more

Published on 9 Oct 2003 by G. Bache

Superb
A brilliant book. Covers the reasoning behind western military and cultural success, in an easy to digest form. Read more

Published on 5 Mar 2002 by Julian E Foot

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