Soldiers and Civilization

This book covers the history of the military profession in the Western World from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Drawing from military history, from sociology, and other disciplines, it goes beyond traditional insights to locate the military profession in the context of both literary and cultural history. The thesis of the book is that soldiers have made an unacknowledged contribution to the theory and practice of civilization, and that they will again be called upon to do so going forward in important ways. While this thesis is not original, the approach to upholding it is, particularly in the extent to which the book draws on the disciplines of the humanities to make its points.

The military profession, considered most comprehensively, might be considered as an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities. A soldier is made of the words of history, poetry, and the laws and language of his calling. To fulfill its future role, the military professionals of today must know, heed, and apply the examples and narrative of the most successful and exemplary military professionals of the past at their best.

Given the possibility of devastating conflicts or natural cataclysms in our century, the military profession might be called upon to preserve values of civilization even after the physical temple has been pulled down. The profession of arms is still something that civilization cannot exist without, and perhaps only its unique combination of strength and wisdom in matters of life and death will be sufficient to save us.