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On September 11,
2001, hours after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington,
the eminent military historian Victor Davis Hanson wrote an
article in which he asserted that the United States, like
it or not, was now at war and had the moral right to respond
with force. An Autumn of War, which opens with that
first essay, will stimulate readers across the political spectrum
to think more deeply about the attacks, the war, and their
lessons for all of us.
“The aftermath of September 11th saw Victor Davis Hanson’s
emergence as a national scholarly resource. These essays tear
through the self-doubt and defeatism to which many of his
fellow academics succumbed. Reading these pieces as they came
out, I felt less lonely about our historical situation. Through
vast references to classical and modern history, Hanson shows
that the War on Terrorism is part of a long story of the West’s
struggle against barbarism.” — Robert D. Kaplan,
author of Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan
Ethos
“Victor Hanson
is a national treasure. No one has written with such great
prescience about the present war or more accurately predicted
the course of events, on the fighting front, at home, and
around the world. His wisdom arises from a deep knowledge
and understanding of history, ancient and modern. His uncanny
accuracy in prediction comes from a full and clear grasp of
the facts and the application to them of an informed understanding
of human nature and of the character of war. All this he presents
in clear, vigorous, and eloquent prose. Every American needs
to learn from him." — Donald Kagan, author of On
the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace
“Bold and
politically incorrect, An Autumn of War is like a breath
of fresh air in pointing to the real causes of terrorist outrages
and the need for a decisive response.” — Richard
Pipes, author of The Russian Revolution
“Together
with John Keegan, [Hanson] is our most interesting historian
of war.” — Jean Bethke Elshtain, author of Women
and War
Victor Davis Hanson is a military historian who is
a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno.
He has written several popular books on classic warfare, including
The Other Greeks and The Western Way of War, and The
Soul of Battle. He lives in Selma, California.
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