History

War: How Conflict Shaped Us

War: How Conflict Shaped Us

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  • Create Date：2021-08-07 07:54:22
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Margaret MacMillan
  • ISBN：1788162560
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Summary

A Sunday Times best book for Autumn 2020

A Guardian critics' pick for Autumn 2020

The time since the Second World War has been seen by some as the longest uninterrupted period of harmony in human history: the 'long peace'， as Stephen Pinker called it。 But despite this， there has been a military conflict ongoing every year since 1945。 The same can be said for every century of recorded history。 Is war， therefore， an essential part of being human？

In War， Professor Margaret MacMillan explores the deep links between society and war and the questions they raise。 We learn when war began - whether among early homo sapiens or later， as we began to organise ourselves into tribes and settle in communities。 We see the ways in which war reflects changing societies and how war has brought change - for better and worse。

Economies， science， technology， medicine， culture: all are instrumental in war and have been shaped by it - without conflict it we might not have had penicillin， female emancipation， radar or rockets。 Throughout history， writers， artists， film-makers， playwrights， and composers have been inspired by war - whether to condemn， exalt or simply puzzle about it。 If we are never to be rid of war， how should we think about it and what does that mean for peace？

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Reviews

Alison Fulmer ，

Did not finish， not interesting or insightful enough to warrant continuing， a disappointment

Max Stone ，

War: How Conflict Shaped Us， is a perfectly serviceable history of war and some of the issues surrounding it。 That said， it does *not* focus much on "how conflict shaped us" or at least only in a limited sense， e。g。 how artists have responded wars and how they themselves are responded to。 It about how conflict "shaped" us in the sense of things like women entering the workforce when the men were off fighting the war， and continuing on in the workforce。 And not about deeper shaping like how the e War: How Conflict Shaped Us， is a perfectly serviceable history of war and some of the issues surrounding it。 That said， it does *not* focus much on "how conflict shaped us" or at least only in a limited sense， e。g。 how artists have responded wars and how they themselves are responded to。 It about how conflict "shaped" us in the sense of things like women entering the workforce when the men were off fighting the war， and continuing on in the workforce。 And not about deeper shaping like how the evolution of people and societies was different that it might have otherwise have been。 Many of the things the book discusses are nearly platitudes （some people promote the glory of war and some people are anti-war; it's a complicated thing to navigate the desire for soldiers to be killing machines and also the desire for them to be functional after the war; war is terrible but can also bring a sense of meaning and bonding that is hard to achieve outside war; etc） and there are some interesting examples of the various categories and views， but overall I did not finish the book feeling like I had any better understanding of any of those issues。 。。。more

X Ray ，

Well researched but horribly written。 It seems to be one long monologue of her thoughts mixed with tidbits of history。

Josh Liller ，

I'm a big fan of Paris， 1919: Six Months that Changed the World and The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 so I picked this book up when I saw it on my library's new nonfiction shelf。I read about 1/5 of it and found it kind of dull。 Written very broadly - probably too much so。 It seems like it's trying to say alot， but it doesn't seem to really have anything notable to say。 I'm a big fan of Paris， 1919: Six Months that Changed the World and The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 so I picked this book up when I saw it on my library's new nonfiction shelf。I read about 1/5 of it and found it kind of dull。 Written very broadly - probably too much so。 It seems like it's trying to say alot， but it doesn't seem to really have anything notable to say。 。。。more

Sam ，

A solid read that makes a persuasive case that war is a phenomenon in some ways as impactful as natural disasters and somewhat distinct from politics （contrary to Lyndon Johnson’s assertion that politics is war）。 The author argues that war changes society， often leading to increased organization， hierarchy， and the expansion of which individuals and groups recognized as full citizens within a society。The book could have been stronger if it spent more time on the psychological impact and drew mor A solid read that makes a persuasive case that war is a phenomenon in some ways as impactful as natural disasters and somewhat distinct from politics （contrary to Lyndon Johnson’s assertion that politics is war）。 The author argues that war changes society， often leading to increased organization， hierarchy， and the expansion of which individuals and groups recognized as full citizens within a society。The book could have been stronger if it spent more time on the psychological impact and drew more frequently from conflicts other than the First World War。 。。。more

The_J ，

Conflict defining us， creating a new reality through blood and innovation。 Peace through strength or just the quiet of the grave。

Madrileña Reader ，

The book a history professor with ADHD would write。 The author takes you on a meandering path that often seems to go nowhere， information dumping and switching from continent or century in each phrase。 It's difficult to keep up and get a bigger picture with no anchors to keep the argument together。 There is no interwoven storytelling， just date and fact spitting。 It doesn't work as an academic piece beacause of its lack of focus， and it doesn't work as a layman's essay because of the same reason The book a history professor with ADHD would write。 The author takes you on a meandering path that often seems to go nowhere， information dumping and switching from continent or century in each phrase。 It's difficult to keep up and get a bigger picture with no anchors to keep the argument together。 There is no interwoven storytelling， just date and fact spitting。 It doesn't work as an academic piece beacause of its lack of focus， and it doesn't work as a layman's essay because of the same reason。 。。。more

Nigel Kotani ，

I first became aware of the author a few years ago when she presented the Reith Lectures， sections of which I heard on the radio。 The topic of her talk was war， and specifically where war sits in the human condition。 Is war an inhuman activity or pretty much the most human activity there is？ What prompts war: is it a result of competition for limited resources or are we hard-wired to fall into groups which distrust outsiders？ Or do we simply lash out when we feel threatened？ Is war an innate hum I first became aware of the author a few years ago when she presented the Reith Lectures， sections of which I heard on the radio。 The topic of her talk was war， and specifically where war sits in the human condition。 Is war an inhuman activity or pretty much the most human activity there is？ What prompts war: is it a result of competition for limited resources or are we hard-wired to fall into groups which distrust outsiders？ Or do we simply lash out when we feel threatened？ Is war an innate human activity or is it a learned cultural activity？This book is the product of those lectures， but arranged into different sections examining topics such as the reasons for war， the tools of war， how modern war differs from ancient war， the mind of the soldier， the effect of war on civilians and the portrayal of war in art。The book has much to commend it。 It is well-researched by a knowledgeable writer， it puts across ideas which it illustrates with interesting anecdotes and examples， it is thorough， it is well-structured， it is absorbing， if not gripping and it is well-written in simple but flowing language。One story in particular delighted me: “…to cope with death soldiers have often made a joke of it… During the Falklands War…。 the British destroyer Antrim was hit by Argentinian aircraft and， with leaking fuel， was in danger of fire。 At the tensest moment， as warning buzzers and bells were sounding and the crew were scurrying about， a stoker suddenly appeared。 ‘STOP！’ he shouted。 Everyone， from officers to ordinary seamen， froze。 He pointed down a passageway。 ‘Zulus！ Thousands of them！’ and disappeared。"There were two aspects of the book which left me slightly disappointed。 The first is that the author stayed completely neutral throughout。 I therefore found myself neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her for the simple reason that I didn’t know what her own view was。 Although this was clearly a deliberate decision， a book written by someone as knowledgeable as the author would have been enlivened （and， I suspect， enhanced） by the inclusion of some of her own opinions。The second aspect of the book I found disappointing is that， by the end of it， whilst I felt more knowledgeable about war， I still felt no closer to understanding it。 This is best illustrated by a quote in the book from the diary of an unnamed US soldier in the Pacific in the Second World War: “No one has been able to capture the real feeling of what combat is like。 Many books have been written， hundreds of feet of film have been made， thousands of words have been spoken， all of these means have failed to give the true horrible picture， the awful noise， the smell， and the fear that makes one stand up and scream out the horror that is pent up inside of you。"In truth， the fact that this book similarly fails to bridge that gap isn’t in any way a failure on the book’s part。 The real failure is mine in ever having imagined that it might。 。。。more

Robert Jeens ，

This is an interesting book containing many valuable facts and insights， but the main problem with it is that it doesn’t live up to the title: It doesn’t really tell us “How Conflict Shaped Us。” This is a series of essays linked by the title， but the essays don’t actually do a complete job。 I think the problem is that the methods of the historian are limited and to really investigate the problem， it is necessary to bring in other disciplines like anthropology， psychology， and evolutionary biolog This is an interesting book containing many valuable facts and insights， but the main problem with it is that it doesn’t live up to the title: It doesn’t really tell us “How Conflict Shaped Us。” This is a series of essays linked by the title， but the essays don’t actually do a complete job。 I think the problem is that the methods of the historian are limited and to really investigate the problem， it is necessary to bring in other disciplines like anthropology， psychology， and evolutionary biology and that is just not MacMillan’s forte。 On the other hand， MacMillan’s deep knowledge of European history has allowed her to share many examples for her points。 The author makes a number of assumptions about human nature and society that I happen to agree with。 “War is not an aberration。 Nor is it simply the absence of peace， which is the normal state of affairs。” “Wars have repeatedly changed the course of human history。” “Different societies fight different sorts of war。” “The capacity to make war and the evolution of human society are part of the same story。” “The strong nation-states of today…are the products of centuries of war。” “War is perhaps the most organized of all human activities and in turn has stimulated further organization of society。” “[T]he evidence seems to be on the side of those who say that human beings， as far back as we can tell， have had a propensity to attack each other in organized ways。” As for the present and future， she is skeptical of people like Steven Pinker and Ian Morris who claim that war is becoming less burdensome or likely。 She lists the reasons for wars as greed， self-defense， emotions and ideas。 On the other hand， Azar Gat says there are only two: access to females and access to resources， and the others are ultimately reducible to those。 MacMillan has lots of modern examples for her list， while Gat is using evolutionary biology for his。 Perhaps this is one of the differences that arrives from using methods and disciplines。 She looks at the methods。 how war has developed， from using stone tools to metal， horses versus infantry and the introduction of gunpowder。 She points out that some cultures have valued war much more than others and that some cultures have been much quicker to innovate and adopt innovations than others， but she doesn’t speculate as to why。 Nationalism and the Industrial Revolution made modern wars more deadly， bringing the idea of Total War， the total harnessing of the population and economic resources of a nation to fight over a long period of time。 “One of the great tragedies of modern war was that the very strengths of societies – in organization， industry， science or resources – could turn them into such effective killing machines。” She investigates the kinds of people who have been recruited to fight。 These have varied greatly over time。 During the ages of city-states， often it was the mass of male citizens， who were generally trained as infantry， but in early modern Europe， it was most often the dregs of society， commanded by aristocrats。 In the European Middle Ages， aristocrats were knights on horseback。 Empires have often hired mercenaries。 How and why did these changes take place？ Why aren’t there more women warriors？ She also looks at the culture of soldiers， how soldiers and warriors mark themselves off from civilians， using haircuts， uniforms， barracks life， training， drill， and discipline。 There are many quotes from many people in many wars as she tries to describe and make sense of something that she understands is really indescribable and that people who have never been through it cannot make sense of。 She points out that the distinction between civilians and military is often lost。 The bombing in WWII by both the Axis and Allies was to destroy factories but also morale。 Civilians have been slaughtered in and after sieges not just in the Ancient World。 War has had an impact on women。 They are often raped。 but also have been great supporters of their men to fight and their contributions during World War One resulted in women’s suffrage in most Western democracies。 War usually is accompanied by other horsemen of death: famine and disease， but sometimes war can enrich countries， as World War Two did the US and Canada。 There have been various attempts to impose rules on war， especially in the 19th and 20th centuries， with initiatives like the Hague and Geneva Conventions and the Nuremburg trials， but also powers and people often violate the rules if they think they can get away with it。 As I was reading this， I was thinking “What is new here？ What has not been said before by others？” “Why bother writing this book？” I have recently read Azar Gat， War in Human Civilization and Ian Morris， War: What is it good for？ and I think comparing this book to those is useful。 Azar Gat wrote a very well-organized， encyclopedic analysis of the why， how and effects of war。 He’s not a scintillating author， but the book builds authority through the weight and scope of its argument， using evolutionary biology， psychology， archaeology， anthropology， and history。 Morris is a very good writer and he has a thesis to prove。 MacMillan is also a good writer， and she covers topics that neither of them do， but I don’t see a consistent thesis and her chapters often feel somewhat disorganized。 She could have used a more disciplined editor。 As I was reading， I was wondering “Is this the most important thing she could have said about this？” She is very hesitant to reach definitive conclusions。 She often presents various sides of an argument and leaves it at that。 Perhaps this is a more honest account？ But it doesn’t seem as satisfying。 。。。more

Hadrian ，

Sad to say I wasn't a fan of this one。 Series of short chapters on various aspects of war - e。g。 art inspired by it， justifications for it， the development of technology。 But there is little new here。 I could see this as a series of introductory readings on a topic。 Not for me， but MacMillan is so capable a writer that it is easy to imagine someone getting a lot of this。 Sad to say I wasn't a fan of this one。 Series of short chapters on various aspects of war - e。g。 art inspired by it， justifications for it， the development of technology。 But there is little new here。 I could see this as a series of introductory readings on a topic。 Not for me， but MacMillan is so capable a writer that it is easy to imagine someone getting a lot of this。 。。。more

Jason McCracken ，

It's more than a little all over the place and I didn't really learn anything new BUT if I'd never read any history then this wouldn't be the worst place to start re: War。 If nothing else， the writing is entertaining enough that it never gets boring。 It's more than a little all over the place and I didn't really learn anything new BUT if I'd never read any history then this wouldn't be the worst place to start re: War。 If nothing else， the writing is entertaining enough that it never gets boring。 。。。more

Carolyn Whitzman ，

This was such a profoundly ‘so what’ book I’m surprised I read it all。 Humans， throughout history， have had a tendency towards violent conflict。 Most wars are fought by men， but women often cheer them on。 There are a lot of facts， loosely arranged in themes。 I kept on hoping it would all come together in an interesting thesis。 It didn’t。

Cheriee Weichel ，

Make this 3。5 stars。 Maybe this isn't really my kind of book。 MacMillan looks at the history of war and how it has shaped the kind of cultures and societies we live in。 It's big picture overarching in it's scope。 Make this 3。5 stars。 Maybe this isn't really my kind of book。 MacMillan looks at the history of war and how it has shaped the kind of cultures and societies we live in。 It's big picture overarching in it's scope。 。。。more

Masseyalum ，

My first reaction was that this book reads as if it were dictated。 I discovered later that indeed it is taken from a lecture series。 If this book had been edited for the eye rather than remaining in syntax for the ear， it would be a masterpiece。 My advice: slow your reading speed and pretend Dr。 MacMillan is speaking to you。 The book is chockablock with learned facts and observation。 Too bad those get lost often among the lines。

Alexa ，

While I was interested in what this book was trying to do， I ultimately don't think it was accomplished。 While I was interested in what this book was trying to do， I ultimately don't think it was accomplished。 。。。more

Janis ，

Historian Macmillan takes a long view of the nature of war and how it has shaped human society。 Using examples from across centuries， she explores the various reasons people have gone to war， how nations develop and train their soldiers， the rules of war， and its impact on civilians （with a chapter on art and memory）。 I really appreciated the ideas and questions posed and the depth of knowledge brought to the topic by the author。

Mudit Sharma ，

Wide ranging collection of ideas about all aspects of war。 I liked the even handed approach and coverage of diverse views。

Richard Anderson ，

Excellent account of the concept of war through the ages。

Duncan Rice ，

Well written and easy to read。 It follows the format of proposing an idea and then giving anecdotal evidence。 There is nothing really new or novel in the analysis。

William ，

By far， not her strongest book， but still worth a read。 More on the philosophical side of her observations than the concrete "aha" moments of some of her previous works。 Mild criticism aside， MacMillan is one of the strongest and most readable historians of our age！ By far， not her strongest book， but still worth a read。 More on the philosophical side of her observations than the concrete "aha" moments of some of her previous works。 Mild criticism aside， MacMillan is one of the strongest and most readable historians of our age！ 。。。more

John Lawson ，

A broad overview of human of human conflict that she argues has always been a part of human culture – and therefore we better understand it。 As with any overview it feels very general and does not have the depth， for example， of Paris 1919。 Still I found it provocative and informative。

Doug Caldwell ，

I read the author's earlier book on WWI Paris peace treaty 1919 so I picked up this one。 She has something different to say about war and humanity from the earliest days of civilization to modern times。 I read the author's earlier book on WWI Paris peace treaty 1919 so I picked up this one。 She has something different to say about war and humanity from the earliest days of civilization to modern times。 。。。more

Cody ，

This was basically an all encompassing book of everything about war。 It talks about why wars happen， the ethics of war， what war is like for soldiers as well as everyone else involved， and the impact war has on culture。 It looks at trends from the Trojan war all the way to the present。 I didnt really learn much I didn't already know as someone who has studied this sort of thing and she didn't really break any new ground but its very informative for anyone interested in the topic who hasn't studi This was basically an all encompassing book of everything about war。 It talks about why wars happen， the ethics of war， what war is like for soldiers as well as everyone else involved， and the impact war has on culture。 It looks at trends from the Trojan war all the way to the present。 I didnt really learn much I didn't already know as someone who has studied this sort of thing and she didn't really break any new ground but its very informative for anyone interested in the topic who hasn't studied it much。 。。。more

Cheryl ，

This is one of those books that I will be thinking about for a while。 MacMillan deals with a number of different ways societies shape and are shaped by war。 I thought her observation at the beginning of the book that today for most of us in Western countries we don't think about war that much because for the most part those wars are playing out in other places， but that it is still important for us to talk about because it still affects all of us， whether or not it is playing out where we live。 This is one of those books that I will be thinking about for a while。 MacMillan deals with a number of different ways societies shape and are shaped by war。 I thought her observation at the beginning of the book that today for most of us in Western countries we don't think about war that much because for the most part those wars are playing out in other places， but that it is still important for us to talk about because it still affects all of us， whether or not it is playing out where we live。 。。。more

Ivy Sitkoski ，

This book had a lot of information and raised very interesting questions， but I had trouble with the way it was organized。 Instead of chronological order， the author organized information by topic， with each chapter divided into subtopics。 I was able to follow the flow of facts but remembering them was very difficult。

Tom Walsh ，

Incredibly comprehensive， but sad tale。Macmillan has done an amazing job of tracing the sad， warts and all， history of Warfare from its earliest roots in the Human Community。 She looks at all its motivations and rationales and is unflinching in pointing them out in all their ugliness， cruelty， and venality。She looks at her subject from all sides: History， Politics， Religion， Arts， Culture， Impact on Society and Economics， etc。 If this work has a weakness at all， and I think it’s because of the A Incredibly comprehensive， but sad tale。Macmillan has done an amazing job of tracing the sad， warts and all， history of Warfare from its earliest roots in the Human Community。 She looks at all its motivations and rationales and is unflinching in pointing them out in all their ugliness， cruelty， and venality。She looks at her subject from all sides: History， Politics， Religion， Arts， Culture， Impact on Society and Economics， etc。 If this work has a weakness at all， and I think it’s because of the Author’s intent to write a complete historical analysis rather than a political screed， it is that it leaves out first-person accounts of the real victims of War: the soldiers and innocent civilians whose lives have been impacted or totally destroyed by their voluntary or involuntary participation in its horrible folly。To get the whole picture I would recommend reading War in combination with works by Chris Hedges， Tim O’Brian， Sebastian Junger， Dalton Trumbo or Michael Herr。But MacMillan has effectively done what she set out to do and for that I commend her and give War Four Stars。 We need to read and listen。 We could learn a lot。 。。。more

A H ，

3。0/5

Emily ，

“War is not an aberration， best forgotten as quickly as possible。”“So while we formally mourn the dead from our past wars once a year， we increasingly see war as something that happens when peace—the normal state of affairs—breaks down。 At the same time we can indulge a fascination with great military heroes and their battles of the past; we admire stories of courage and daring exploits in war; the shelves of bookshops and libraries are packed with military histories; and movie and television pr “War is not an aberration， best forgotten as quickly as possible。”“So while we formally mourn the dead from our past wars once a year， we increasingly see war as something that happens when peace—the normal state of affairs—breaks down。 At the same time we can indulge a fascination with great military heroes and their battles of the past; we admire stories of courage and daring exploits in war; the shelves of bookshops and libraries are packed with military histories; and movie and television producers know that war is always a popular subject。 The public never seems to tire of Napoleon and his campaigns， Dunkirk， D-Day or the fantasies of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings。 We enjoy them in part because they are at a safe distance; we are confident that we ourselves will never have to take part in war。 The result is that we do not take war as seriously as it deserves。 We may prefer to avert our eyes from what is so often a grim and depressing subject， but we should not。” 。。。more

Miranda ，

Impressively researched - I feel like I learned quite a bit。

Rick ，

Impeccable scholarship addressing the maddening ubiquity of warfare。 Our knowledge of why and how people/ nations commit mass acts of violence is not likely to usher in prolonged periods of peace but it is naive not to recognize how war changes the world Macmillan makes this point eloquently and gifts the reader with lots of arcane but delightful knowledge。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=War: How Conflict Shaped Us

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=War: How Conflict Shaped Us&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,War: How Conflict Shaped Us&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0