Rating: 
Summary: An Outstanding, Intelligent Read
Review: This book examines how historical events little known to us in the 21st century continue to shape current events. He focuses on three battles that are less well known by the general public, Okinawa in WWII, Shiloh of the Civil War and Delium of the Peloponesian War. While Victor Hanson does not approach these battles in terms of tactics and numbers, he does provide enough detatil of the battle so the reader will understand what happened and why this particular battle shaped the course of history. He does an excellent job of relating how battles of the past still influence American culture today. He also examines how the effects of these battles helped shape the reaction of the United States in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In this way, Victor Hanson brings a new and very intelligent prospective to the current debates of the War on Terror. By using the long lens of history, he presents an argument as to why the war has to be fought and won.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding, Intelligent Read
Review: This book examines how historical events little known to us in the 21st century continue to shape current events. He focuses on three battles that are less well known by the general public, Okinawa in WWII, Shiloh of the Civil War and Delium of the Peloponesian War. While Victor Hanson does not approach these battles in terms of tactics and numbers, he does provide enough detatil of the battle so the reader will understand what happened and why this particular battle shaped the course of history. He does an excellent job of relating how battles of the past still influence American culture today. He also examines how the effects of these battles helped shape the reaction of the United States in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In this way, Victor Hanson brings a new and very intelligent prospective to the current debates of the War on Terror. By using the long lens of history, he presents an argument as to why the war has to be fought and won.
Rating: 
Summary: Three lesser known battles and their consequences since
Review: This book recounts three battles Okinawa (WW2), Shiloh (US Civil) War, and Delium (Greece 424 b.c.), making an argument that these lesser known battles had profound consequences on Western Civilization. Hanson provides powerful depiction's of the battles themselves, but concentrated more on the stories of the characters involved as well as lessons learned from them. ~A discussion of suicide bombers in held in regard to the Okinawa case. The question of the A-bomb as the result of the great causality rate is held.
~In the Shiloh discussion Hanson spends a good deal of time tracing personal histories of a number of participants (who's lives were changed by the fighting) who had profound effect on American life ranging from novels to the KKK.
~The battle at Delium saw Socrates among other prominent Greek figures take part, and Davis asks how the battle changed them, as well as what would have happened had they died among the many others who did. The book focuses on these three battles and spends more time on personal accounts as well as the effects that Davis sees resulting from the fighting than the descriptions of the battles themselves. The book is eloquently written, and is a great read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in history, military, or Western culture.
Rating:
Summary: Another Triumph
Review: Victor Davis Hanson is our greatest living military historian, and "Ripples of Battles" represents another unique contribution to military history.
Rating: 
Summary: Unconvincing Ripples
Review: Victor Davis Hanson's "Carnage and Culture" is destined to be a classic, an important work. "Ripples of Battle" fails to live up to this high standard. Although the stories of the three battles presented are interesting, their "ripple effect" as described by Hanson seems a little forced and unconvincing. His description of Okinawa comes off as a little self-serving (his uncle was killed in the battle), while Delium is presented as a turning point in history because Socrates participated in the battle and might have been killed. Socrates probably crossed the street every day too and might have been killed by an ox-cart at any time. But that doesn't make every day of his life turning point in history. In short, Hanson fails to convince the reader that his three battles have any more ripple effect than any other slice of everyday life. Interesting stories, well-written, but a slightly under-cooked premise.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: Victor Hanson Davis has been fulfilling the long neglected role of western classics professor to the United States over the past few years. His sharp and effective editorials concerning the post-9/11 world and the American militaries reaction to it have been real sources of ancient wisdom brought to a chaotic modern world. Davis' first bestseller, Culture and Carnage, was an unbelievably well timed study of western military success throughout history, a study which provided very valuable information at the time of the Afghanistan war. Davis is an excellent observer of historical trends, how the ethos and spirit of Western war machines has shaped world history over the millennia, and continues to affect it today. The purpose of this well crafted work is to show the reader that wars of the past have a profound impact on our lives in the present day, that lessons learned and mistakes observed have helped form the western mind set we live with currently. I found the earliest part of this book to be by far the best. In it, Davis retells the story of the Battle of Okinawa, the last, and unfortunately, one of the least well known battles of World War II. Davis is a master of recreating the massive death and chaos that purveyed that little rock in the Pacific, as a massive American army faced off against an amazingly well planned and manned Japanese defensive system. The Japanese were more than willing to sacrifice thousands of their own soldiers, including waves of horrific kamikaze attacks. Many have commented on this tactic as to say it was surprisingly effective against the American fleet. While it did do a horrible amounts of damage, the kamikaze's real effect on the western way of war was a stiffening of resolve and the use of extremely violent tactics to exterminate every Japanese soldier on the island. Davis is in his glory in this description, showing how fanatical suicide attacks, anathema to the Western mind, are not as "successful" as is sometimes supposed. It also makes an air tight case for the dropping of the atomic bomb, as the Japanese defense of the home islands would have resulted in truly unheard of casualties, especially for the Japanese populace themselves. While I did find the other two sections of the book very interesting, I felt they lacked the clear historical connection that was offered in the Okinawa section. The second section of the book studies the tactics of General Sherman during the American Civil War, with a concentration on how the bloody battle of Shiloh affected the celebrated but oft misunderstood general. Davis also makes an interesting if somewhat flawed in my eyes connection between the death of Confederate General Johnston at Shiloh and the long and arduous process of national reconciliation. In the southern mind, this created the idea that victory had been much closer than it had been in reality. Sherman was instrumental in the development of the western idea of "sharp victory", a total and devastating destruction of the enemies war fighting capabilities. Instead of skirting the adversary, giving battle to his army only, Sherman recognized the intrinsic value in decisive movement, one that could conceivably bring a quicker end to the horrors of war. While this historical parallel is fascinating and apt, I did not think Davis wrote of it particularly well. The last section of the book discusses the battle of Delium, a little known fight that took place in 424 BC. I was very happy that Davis was giving this battle attention, as it is woefully understudied, passed over for the greater battles of the Peloponnesian and Persian Wars. Delium, a battle fought between the Boetians and the Athenians, has had a very powerful influence on western war. Unheard of ideas such as strategic reserves and specialized infantry tactics were utilized for the first time, giving future western warriors a deeper understanding of certain battle dynamics. The battle also provided a cultural addition to western society, as both Socrates and Euripides were profoundly affected by the battles bloody and somewhat senseless outcome. This was a very interesting look at what is considered by many to be a minor battle, but Hansen argues this characterization is unjustified. All in all, Ripples of Battle is an intriguing examination of historical currents that have gone somewhat unstudied. While Hansen does not match the truly incisive commentary that marks his other writing, he does provide the reader with a broad picture of cause and effect, and what this means for the western world of today.
Rating:
Summary: How the battles of the past affect us today
Review: When we think of battle, we usually think of the effect that the engagement has in the outcome of the war, or perhaps how a specific general excels or disgraces himself. Seldom do we think of what effect such a battle may have on the outside world. Sometimes, the only effect is on the relatives of those fallen in battle. Other times, however, there are wider repercussions. Ripples of Battle, by Victor Davis Hanson, doesn't quite live up to what the cover promises, which is a shame. Its subtitle is "How wars of the past still determine how we fight, how we live, and how we think." Unfortunately, the book isn't quite as far-ranging as this sounds. It covers three battles: the American invasion of Okinawa in World War II, the battle of Shiloh in the American Civil War, and the battle of Delium in 422 BC. In looking at these battles, Hanson discusses some of the aftereffects they had on western society. This is fine, and actually quite interesting, but the title makes the book sound like a broad sociological text and the innards don't quite deliver this. Once I got past these preconceived notions, I actually found the book quite fascinating. Hanson begins by discussing the bloodbath that was the battle of Okinawa. The Japanese garrison of 110,000 troops was almost completely wiped out, fighting to the last man. The Americans themselves lost over 15,000 men with over 33,000 wounded. The Japanese garrison had no illusions that they could defeat the Americans at this point in the war, but that didn't matter. Instead, they meant to take as many Americans with them as they could. While suicidal banzai charges and kamikaze aircraft attacks were periodic occurrences before, Okinawa saw the first instances of organized suicide attacks. The sole purpose of every Japanese soldier was to take as many Americans with him as possible. This is obviously a ripple that has affected the waters of the modern day, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up for a cause. What the modern day bombers seem to have missed from this history lesson, however, is the fact that it did not work. The Americans were not stopped at Okinawa. They did not sue for peace, horrified at the losses they took. Instead, their determination was strengthened and they forged ahead. This is one of the major facets of the Okinawa campaign, though Hanson does discuss others. As interesting as these stories were, however, I found the Shiloh history to be even more fascinating. Shiloh was, up to that point, the bloodiest day in the Civil War. It also resulted in the rise in stature of General Sherman, who eventually began the strategy of economic warfare, burning his way through the Confederate economy while killing relatively few people. General Lew Wallace was disgraced at Shiloh, and he spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name. One way he did this was by writing the novel Ben-Hur. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a southern cavalry officer, also rose to prominence on that fateful day, and he became one of the driving forces behind the Ku Klux Klan. There were also others. This entire chapter is just one fascinating insight after another, and Hanson does an admirable job of presenting everything in a clear, concise manner. There is one problem with Ripples of Battle, however, and that is the final chapter. The battle between the Athenians and the Boeotians of Thebes does not follow the theme of the book as closely, and isn't as interesting either. The main problem is the discussion of Socrates, who was one of the few Athenian survivors of the battle. Hanson spends an entire section of the final chapter discussing what would have happened to western philosophy, from Socrates himself to Plato and elsewhere, if he had died. This falls into the realm of "what-if" though, and doesn't fit. The rest of the book deals with real and unforeseen consequences to the battles in question. Since Socrates didn't die, it has no place here. The rest of the chapter does fit, however, with the first instance of real infantry tactics and the future effects on Athens from various survivors of the battle. Hanson fails to make it interesting, though, constantly repeating himself (especially in the Socrates section) and generally making it a chore to read. Hanson redeems himself, however, with an interesting epilogue that ties the whole book together, though he does suffer from repetition yet again. He discusses the various impacts battles can have on us as a society, and how there are so many different reasons that a given battle can affect us. Sometimes it's the accessibility of the history, sometimes it's who's involved (if Socrates had not been involved in the battle of Delium, much of it, if any, would not have been recorded). Hanson relates a lot of what he's discussed to the World Trade Center attacks and the current war on terrorism. We do not know how current violence, like the genocide in Rwanda, will affect us as time goes on, but we can make a supposition based on how it's happened in the past. Battles will continue to be an important part of history, and Hanson is trying to show the importance of studying them. The study of history has changed to a study of cultural trends, which Hanson believes is incomplete. The point of this book is to show how the study of great men (and women) and how they fight each other can still be an important aspect of history. In The Ripples of Battle, he does an effective job, creating a fascinating read as well. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: How the battles of the past affect us today
Review: When we think of battle, we usually think of the effect that the engagement has in the outcome of the war, or perhaps how a specific general excels or disgraces himself. Seldom do we think of what effect such a battle may have on the outside world. Sometimes, the only effect is on the relatives of those fallen in battle. Other times, however, there are wider repercussions. Ripples of Battle, by Victor Davis Hanson, doesn't quite live up to what the cover promises, which is a shame. Its subtitle is "How wars of the past still determine how we fight, how we live, and how we think." Unfortunately, the book isn't quite as far-ranging as this sounds. It covers three battles: the American invasion of Okinawa in World War II, the battle of Shiloh in the American Civil War, and the battle of Delium in 422 BC. In looking at these battles, Hanson discusses some of the aftereffects they had on western society. This is fine, and actually quite interesting, but the title makes the book sound like a broad sociological text and the innards don't quite deliver this. Once I got past these preconceived notions, I actually found the book quite fascinating. Hanson begins by discussing the bloodbath that was the battle of Okinawa. The Japanese garrison of 110,000 troops was almost completely wiped out, fighting to the last man. The Americans themselves lost over 15,000 men with over 33,000 wounded. The Japanese garrison had no illusions that they could defeat the Americans at this point in the war, but that didn't matter. Instead, they meant to take as many Americans with them as they could. While suicidal banzai charges and kamikaze aircraft attacks were periodic occurrences before, Okinawa saw the first instances of organized suicide attacks. The sole purpose of every Japanese soldier was to take as many Americans with him as possible. This is obviously a ripple that has affected the waters of the modern day, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up for a cause. What the modern day bombers seem to have missed from this history lesson, however, is the fact that it did not work. The Americans were not stopped at Okinawa. They did not sue for peace, horrified at the losses they took. Instead, their determination was strengthened and they forged ahead. This is one of the major facets of the Okinawa campaign, though Hanson does discuss others. As interesting as these stories were, however, I found the Shiloh history to be even more fascinating. Shiloh was, up to that point, the bloodiest day in the Civil War. It also resulted in the rise in stature of General Sherman, who eventually began the strategy of economic warfare, burning his way through the Confederate economy while killing relatively few people. General Lew Wallace was disgraced at Shiloh, and he spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name. One way he did this was by writing the novel Ben-Hur. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a southern cavalry officer, also rose to prominence on that fateful day, and he became one of the driving forces behind the Ku Klux Klan. There were also others. This entire chapter is just one fascinating insight after another, and Hanson does an admirable job of presenting everything in a clear, concise manner. There is one problem with Ripples of Battle, however, and that is the final chapter. The battle between the Athenians and the Boeotians of Thebes does not follow the theme of the book as closely, and isn't as interesting either. The main problem is the discussion of Socrates, who was one of the few Athenian survivors of the battle. Hanson spends an entire section of the final chapter discussing what would have happened to western philosophy, from Socrates himself to Plato and elsewhere, if he had died. This falls into the realm of "what-if" though, and doesn't fit. The rest of the book deals with real and unforeseen consequences to the battles in question. Since Socrates didn't die, it has no place here. The rest of the chapter does fit, however, with the first instance of real infantry tactics and the future effects on Athens from various survivors of the battle. Hanson fails to make it interesting, though, constantly repeating himself (especially in the Socrates section) and generally making it a chore to read. Hanson redeems himself, however, with an interesting epilogue that ties the whole book together, though he does suffer from repetition yet again. He discusses the various impacts battles can have on us as a society, and how there are so many different reasons that a given battle can affect us. Sometimes it's the accessibility of the history, sometimes it's who's involved (if Socrates had not been involved in the battle of Delium, much of it, if any, would not have been recorded). Hanson relates a lot of what he's discussed to the World Trade Center attacks and the current war on terrorism. We do not know how current violence, like the genocide in Rwanda, will affect us as time goes on, but we can make a supposition based on how it's happened in the past. Battles will continue to be an important part of history, and Hanson is trying to show the importance of studying them. The study of history has changed to a study of cultural trends, which Hanson believes is incomplete. The point of this book is to show how the study of great men (and women) and how they fight each other can still be an important aspect of history. In The Ripples of Battle, he does an effective job, creating a fascinating read as well. David Roy
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