One of my favorite Military Historians is Victor Davis Hanson. In Carnage and Culture he reviews “Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.” I am fascinated by his account of the Battle of Midway. He explains how American Individualism allowed the USA to be much more effective than the Japanese expected, thus leading to lost of four irreplaceable Japanese aircraft carries.
I like the fifty pages on Midway so much that I asked my oldest daughter to read the account and provide a short review. Here’s her review:
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The American pilots at Midway, a variety of Navy, Army and Air Force, would strike and strike again leaving the Japanese ships unhurt, but desperately tired. This is just the first example of the ingenuity of the pilots. Later three squadrons would be sent to the wrong coordinates, but then correctly deduced the real position of the Japanese fleet. These pilots would help win the Battle of Midway.
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If this sounds interest, you can read my review of the same chapter.
3 comments:
This is interesting to me. I have been thinking about Dr. Hanson's books for my 13-year-old son. I was pretty sure the content would be appropriate for a 13-year-old boy who has a keen interest in military history. But I have been blind-sided by history books written for adults that contained inappropriate material. I assume if you had your daughter read it there was nothing objectionable in it.
I enjoyed the review you linked here too. Thanks!
I've read half a dozen or so of Dr. Hanson's books. I'm not sure what kind of content you would worry about.
Dr. Hanson does write about the horrors of war. He doesn't go into graphic detail, but he reviews some of the numbers of details. I have a vague memory that in one of his books on ancient history there may have been a discussion about how wounds lead to death. I don't remember anything sexual. There might be a little swearing, when he quotes a general like Patton.
Does this help?
I really liked Dr. Hanson's defense of classical education entitled Who Killed Homer?
This particular book does not sound like my cup of tea, however.
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