The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost
Cathal J. Nolan
Jan 2018 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Julian Elfer
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25 hr 30 min
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History has tended to measure war's winners and losers in terms of its major engagements, battles in which the result was so clear-cut that they could be considered "decisive." Cannae, Konigsberg, Austerlitz, Midway, Agincourt—all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as tide-turning. But these legendary battles may or may not have determined the final outcome of the wars in which they were fought.
Cathal J. Nolan's The Allure of Battle systematically and engrossingly examines the great battles, tracing what he calls "short-war thinking," the hope that victory might be swift and wars brief. As he proves persuasively, however, such has almost never been the case. Even the major engagements have mainly contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating the erosion of the other side's defenses. Massive conflicts, the so-called "people's wars," beginning with Napoleon and continuing until 1945, have consisted of and been determined by prolonged stalemate and attrition, industrial wars in which the determining factor has been not military but matériel.
Nolan's masterful book places battles squarely and mercilessly within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it helps correct a distorted view of battle's role in war.
Cathal J. Nolan's The Allure of Battle systematically and engrossingly examines the great battles, tracing what he calls "short-war thinking," the hope that victory might be swift and wars brief. As he proves persuasively, however, such has almost never been the case. Even the major engagements have mainly contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating the erosion of the other side's defenses. Massive conflicts, the so-called "people's wars," beginning with Napoleon and continuing until 1945, have consisted of and been determined by prolonged stalemate and attrition, industrial wars in which the determining factor has been not military but matériel.
Nolan's masterful book places battles squarely and mercilessly within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it helps correct a distorted view of battle's role in war.
History has tended to measure war's winners and losers in terms of its major engagements, battles in which the result was so clear-cut that they could be considered "decisive." Cannae, Konigsberg, Austerlitz, Midway, Agincourt—all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as tide-...
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1 review
Alan Rominger
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November 15, 2020
After hitting a handful of recent history books, all hitting around the same topics, this has been my favorite of the year. The central thesis of the book is faithfully argued, but argued with nuance from scholarly research. Because of that, frankly, it's watered down in practice. It's also not... really... controversial. The short-war delusion lead to bad decisions. You will not get much resistance in intellectual circles. This isn't a paradigm shift. However, that does not diminish the joy of listening to this. It's a tour of military history, driven by the motivating premise of the book. It plays out well because the narrative is extremely well-informed and specific.
About the author
Cathal J. Nolan is associate professor of history and executive director of the International History Institute at Boston University. In addition to editing six books on international history, Nolan is the author of Principled Diplomacy: Security and Rights in U.S. Foreign Policy and Wars of the Age of Louis XIV.
British-born Julian Elfer is an award-winning New York City-based actor and audiobook narrator. With over fifty titles to his credit, Julian brings a unique facility for characterization in fiction and an empathy for the personalities and events of the past.
Cathal J. Nolan is associate professor of history and executive director of the International History Institute at Boston University. In addition to editing six books on international history, Nolan is the author of Principled Diplomacy: Security and Rights in U.S. Foreign Policy and Wars of the ...
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