Ep. 120—A Global History of Wars
September 20, 2023
In this episode of the Yale University Press Podcast, we talk with award-winning sociologist Michael Mann about his new book, On Wars. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Soundcloud
Tag: military history
Are Wars Rational?
August 8, 2023
Michael Mann— Most wars have been irrational in terms of means or ends or both together. This is because choices for war are influenced by emotions, ideologies, domestic politics, and… READ MORE
Ep. 102 — The Tragic Essence of Geopolitics
February 9, 2023
In this episode of the Yale University Press podcast, we talk with Robert D. Kaplan about The Tragic Mind: Fear, Fate, and the Burden of Power, a moving meditation on recent… READ MORE
Military Strategy in the Manchu Dynasty
May 13, 2020
Jeremy Black— In the last iteration of dynastic change, the rise of the Manchu (or Qing) dynasty and its replacement of the Ming in 1644–52, a process in which campaigning,… READ MORE
Hitler and Moscow, 1941: A Counter-Factual Speculation
March 4, 2019
Stephen G. Fritz— It is mid-September 1941. The unpredictable late summer weather in Russia has turned in Germany’s favor, as has the military situation. In late August, with the nightmarish… READ MORE
How an Epic Painting Became a Monumental Flop: The Perils of Art and Politics
October 5, 2018
Katie Hornstein — Powerful rulers have always relied on visual images to bolster their standing and seek public support for their military endeavors. While these sorts of images can be… READ MORE
Knowing How to Win at Acre
July 18, 2018
John D. Hosler— The oracle at Delphi advised, “Know Thyself,” and the rock band Rage Against the Machine screamed, “Know Your Enemy.” Which is more important for winning a war? Or… READ MORE
Civil Wars
May 14, 2018
David Armitage— War is hell, the U.S. Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman is supposed to have said, but surely the only thing worse is civil war. On that fact,… READ MORE
Stepping Back from the Front
April 2, 2018
Louis Barthas; Translated by Edward M. Strauss— In March 1918, after more than forty months on the front lines, under daily threat of violent death, disease, or dismemberment, French infantry… READ MORE
A Sociological Look at World War Combat
April 24, 2017
Alan Allport— The Second World War was not just one of the two greatest military efforts ever undertaken by the United Kingdom, but also, albeit quite by chance, one of… READ MORE
What If Julian the Apostate Had Lived?