Michael Bonner’s “Defense Of Civilization”: Review And Commentary

It is an unhappy commentary on the state of societal affairs when a scholar is compelled to remind readers of civilization’s benefits.  Have things become so bad that we need to lay out arguments in favor of order, discipline, and our cultural patrimony?  Is what was believed to be self-evident for centuries, now not self-evident at all?  Are there really people who believe that a crass descent into barbarism and anarchy are preferable?  The unsettling answer to these three questions is, unfortunately, yes.  And this is the starting point of Michael R. J. Bonner’s stimulating and wonderfully researched new book, Defense of Civilization.  The book is not currently available, but will be released soon. 

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Max Hastings’s “The Korean War” (Review)

There are no “forgotten wars.”  We may choose to talk about them, to write about them, or to learn from them.  Or we may not.  It is a question of what value we place on the lessons.  Some eras, forged in strife and hardship, embrace history’s lessons, and consume narratives of past conflict with an eager inquisitiveness; other epochs, softened by luxury and lassitude, are largely immune to the lessons of the past.  In the end, it is always a matter of choice.

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The Limits Of Predictive Power: Graham Allison’s “Destined For War”

The central thesis of Dr. Graham Allison’s Destined for War:  Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? is relatively straightforward to state.  When a rising power (China) is confronted by a relatively declining power (the United States), the declining one often resorts to making war on its enemy.  Allison’s term for this phenomenon is “Thucydides’s Trap,” a phrase taken from the following observation by the great Greek historian: Continue reading

Video Review Of “On Duties” Translated By Quintus Curtius

Today Mr. Andrew Vittoria released a very detailed and cogent You Tube video review of my On Duties.  Readers seeking an in-depth and reasoned commentary will no doubt find this video useful.  I have embedded the video below.

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