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War : how conflict shaped us

MacMillan, Margaret, author.
Toronto : Penguin, 2021.

"War, the instinct to fight, is inherent in human nature; peace is the aberration in history. War has shaped humanity, its institutions, its states, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out the most vile and the noblest aspects of humanity. Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has shaped human history and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. The book considers such much-debated and controversial issues as when war first started; whether human nature dooms us to fight each other; why war has been described as the most organized of all human activities and how it has forced us to become still more organized; how warriors are made and why are they almost always men; and how we try to control war. Drawing on lessons from a sweep of history, from classical history to modern warfare, and from all parts of the globe, MacMillan reveals the many faces of war--the way it shapes our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves"--

Bibliographic Information


Format: Book
Author: MacMillan, Margaret, 1943-
Subject: War
War and society
Publication Year:2021
Language:English
Published:Toronto : Penguin, 2021.
ISBN:9780735238046
0735238049
Notes:"Originally published in hardcover in the United State by Random House, New York."--Title page verso.
Includes bibliographical references (pages [275]-290) and index.
Introduction -- Humanity, society and war -- Reasons for war -- Ways and means -- Modern war -- Making the warrior -- Fighting -- Civilians -- Controlling the uncontrollable -- War in our imaginations and our memories -- Conclusion.
Course: HIST480

Availability at HKSYU Library


Location Call number Status
English Book (4/F) 355.0209 MAC 2021 Available